COLLEGE NOTEBOOK: TIGHT RACE FOR GOLF TITLE.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

UCLA, USC and Pepperdine are among the title contenders in a tight, 24-team field at the 25th NCAA women's golf championships, which begin today at Ohio State's Scarlet Course.

``I'm not sure I'd call it wide open,'' said coach Dan Brooks of defending champion Duke. ``Among the top teams, though, there is considerable parity.''

During the regular season, Duke, UCLA, Arizona State and Auburn were considered the top four teams. At last week's regionals, USC upended Duke at the Central Regional, Purdue shocked UCLA at the West Regional, and Tennessee claimed the East title over LSU, California, Florida State, Arizona State and Auburn.

``We haven't seen one team dominating all season,'' UCLA coach Carrie Forsyth said. ``So it's going to be a catfight at the top.''

The Blue Devils edged Forsyth's Bruins by five strokes a year ago in Sunriver, Ore., for their third title in seven years. The year before, the Bruins beat Duke by three strokes.

UCLA is led by Tiffany Joh, Jane Park and Susie Mathews. USC's top player is Irene Cho, expected to battle for the individual title. And Pepperdine brings a deep team led by Eileen Vargas, Leanne Bowditch and Carolina Llano.

--CSUN signings: Cal State Northridge's men's basketball team announced Monday the signing of four junior college players: Jabir Jinna from West Covina, Mike McCrary from Hanford, Jordan Noblitt from Missoula, Mont., and Sanford Peters from Garland, Texas.

Jinna, a 6-foot-1 shooting guard, averaged 21.4 points per game at Rio Hondo College. McCrary, a 6-7 swingman, led the College of Eastern Utah in scoring (14.4), converting 39.9 percent of three- point attempts. He played his freshman season at Fresno City College.

Noblitt, a 6-3 shooting guard, averaged 15 points at Feather Ridge College and shot 47 percent from three- point range. Peters, a 6-0 guard, averaged 7.2 points at Riverside Community College.

--Also: UCLA has set its NCAA Super Regional softball series with South Florida for Saturday and Sunday at Easton Stadium. The victor in the best-of-three series advances to the June 1-7 Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. ... UCLA men's volleyball star Tony Ker (Valencia High) will participate in the 10th annual NCAA Leadership Conference, which begins Sunday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. ... Bill Ferguson was promoted from assistant to head coach of USC's men's volleyball team. ... USC's and UCLA's varsity eights received at-large bids to the this weekend's NCAA Rowing Championships in West Windsor, N.J.