COC NOTES: CRASH LANDING ON LINKS : COC GOLF TEAM FALLS IN SO CAL TOURNEY.

Byline: Rizza Yap Daily News Staff Writer

The College of the Canyons golf team saw its season come to a strange end Monday when it finished next to last in the Southern California Junior College Championships held at the par-72 SCGA Member's Club near Temecula.

Canyons, which lost just one conference match during the regular season, shot a 773 to finish eighth among nine teams. Only the top four - which on Monday turned out to be College of the Desert (724), Saddleback (732), Long Beach City (737) and Riverside (747) - advance to the state finals.

``It's kind of like that old Frank Sinatra song that says, `Flying high in April, shot down in May,' '' Canyons coach Gary Peterson said. ``I think the name of that song is `That's Life.' And that's basically what it is. It's life. We'll have to be satisfied with how we did and what we learned.''

Despite a disappointing team finish, Justin Rockey's 148 (75-73) performance was good enough to compete for an individual title in next Monday's state championships at Spring Valley Lake Country Club in Victorville. He is the only Canyons golfer to represent the school in the finals. Meanwhile, teammate Kyle Brandt shot a 151 (77-74) to tie for 24th place, and Ben Krug tied for 34th place with a 154 (78-76).

Peterson said each member on his team shot four or five strokes above their season average. The struggles, he said, may have stemmed from competing in a pressure-filled environment - an altogether new situation for his 1998 team that cruised through conference with a 39-1 record.

``We had problems making adjustments,'' Peterson said. ``Because we were so successful in conference, we weren't used to high-stress pressure situations, and that came back to haunt us. Throughout the season, the kids would come out of the van knowing they would win. They would swing freely. All of a sudden you get to a place with nine really good teams, and it's not the cakewalk they were used to.''

The Cougars appeared in the state tournament last season and finished seventh.

Aiming high: The Canyons softball team, seeded 16th in the Southern California regional playoffs, will face regional host and top-seeded Cypress in the first round of pool play today at noon. The Lady Cougars can't wait.

``I've been telling my teammates, `This is my last year, yeah, let's take down No. 1,' '' said center fielder Alanna Gomez, the team's leading batter in conference games. ``We might as well go after the first place team. You go for No. 1, take them down, and your team's flying high.''

That may be easier said than done. Cypress (56-4) is the second-ranked team in the state, behind Sacramento City (57-5). The Lady Charges - who probably had more luck with rescheduling their rainout games, Canyons coach Ray Whitten said - also played 33 more contests than the Lady Cougars (15-12), second-place finishers in the WSC South Division.

Yet Canyons' Stacy Champy, who this season pitched in all games but one, has thrown a career-high 160 strikeouts in 1998 (including 100 in conference games only), compared to 27 by the Cypress starting pitcher. Whitten said Champy's dramatic improvement from last year stemmed from maturity and the help of assistant coach Bill Holt.

``His job is to work with the pitchers and call the pitches during the games,'' Whitten said. ``I can probably attribute 90 percent of Stacy's improvement to him.''

A win against Cypress at noon today will send Canyons to a 4 p.m. contest against the winner of Saddleback vs. Bakersfield. A loss means the Lady Cougars will compete on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Just imagine: After struggling as a bunter at the start of the season, Gomez emerged near the season's end as Canyons' top hitter in conference games. The sophomore said she attributes her sudden success to a theory she developed a few weeks ago, when she noticed that she consistently hit line drives against the batting machine but was hardly effective against a live pitcher.

``I realized that I was much calmer in front of the machine, so I started to picture the pitcher as being our batting machine and assume she was pitching me a strike. I always got a hit on the first pitch,'' Gomez said. ``You figure the first one's going to be the mean pitch, because she wants that first strike. Almost always, it's going to come right up the middle.''

Gomez first adopted the theory in a WSC matchup against Bakersfield. She went 3 for 3 that day. Later, against Pierce, she went 4 for 4. She ended the regular season with a 2 for 3 performance in a 6-0 Canyons victory against Santa Monica.

Vying for state: One more test remains before hurdler Jim Phillips and javelin thrower Scott Dardenelle can compete for a state title next week. Both placed eighth in their respective events in last weekend's regional preliminary meet to advance in this Saturday's Southern California Championships at Cerritos College.

A top-six throw for Dardelle and a top-four finish for Phillips this week will secure them a spot in next Saturday's state finals at Citrus College. Cougars track and field coach Lindie Heck said the two are devoting much of this week's preparations to the mental aspect of the sport.

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PHOTO Javelin thrower Scott Dardenelle can compete for a state title next week with a top-six finish in Saturday's Southern California Championships at Cerritos College.

Evan Yee/Daily News