Lassen College of Susanville, Calif. has announced that it will create a varsity women's wrestling team for the 2003-2004 season.    Lassen College becomes the seventh U.S. college to sponsor a varsity women's wrestling team. It joins the Univ. of Minnesota-Morris, Missouri Valley College, Cumberland College, Neosho County CC, Menlo College and Pacific Univ. with women's varsity wrestling teams. A number of other colleges have women's wrestling club programs.    Lassen College has a strong men's wrestling team, which competes in the National Junior College Athletic Association and has won four NJCAA national team titles and 18 NJCAA individual titles.    The women's team will be coordinated by Rexford A. Branum, who serves as the men's varsity wrestling coach. The head coach of the Lassen College women's wrestling team will be a former World Champion in freestyle wrestling, Vougar Ourdjov. The full-time counselor for the program will be Lynda Alberico.    Dr. Homer L. Cissell, the president of Lassen College, supports the program on the basis of his insistence on a quality academic experience for its students.    "We have been thinking about this for a few years," said Branum. "We wanted an administration that was behind us, and a quality coach that mastered freestyle. We have both of them now. Our new president is behind this 100%. I know we will be successful."    Ourdjov has been affiliated with the Lassen program for three years as a coach. He won World Championships gold medals for the former Soviet Union in 1991 and for Russia in 1995 at 48 kg/105.5 pounds. He competed in two Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and placing fourth at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.    The Lassen women's wrestling program will be well funded, and coaches expect to recruit a large team during its first season. According to Branum, the program will offer work incentive packages for out-of-state students and dorm scholarships for California and Nevada students. Lassen is expected to compete a national USA Wrestling women's schedule, as well as other competitions against North American women's college programs.     California is one of the most active states with women's wrestling, and has traditionally developed many of the nation's best female wrestlers. Numerous members of USA Wrestling's Women's Team USA, the national women's team, have hailed from California.     California has the second-highest number of high school female wrestlers in the nation according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), trailing only Texas. This year, the CIS will host a girls wrestling exhibition as part of its state high school wrestling tournament. California boasts the most female members of any state within USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States.    For more information on the Lassen College women's team, contact Rex Branum, Lassen College Wrestling, PO Box 3000, Susanville CA 96130; (530)251-8827 office, or wrestling counselor Lynda Alberico at (530)251-8860 office or laberico@lassen.cc.ca.us