Community College Notebook

Sophomore Kim Rochow, a setter on the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team, was voted the most valuable player of the Orange Empire Conference this week by conference coaches. Rochow, a sophomore from Marina High School, had 346 assists as the Pirates went 10-0 in conference. OCC doesn't keep nonconference statistics. Rochow's had her best match Wednesday night with 70 assists as the Pirates defeated Citrus, 15-7, 14-16, 11-15, 15-11, 15-4, to clinch a tie for the conference title.

Maureen Skehan was the topic of a recent conversation between Saddleback women's basketball Coach Jack Single and trainer Brad McReynolds. They went down the list of minor injuries Skehan, a sophomore guard, has suffered this season in helping Saddleback to a 10-0 start. The cut above her left eye came up first, then the ankle she recently sprained. And there was her finger. "She told me it was just jammed," McReynolds said. Said Single: "No, it was dislocated. I saw it.

The Orange Coast College women's soccer team is in first place in the South Coast Conference with a 9-1-1 record, and Janell Rogers is one reason why. Rogers plays center halfback and has the job of linking the offense and defense for OCC, which is 11-1-1 overall this season, and leads El Camino by a point with four games left. "She is the quarterback of the team out there," said OCC Coach Barbara Bond. "She really controls the action for us."

Although he was a starting forward all last season at Cypress College, Jason Krauss was easy to miss. Krauss, who is 6 feet 5, was the closest thing Cypress had to a center. Because of this, he regularly guarded the opposition's biggest player. Some games, he gave up only a few inches but other times he took on players five or six inches taller than him. But in an odd way, Krauss found the experience freeing. "I knew I was going to play no matter what," he said. "I had nothing to lose.

Doug Yates of Cypress College is a hitting and fielding example of just how much a player can improve, given the chance. Yates is in his second season as a starting infielder at Cypress, something Charger Coach Scott Pickler didn't expect. Yates played third base last season and hit .331 with 14 doubles, two home runs and 32 RBIs. This season, Yates has moved to first and is hitting .303 with six doubles, three home runs and 19 RBIs.

Although there are more than two weeks left in the Orange Empire Conference baseball race, first-place Rancho Santiago College could make it a pretty dull finish with two victories this week. The Dons (25-12 overall and 14-5 in conference play) hold a one-game lead over second-place Cypress and a two-game lead over Orange Coast. Golden West is 2 1/2 games back. Rancho Santiago plays at Orange Coast (25-10-1, 12-7) today at 2:30 p.m. and then plays host to Cypress (27-12, 13-6)

The South Coast Conference did little damage to its reputation as one of the top men's basketball conferences in the state during nonconference play. Three of the top eight teams in the state poll play in the South Coast Conference and four of the top 10 teams in the Southern California poll are conference teams. El Camino (16-1) is ranked second in the state and first in Southern California. Pasadena (12-3) is ranked fifth in the state and third in Southern California.

A week ago, the transition of power in the Saddleback College men's basketball program seemed pretty simple. Bill Brummel, coach for the past eight seasons, was taking a one-year sabbatical and Rich Skelton, an assistant the past five years, was going to be the interim coach. But Skelton, a history teacher at Dana Hills High School, became the boys' basketball coach there last Thursday. And Brummel is still taking the sabbatical.

Blaise Bryant went into Golden West College's final game with a 19-yard lead over Leonard Russell of Mt. San Antonio in the race for the state rushing title. Bryant, a sophomore from Cypress High School, had been the leader for 4 weeks, but Russell had been drawing closer each game. But Bryant made the title chase almost a moot point by gaining 330 yards in 46 carries as Golden West defeated Riverside, 31-24, Friday.

There is little question about the favorites in the Orange Empire Conference cross-county championships at 2:30 today at Irvine Regional Park. Irvine Valley is the obvious choice on the women's side. The Lasers have dominated all season and come into the meet as the top-ranked team in Southern California. On the men's side, Riverside, boosted by several African runners, should take first. The Tigers took the first seven places and eight of 10 last year at the conference meet.

The Rancho Santiago men's cross-country team and the Golden West water polo team seek State titles this weekend and each is traveling north to do so. Rancho Santiago is the favorite in the cross-country meet at 8 a.m. Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. The Dons, led by sophomore Jose Rangel, was undefeated in seven invitational races this season, winning the Southern California championship and the Orange Empire Conference title. Rangel, a sophomore from Santiago High, won four times.

Jim Greenfield, who stepped down as the men's basketball coach at Golden West last spring, has been selected to take over the women's program, Athletic Director Tom Hermstad said Monday. Greenfield will coach the team for at least one season because Dick Stricklin is taking a sabbatical. Under Stricklin, Golden West had become one of the best programs in the state.

Andre Holmes, a defensive back at Rancho Santiago College and and Golden West's Van Tuinei, a defensive lineman, were selected to the all-state football team. Holmes, from Orange High, is the only freshman on the defensive team. Tuinei is from Westminster High. Holmes was also selected as the most valuable defensive player in Region IV, which comprises the 14 teams in the Mission Conference.

On the surface, Orange Empire Conference men's soccer seemed very cheery last season. Irvine Valley won its first State title, the third such triumph for a conference team. Orange Coast won State titles in 1989 and 1991. But there was a unpleasant side as well. Coaches, athletic directors and game officials were shaken by the rapid increase in violent play and verbal attacks. "It was a terrible year," said Barry Wallace, conference representative to men's soccer and OCC athletic director.

When John Altobelli took over the Orange Coast baseball program last summer, he figured to make some changes. The first was in the look of the field. Thanks to a fund-raising campaign at Planet Hollywood restaurant, OCC's field now sports a $35,000 scoreboard behind the right-center field fence. Construction on an equipment building behind home plate started Monday. While these changes have been impressive, the biggest gain OCC has made this season is in the Orange Empire Conference standings.

Much has been made about Saddleback's dominating defense and explosive offense this season. But one thing overlooked amid all the accolades is Coach Ken Swearingen's climb toward the top of the all-time national community college victory list. The Gauchos are 10-0, giving Swearingen 240 victories. He is only one behind all-time leader Hal Sherbeck, who retired last season after 31 years at Fullerton.

Orange Coast College baseball Coach Mike Mayne said Monday he will take a break from coaching after this season but will remain on staff as a physical education instructor. Mayne, now in his 13th year, plans to return to Orange Coast for the 1991 season, but also will explore the possibilities of working as an assistant with a four-year college or professional organization while away from his OCC coaching duties.

There is little question about the favorites in the Orange Empire Conference cross-county championships at 2:30 today at Irvine Regional Park. Irvine Valley is the obvious choice on the women's side. The Lasers have dominated all season and come into the meet as the top-ranked team in Southern California. On the men's side, Riverside, boosted by several African runners, should take first. The Tigers took the first seven places and eight of 10 last year at the conference meet.