March 15, 2011

Complete Women's Tennis Release in PDF Format

SAN DIEGO, Calif.-
UP NEXT:
#51 Princeton (7-6)
Wednesday, March 16th, 10:00 a.m.

Denver (4-8)
(@Fairbanks Ranch Country Club)
Saturday, March 19th, 10:00 a.m.

#42 Sacramento State (6-5)
Sunday, March 20th, 11:00 a.m.

LAST TIME: The 25th-ranked Toreros (7-4, 1-2 WCC) split their two matches in Moraga, Calif. this past weekend, sweeping San Francisco 7-0 on Saturday, March 12th and losing 5-2 to then-ranked No. 46 Saint Mary's on Sunday, March 13th. The Toreros won every match against the Dons and got singles wins from Laura Claus and Maja Sujica against the Gaels.

A SNEAK PEEK AT PRINCETON: The Tigers (7-6) enter the week with a No. 51 ranking after beating Hawai'i 5-2 on Tuesday, March 15th. The Toreros are 4-2 against Princeton all-time, with Princeton winning the last meeting 6-1 at USD in 2007.

A SNEAK PEEK AT DENVER: The Pioneers (4-8) are coming off a 4-3 loss at Texas Tech on March 6th. They will face San Diego State on Thursday, March 17th before playing the Toreros. Denver won the only other all-time meeting between the two teams last season by a score of 4-3 in Boise, ID.

A SNEAK PEEK AT SACRAMENTO STATE: The Hornets (6-5) currently hold a No. 42 ranking and are in the midst of a four-match losing streak. Tatsiana Kapshai is ranked 124th in singles, while Rebeca Delgado and Kapshai are ranked 68th in doubles. USD is 1-5 against Sacramento State in the all-time series. The Hornets won last season at USD, 4-3.

RANKINGS UPDATE: The Toreros moved up one spot to No. 25 in the Campbell/ITA rankings released on Tuesday. Sophomore Stephanie Hoffpauir jumped from 96th in singles to 74th, while Hoffpauir and Juliette Coupez dropped out of the doubles rankings after earning a No. 70 ranking two weeks ago.

TOREROS TABBED THIRD IN WCC: USD was picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll released on Tuesday, Feb. 15th. The Toreros received 37 points overall, coming in behind conference-favorite Saint Mary's, who garnered five first-place votes and 47 points overall, and second-place Pepperdine, who had three first-place votes and 45 points overall. Behind USD in the poll was Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount, who gathered 30 and 24 points, respectively, followed by San Francisco at sixth place, with 17 points, Portland at seventh place with 15 points and Gonzaga rounding it out with nine points.

CLAUS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-WCC: Sophomore Laura Claus was the only Torero selected to the preseason All-WCC team after earning second-team All-WCC singles honors in 2010 while posting a 13-11 dual match mark as the Toreros' exclusive No. 2.

NEW FACES: The Toreros welcome five newcomers to the 2010-2011 squad. Sophomore Cara Brown (South Bend, Ind.) transfers in this year from Washington State University where she posted a singles record of 6-3 during the 2009 fall season. Sophomore Stephanie Hoffpauir (Escondido, Calif.) transferred this January from UCLA where she went 25-9 overall in singles for the Bruins, including a 12-4 dual mark playing primarily at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions. She also tallied a 10-5 doubles record overall. Sophomore Josymar Escalona (Caracas, Venezuela) comes to USD after receiving a No. 7 ranking from the Confederation of South American Tennis, a No. 200 ITF ranking, and a No. 670 WTA ranking in high school. Freshman Anna Depenau (Geilenkirchen, Germany) joins the team after earning a No. 3 ranking among her age group in Germany as a junior player, in addition to earning a No. 97 ranking among all German women. Finally, freshman Idil Haciraifoglu (Izmir, Turkey) joined the Torero squad in January after a succesful junior career and is expected to add depth to the USD lineup.

2009-2010 REVIEW: The Toreros finished 13-12 overall in dual match play with a final ITA ranking of No. 65. Laura Claus garnered second-team All-WCC singles honors after posting a 13-11 dual match record, while Marite Raygada was named All-WCC honorable mention, going 19-4 in singles. Juliette Coupez and Maja Sujica earned second-team All-WCC honors in doubles after they went 11-7 and finished with a ranking of No. 70. Claus and senior Justine Perl earned honorable mention honors in doubles as well. The Toreros strung together a season-high four-match winning streak from Mar. 11th to Mar. 17th and posted a record of 3-10 against ranked opponents, including a 4-1 win over No. 28 Louisiana State on Jan. 30th.

WCC TOURNAMENT: The 2011 WCC Championships will again be held at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif. Apr. 21st-23rd.

STAY CONNECTED: Fans can follow USD athletics via Twitter (@USDToreros), Facebook (www.facebook.com/USDathletics), and with mobile alerts sent directly to a cellphone or mobile device by visiting www.usdtoreros.com. Fans can also follow women's tennis directly on Facebook by visiting their team page at www.usdtoreros.com and clicking on the "Links" tab.

HEAD COACH Sherri Stephens: Sherri Stephens enters her 27th season at USD after notching her 300th career win last season. Since taking over in 1984 Stephens has led nine teams to NCAA tournament appearances, including eight seasons in which the Toreros finished in the nation's top-25, with a high finish of #14 in 1989. Five of Stephens' players have earned All-American honors and was named 1994 USTA Female Coach of the Year. Stephens is a native of Phoenix, Ariz. and competed collegiately at the University of Arizona.