CSUN NOTEBOOK: BIG WIN COULD HERALD BIG THINGS.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

It is a big deal. Only the Cal State Northridge softball team doesn't want to make a big deal out of it.

CSUN beat Stanford 2-1 on Feb. 18, which is one of the program's biggest wins over the past few seasons. But the Matadors want to make sure it's not the only big win this year.

``It was a big confidence booster,'' CSUN coach Janet Sherman said. ``We played well against them. It's the way we should play every time out. We played consistent throughout. It was a nice way to end the weekend on an upbeat note.

``I'm excited about the win but I'm not excited like it's the conference championship because it's not. It's a good win but we needed to beat them.''

CSUN pitcher Sarah Farnworth got the victory over Stanford and then pitched a perfect game in a 3-0 win over Bradley in Friday's Loyola Marymount tournament.

The Matadors, although young, have a solid infield, outfield and pitching staff. CSUN is hitting just .164 as a team but Sherman is confident the offense will come around.

Just as CSUN, which finished third in the Big West Conference last year at 16-8, is confident it can contend for a conference title. A win over a Pacific-10 Conference school didn't do anything to dispel that notion.

``Knowing they were ranked (15th), I think we should be ranked,'' third baseman Veronica Lopez said. ``It was a really big win. Everyone was excited about it. We played as a team. It gives us a lot of confidence because we feel like we can beat anybody if we put our mind to it.''

Senior catcher Sarah Cueva leads the team in batting at .286 with a team- leading four RBI and junior pitcher Summer Richardson has a team-low 1.12 ERA. The Matadors have a combined ERA of 3.29.

Lopez is the only senior infielder. She's joined by freshmen at first base and shortstop and a transfer at second base. The inexperienced Matadors have developed early chemistry, posting wins over San Jose State and Loyola Marymount. But CSUN was shut out by UCLA in two games.

``The possibilities are endless,'' freshman Sara Summers said. ``We know we can beat anyone because we have a lot of team unity.''

--Big West champion: Senior swimmer Lisa Andrade swam a personal best by more than three seconds to win the 200 breaststroke in the Big West Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday. Andrade won in 2:14.16, breaking the school record for the third time in her career. Andrade's previous best was 2:17.51.

--From CSUN to Oklahoma: The CSUN football team played its season opener at Air Force last year. This season, Air Force will play the defending national champion in its season opener. Air Force and the Oklahoma Sooners have agreed to play Sept. 1 at Falcon Stadium.

--Football injury report: CSUN offensive lineman Keith Kincaid had shoulder surgery last week and isn't expected to rejoin the team until August. Donald Curry had a knee scoped three weeks ago and has begun rehabilitation. Spring football practice begins on March 12.

--D-Day wins scramble The L.A. Xtreme's Donnell Day, a CSUN product, won the pregame scramble in Sunday's game against Memphis. In the XFL, a player from each team races to get the football first in lieu of a coin toss. Day played for the Matadors from 1996-98.

--Still winless The CSUN men's volleyball team continued to struggle in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with its ninth consecutive loss. Pepperdine beat CSUN 30-18, 30-15, 30-28 on Friday at the Northridge gym. The Matadors (3-10), who fell to 0-9 in the MPSF.