Feb. 8, 2005
By Roland Hu, USD Media Relations This Week in Torero Tennis: On Sunday, February 13, the University of San Diego (1-1) will travel to Malibu, Calif. to take on Pepperdine University (2-2) in a marquee match-up between two West Coast Conference rivals. The match will take place at the Ralph-Straus Tennis Center and game time will be at noon. The Toreros are ranked No. 50 in the country while the Waves check in at No. 37 in the recent ITA Poll.
Recap of Last Week's Action: The University of San Diego trekked to the desert last weekend to face the University of Arizona (5-0) and Loyola Marymount (0-4). The Toreros came away with a 1-1 record. Although San Diego lost to host Arizona 7-0, assistant coach Chris Atzet believed that the final outcome was deceiving and that his squad proved to be no pushover for the Wildcats.
"We had a lot of positives [after the Arizona loss]. We started out a little nervous, a little shaky, but I think all six girls pulled through and showed the heart that will shine through for the rest of the season," commented Atzet. "We all battled back and there was one point where we thought we could end up taking all six singles matches."
The next morning, San Diego took out their disappointment on fellow WCC rival Loyola Marymount. The Toreros were dominant in all facets and came away with a decisive 6-1 victory. All three doubles teams won their matches, highlighted by seniors Jenny Brown and Lauren Kazarian's 8-2 victory at No. 1 doubles over Carla Arguelles and Patrycia Hubl. The great play carried over to singles, as Brown and juniors Emma Murphy and Lauren Perl all won in straight sets to clinch the contest. Senior Tara Livesay retired from her match to account for the lone Lion point. Aztet was very impressed with the play of Brown, as she had not played during the fall season due to a back injury.
"Against Loyola, it was really nice to get Jenny Brown back from her injuries. She had an incredible day in both singles and doubles," stated Atzet. "As a whole, everyone really stepped up against a conference rival and showed our team spirit and heart. It was a pretty good stepping stone for the weeks ahead."
About Pepperdine: The Waves enter this weekend's match-up with a 2-2 record and a No. 37 national ranking. Last week, Pepperdine hosted No. 7 USC and took a 7-0 loss. They are led by four players who are ranked in the Singles ITA Poll: junior Natalie Braverman (No. 52), sophomore Caroline Raba (No. 65), and freshmen Bianca Dulgheru (No. 57) and Sylvia Kosakowski (No. 119). Head coach Gualberto Escudero is in his 26 seasons at the helm of the women's program and during this period, he has compiled a winning record of 446-208. The last time these two conference foes met, the Waves handed the Toreros a 5-2 defeat in the finals of the West Coast Conference Championships.
Toreros in the Rankings: Junior Emma Murphy found herself ranked No. 48 in the nation when the latest polls came out on January 11. The national acclaim was a direct result of a great fall season, as the native of Cork, Ireland posted an 8-3 singles record. She reached the finals of the Southern California Regional Championships and took top honors at the San Diego State Fall Classic. The 2004 WCC Singles Player of the Year is also the seventh-best player in the West Region. In addition, junior Lauren Perl is No. 24 in the difficult and deep West Region.
Stephens a Mainstay at San Diego: Sherri Stephens enters her 21st year as the head coach of the University of San Diego women's tennis program and is hoping to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. Her teams have been to the Big Dance nine previous seasons and Stephens has coached 5 NCAA Division I All-Americans, including Zuzanna Lesenarova, USD's first four-time All-American and 1999 NCAA Singles Champion. After Stephens completed her collegiate playing days at Arizona in 1979, she joined the coaching staff in Tucson as an assistant. She accepted the head coaching position at USD in 1984 and has developed a reputation as one of the most respected coaches in NCAA Division I tennis. Her overall record at Alcalá Park is 245-216.
Did You Know: Two things that senior Tara Livesay cannot live without are her iPod and her stash of Jelly Bellies (cotton candy is her favorite). The native out of Lake Oswego, Ore. is also a "hopeless romantic" whose all-time favorite book is The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks. For more information on Livesay, please click here.
