Sports Calendar : Names in the News

A. O. (Al) Duer, Pepperdine athletic director and basketball coach from 1939 to 1949, was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree at the university’s commencement exercises for his “outstanding work in advancing the cause of intercollegiate sports,” according to the citation.

Duer, who served as executive secretary of the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics from 1949 to 1975, resides in Kansas City, Mo. Four of his Pepperdine basketball teams represented the school in national tournaments.

Shameil Coleman, the 3-A City girls basketball player of the year from Fairfax High School, has signed a letter of intent with Cal State Long Beach. Coleman, also The Times’ Westside player of the year this season, set a city, single-season scoring record by averaging 31.2 points a game.

Dexter Howard, a 6-7, 200-pound forward who was named San Francisco’s prep basketball player of the year, has signed a letter of intent with Pepperdine.

Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick said that Howard, who averaged 26.6 points and 15 rebounds a game at McAteer High School, “has fabulous numbers, and I suspect he will play a major role in the future of our basketball program.”

“I think he will follow the line of other Bay Area players we have had at Pepperdine (such as) Orlando Phillips, Eric White and Levy Middlebrooks.”

White, Middlebrooks and everyone else on last season’s Pepperdine squad, which won the West Coast Athletic Conference championship, are expected to return next fall. Harrick had no seniors on his 1984-85 team.

Several Westside tennis players won championships in the Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks Department’s 35th annual spring B-C-D tournament.

In women’s singles, the B-division winner was Jane Kwon of Pacific Palisades, and the C titlist was Judy Sparkman of Culver City. Judith Kelly of Brentwood and partner Marta Enstrom of Los Angeles were tops in women’s B doubles, and the C winners were Rey Hoxter of Culver City and Mina Brown of Altadena.

In B mixed doubles, the champions were Marta Enstrom and Jim Enstrom of Westwood.

David Mack, a top half-miler from the Santa Monica Track Club who was inactive most of last year because of injuries, has entered the field for the 800 meters at the May 15 Pepsi Invitational at UCLA’s Drake Stadium.