Taking the Fall

A look at the athletic programs eliminated Wednesday by Cal State Northridge for budgetary and gender-equity reasons.

Baseball

Seasons: 39.

History: The team’s record was 1,167-845-19, 265-151-3 in seven Division I seasons . . . Six coaches guided the program: Phil Munroe (1959-61), Stan Charnofsky (1962-66), Bob Hiegert (1967-1984), Terry Craven (1985-88), Bill Kernen (1989-95) and Mike Batesole (1996-97) . . . Fifty-five Matadors were professional draft picks, and prior to 1997, 46 others signed as free agents . . . The team’s most prominent major league alumni are 1970s standouts Lyman Bostock and Jason Thompson.

Top Performers: Thirty-two Matadors earned All-American honors, led by shortstop Adam Kennedy, a three-time selection (1995-97) and the program’s most impressive product . . . Kennedy ranks in the top five in the NCAA season record lists for total bases, hits and doubles. He holds 10 season and eight career records at Northridge . . . Robert Fick (1995-96) holds the single-game records with four home runs and nine runs batted in . . . Bob LoPresti (1970-73) holds the career records for victories (32) and innings pitched (335 2/3) . . . Reggie Sells pitched the program’s only no-hitter against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on April 4, 1981.

Program highlights: Prior to moving to Division I in 1991, Northridge reached the Division II World Series six times, winning in 1970 and 1984 . . . In Division I, the Matadors qualified for NCAA postseason regional play four times and were regional finalists in 1991 and 1996 . . . Northridge won or tied for 11 conference titles, 10 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. and one in the Western Athletic Conference.

Fast fact: The most frequent opponent in Matador baseball history was Cal Poly SLO. The teams played 168 games with Northridge holding a 98-70 edge.

Soccer

Seasons: 19.

History: The Matadors had 16 winning seasons and compiled a 220-124-30 record, 64-57-10 in seven Division I seasons . . . The program’s head coaches were Zvi Friedman (1978), Ric Fonseca (1979-82) and Marwan Ass’ad (1983-96) . . . Northridge closed the 1996 season with three consecutive losses, the first such string since 1982. The Matadors were 4-10-2 in their final season.

Top Performers: Joey Kirk (1983-87) holds season and career records for goals (30, 59) and points (77, 162). Kirk, a Granada Hills native, played with the U.S. National team, in several professional indoor soccer leagues and was briefly with the Los Angles Galaxy last season . . . Eleven Matadors, including Kirk, earned All-American honors. Mark Goodwein, John Tronson and Steve Lazarus each earned the honor twice. Armando Valdivia was the program’s only Division I All-American and has played professionally indoors.

Program highlights: Northridge made six Division II postseason appearances, including national runner-up finishes in 1987, which it finished 19-2-1, and 1988 . . . The Matadors’ only postseason appearance in seven Division I seasons consisted of two matches in the 1993 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs . . . Northridge won six California Collegiate Athletic Assn. titles (1984-89) . . . The Matadors’ largest crowd was 4,588. Those fans watched Northridge lose to Florida Institute of Technology in the 1988 NCAA Division II title match at North Campus Stadium.

Fast fact: Thor Lee, a Matador All-American in 1986, scored the first own goal in Major League Soccer history on April 13, 1996. Lee, playing his second game with D.C. United, never played another MLS match.

Swimming

Seasons: 39.

History: Team records are only available for 19 seasons, during which time Northridge compiled a 105-82 dual-meet record . . . After moving up from the NCAA Division II level to Division I for the 1990-91 season, the Matadors were 22-41 . . . The program had three head coaches: Byrne Fernelius (1958-67), Pete Accardy (1968-93) and Barry Schreifels (1993-97).

Top Performers: Jeff Kubiak won seven individual NCAA Division II championships from 1985-87. He won a gold medal in the 200-yard breaststroke at the 1987 Pan American Games, was ranked sixth in the world in the event at one time and finished third at the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials . . . Kubiak holds Northridge records in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes and the 400 individual medley. He is also on the quartet that holds the Northridge record in the 400 medley relay . . . John Kunishima was named top swimmer at the NCAA Division II 1990 national championships . . . Kunishima holds Northridge records in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, the 100 backstroke and the 200 individual medley. He is also a part of record-setting groups in the 200 and 800 free relays.

Program highlights: The Matadors were NCAA Division II national champions nine times between 1975-85 and won 10 consecutive conference titles from the 1969-70 to 1978-79 seasons.

Fast fact: Schreifels, who also coaches the Matador women’s swim team, did not swim in college at Western Washington. He was a four-year club ice hockey player for the Vikings.

Volleyball

Seasons: 21.

History: Northridge’s combined record was 331-272-1 and 127-76 at the Division I level . . . The program had only two coaches, Walt Ker (1977-85) and John Price (1986-97). Ker was 137-114-1 and Price finished at 194-158 . . . From 1991-93, the Matadors averaged 1,069 fans per match, leading the country in collegiate men’s volleyball attendance . . . The largest men’s volleyball crowd at Northridge was 2,632 in a 1991 defeat of UCLA . . . Northridge posted 20 or more victories in four seasons, including 1991, when the Matadors were 22-7 and set a team record for winning percentage at .759.

Top Performers: The program produced 10 All-Americans, including three-time selection Coley Kyman (1991-93) and two-time selections Neil Coffman (1990-91), Ken Lynch and Axel Hager (1992-93), Oliver Heitmann (1994-95) and Chad Strickland (1996-97) . . . Kyman holds six career marks including kills (2,205) and digs (831) and is in the top 10 of all 11 career charts, as is Raphael Tulino, the career leader in aces (109). Hager appears in the top 10 on seven of the career lists.

Program highlights: In its third NCAA Division I season, Northridge advanced to the 1993 title match, losing to UCLA . . . The Matadors produced a top-10 national finish from 1990-96. Their highest finish was third in 1991 . . . Northridge won or shared five conference championships, but none after 1983.

Fast fact: Bob Samuelson, a Matador in 1988-89, won a bronze medal with the U.S. Olympic team in 1992.

Compiled by Tris Wykes