October 25, 2007

Local college roundup: Injured CSUB soccer coach Van Dyke's condition improves

Californian news staff

Cal State Bakersfield women's soccer coach Nicole Van Dyke was taken out of the intensive care unit on Thursday and her condition upgraded from critical to good following a night of rest and observations by doctors at Mercy Southwest Hospital.

Van Dyke was injured in an automobile accident late Wednesday afternoon as she was exiting the CSUB campus onto Camino Media just hours before her team was to take the field against Westmont College.

Men's soccer coach Simon Tobin said Van Dyke told him that doctors were monitoring her for possible internal injuries. According to a release from CSUB, Van Dyke will remain hospitalized for the next four to five days as doctors continue to check for signs of internal injuries and bleeding.

"She's fine. She's in good spirits," Tobin said.

Assistant coach Fabian Sandoval coached the 'Runners to a 5-0 victory Wednesday night and will coach the team today in its game at Cal State Northridge.

Men's soccer game canceled

Today's scheduled men's soccer game between CSUB and Concordia-Irvine at CSUB has been cancelled and will not be made up.

Due to the wildfires and resulting poor air quality in Southern California, Concordia-Irvine was forced to move its Tuesday game to Thursday and did not wish to play on consecutive nights.

CSUB (3-8-4) will resume play on Sunday at Cal State Fullerton.

Cal St. Fullerton sweeps CSUB

FULLERTON -- Cal State Fullerton's defense was a step ahead of the CSUB volleyball team all night and that effort was the difference in a 30-22, 30-23, 30-24 CSUF win at Titan Gym.

Alex Wolnisty collected a match-high 14 kills to lead Fullerton (11-10), but a bigger factor was the 22 digs by libero Cami Croteau. Croteau, who enjoyed the best three-game match of her collegiate career, led a Titan defensive effort that constantly picked up tips and deflected attacks as the Roadrunners struggled for kills all night.

Junior middle blocker Rosemary Stribling led CSUB with eight kills. Junior outside hitter Sarah Norman added seven, her second lowest total of the season.

CSUB will take the weekend off before closing the regular season with a pair of matches against Big West foes. The 'Runners will play at Cal State Northridge Thursday and at Long Beach State Nov. 3 before heading to the NCAA Division I Independent Championships Nov. 17-18.

Some JC games postponed

The football game between top-ranked Bakersfield College and West Los Angeles will take place as scheduled in Culver City on Saturday, but games involving three other schools in the top five of the Southern California community college football rankings have been postponed due to the wildfires in various regions of Southern California.

Among those games postponed are No. 4 Palomar (6-1) of San Marcos at No. 2 El Camino (6-1) of Torrance, and No. 3 Saddleback (6-1) of Mission Viejo at No. 17 Cerritos (3-4) of Norwalk.

The Commission on Athletics has not determined how or when the games will be made up or how the postponements will affect the Golden Empire Bowl at Bakersfield College Nov. 17 or the other playoff games.