April 22, 2005

Pepperdine University

Head coach Gualberto Escudero

On how his team played today:

I am glad we got the match in before the rains came! I was happy that the opponents hit very nice balls so we could get some good match play. I wouldn't not want to be ready for tomorrow... I thought we started playing better and better after the beginning. It was a rough start, but we played well at the end. Doubles play we were pushed quite a bit in the second doubles and I hope they wake up tomorrow so we can play better.

On which of his players played well today:

I think Sylvia Kosakowski looked impressive. Her opponent plays a similar game, so all the shots look very impressive, deep, cross-court, fast, good servers. My No. 4 player, Eva Dickes, was playing an all-around game. She got up to the net quite a bit more than I actually see her do so I was very happy about that.

Bianca Dulgheru

On how she felt the team played as a whole today:

I think our team did pretty good. We started off slow in the doubles point. In singles, we all won in two sets, It was ok.

On her play in singles:

I didn't feel so good at the beginning. We played with different balls. The U.S. Open balls are a bit heavy, but it was ok. It got better during the game.

On how the team will approach tomorrow's match:

We are just all motivated and so excited to be here. Of course we want to win the conference so we are all trying to play our best and be focused.

Gonzaga University

Head coach D.J. Gurule

On the performance of his team today:

I think we played well. Pepperdine is a good team. We're young for the most part and it was a good experience for us to come here and play. Pepperdine just showed why they were the No. 1 seed.

On what type of attitude his team will take to get ready for tomorrow: I think just the opportunity to play. We have nothing to lose. We're the eight seed and we have the opportunity to be a spoiler. Who ever we play tomorrow will have their hands full. We'll be ready.

Sirrah Willaims

On her team's play today:

I think it was a little disappointing, but we all tried hard and gave it our all. It was a good effort and there is nothing more you can ask. We tried hard, we fought hard. Maybe next year!

On her play overall this year and today:

Starting off a little rocky during the conference. Last year I had a good conference showing. So hopefully it'll be all up from here. I reall ywant to end on a high note and get a couple of W's under my belt.

Her thoughts on the team as a whole this year: As with any team, there have been some ups and downs, but I'm really proud of our team and how well we've come around and improved. We have a fairly young team so I'm really impressed how the younger people have stepped up.

Saint Mary's College

Head coach Lisa Alipaz

Opening comments:

My team is finally coming together. I feel like we had some growing pains early on in the season, but their heart and their dedication to each other, made them fight through the whole season and I feel like we are peaking here at conference, which is great.

On Stef Ordoveza's clinching match:

When we played Santa Clara last time, it came down to Stefanie's match. The two girls had a rematch today, Stefanie lost 6-4 in the third set last time and I felt like she was waiting for a rematch ever since that day and that was in the back of her mind. This was her day and she played smart, aggressive and solid. It was awesome.

On what she has a coach has to do to get her team ready for Pepperdine:

One of the motivations for today was to play the top team in conference. They are really excited about the challenge of playing the top team in conference and they are going to need nothing from me. They are going to come out ready to go.

Stef Ordoveza

On her deciding match against SCU's Jessie Strunk:

I lost to her in the regular season and it was the same thing - our match was the deciding match. I just wanted to come back and win this match, for my team. I was really fired up because I wanted to be here the second time around.

On the team's performance today:

I think we can definitely play a lot better than we did today. We played hard, but we didn't play to our full potential. I think if we play a lot better, we can handle some better teams.

University of San Diego

Head coach Sherri Stephens

Opening comments:

Well it was a tough day because of the rain. We were on and off, on and off [the courts] and we were a bit shaky because we had to default a match. Jenna Anderson, who has barely played a match all year, had to play and I thought she was a little nervous. She was on Court 1. It got a little scary for a while, but I always believed that we would win the match. They did it and pulled through and now we have to get ready to take on Loyola [Marymount].

Lauren Perl

On what she was telling herself while Soltysik was making a comeback in the third set:

I just kept telling myself to stay positive and not get mad at myself when I had an error or when she hit a winner. I was just thinking in my head, "Great shot, not my fault, move on." Just to stay positive and get the next point to close out the match... in the end, I pulled through and won it for us.

University of Portland

Head coach Susie Campbell Gross

On how her team played today:

"San Diego is the No. 2 seed and we were the No. 7 seed, so we had nothing to lose. The rain was challenging in between and we had the momentum in two of those matches, at three and four. We pulled it through at four and didn't quite get it done at three to even it out at the end. But I have nothing but good things to say about our team. We came out here and competed today, so I'm very proud of our efforts today.

On getting the girls fired up for tomorrow after today's tough loss:

Oh, not at all. We're here to play. That's what we are here to do. More than anything, I think they are going to be hungry. We had an opportunity to beat San Diego for the first time. That's pretty good that we put ourselves in that position. A lot of credit to Christie Feyen, just a freshman, who pulled that [No. 4] match out and get our point there... we'll be ready to go.