THE MASTER'S COLLEGE NOTEBOOK: A HOMECOMING FOR THE AD MASTER'S BERRY IS RETURNING TO NEWHALL CAMPUS.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

NEWHALL - Paul Berry's hiring as The Master's College's athletic director is his second stint at the school.

Berry, most recently athletic director at Christian Heritage College of El Cajon, literally spent endless hours on the road previously at The Master's. In the 1970's Berry was the school's director of admissions. The job included visiting the homes of prospective students.

Don Gilmore was one of them. Berry stopped by the Gilmores' Northern California home in 1976 and convinced the teen-ager to attend The Master's. Gilmore and Berry are reunited again (Gilmore is the Mustangs' sports information director).

``The whole thing was built on the personal touch,'' said Gilmore, who graduated from The Master's and also works in the registrar's office. ``Getting in the kids' homes and talking to the parents themselves. It was a hallmark of the institution's recruiting efforts back then.''

There's more irony to the Berry-Gilmore connection. When deciding on a school, Gilmore chose The Master's over Christian Heritage, Berry's previous employer.

Berry had a big influence on Gilmore's life-changing decision to attend college in and settle in the Santa Clarita Valley.

``He's a good people person. He's very sincere,'' Gilmore said.

--Where do you go to school? Erin Buescher received national publicity for her Division I-to-NAIA transfer. But The Master's College is anonymous to even astute WNBA followers.

The league's Web site listed Buescher's alma mater as ``Unknown College '01'' on the Lynx's roster. That doesn't mean the second-round pick of the Minnesota Lynx is overlooked as a viable rookie.

``Erin is a great fit for the Lynx because of coach Brian Agler's offense,'' said WNBA vice president of player personnel Renee' Brown. ``She is an extremely versatile guard/forward. She has the ability to play the 1, 2, 3 or 4.''

Next up for Buescher is getting a chance to prove herself on the professional level. She's one of 20 hopefuls vying for a spot on Minnesota's 11-player roster that also includes two additional injured reserve players.

Buescher's main competition includes Megan Taylor, a prep product from Minnesota who played at Iowa State. Taylor was the Lynx's fourth-round pick.

Georgia Schweitzer, acquired in a draft-day trade with Miami, is another candidate to make the team.

--Regional shutout: Biola, Azusa Pacific, Cal Baptist and Vanguard appear headed to the NAIA Region II tournament, preventing the Mustangs from returning to the NAIA World Series. The Master's made the school's first appearance there in 2000.

But the Mustangs were 11-16 in Golden State Athletic Conference play entering Thursday's regular-season finale at Westmont. The Mustangs will be official conference members in 2002 and will be eligible for the GSAC title.

The careers of such Master's standouts as shortstop Ty Sager, outfielder Luke Kollmann and pitcher Matt Berry are coming to an end.

Sager broke the school career record for hits and sacrifice bunts.

--Near miss: Biola's baseball team nearly scored a major coup for the NAIA Wednesday. The Eagles, ranked fourth in the nation, almost erased a 7-1 deficit before losing 7-6 at Cal State Fullerton.

The NCAA Division I Titans are ranked sixth in the Baseball America poll.

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Ty Sager has broken The Master's College career record for hits and sacrifice bunts.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer