March 7, 2011
Complete Women's Tennis Release in PDF Format
SAN DIEGO, Calif.-
UP NEXT:
vs. #44 Boston College (6-3)
Tuesday, Mar. 8th, 10:00 a.m.
LAST TIME: The 29th-ranked Toreros (5-3) had their four-match win streak snapped by then-ranked No. 17 Southern California on Feb. 25th, 5-2. The Trojans swept doubles play, but Juliette Coupez and Maja Sujica won singles matches at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively, for the Toreros. Stephanie Hoffpauir gave No. 1 Maria Sanchez all she could handle before losing 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the final match of the day.
A SNEAK PEEK AT BOSTON COLLEGE: The Eagles come in ranked 44th (as of 3/7/11) with a 6-3 record, having won their last four matches. The Toreros are 2-1 all-time against Boston College, with their two wins coming at home and the one loss on a neutral court. The last time these teams met was in 2007, with the Eagles earning the 5-2 victory in Las Vegas, Nev.
RANKINGS UPDATE: As of March 7th, the Toreros are ranked 29th, dropping two spots following their 5-2 loss to then-ranked No. 17 Southern California on Feb. 25th at home. Sophomore Stephanie Hoffpauir came in ranked 96th in singles and Hoffpauir and Juliette Coupez earned their first doubles rankings of their respective careers by being ranked 70th.
HISTORY REPEATED?: The Toreros find themselves ranked in the top-30 for the first time since they finished the season at No. 28 in 1999. USD opened this season at No. 67 before rocketing up the rankings with successive 11-spot jumps that eventually got them as high as 27th (2/22/11).
CATCHING ON QUICK: Freshman Anna Depenau is leading the Toreros with nine singles wins overall and a 6-2 dual singles record.
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.
