April 17, 2005

This Week in Torero Tennis: The University of San Diego (7-9) will look to end the regular season on a positive note on Tuesday, April 19 when they host cross-town rival San Diego State (14-9). The 67th-ranked Toreros will look to have a repeat performance of last year's dual match, as they defeated the Aztecs by a score of 5-2 at SDSU. It will also be Senior Day for USD, as head coach Sherri Stephens will honor Lauren Kazarian and Tara Livesay for their four years of excellent play. The match will be played at the USD West Tennis Courts, with game time at 1:30 P.M. The Toreros will also play host to the West Coast Conference this weekend, beginning Friday, April 22. The tournament will be running through Sunday, April 24 and will include all eight conference members.

About San Diego State: The Aztecs, ranked 45th in the nation, enter Tuesday's match-up with a record of 14-9, with their last outing being a 4-3 victory over Utah. Leading the way for SDSU will be two sophomores, Aleysa Vidov and Dita Hauerlandova. Senior Indra Erichsen and freshman Eliska Krausova will also provide depth in both the sinlges and doubles line-up. Peter Mattera is in his twelth season as the head coach for the women's tennis program and he has compiled a solid 171-104 record during his tenure.

WCC Honors for March: The West Coast Conference recently announced that Emma Murphy has been named the WCC Player of the Month (March) and Murphy and partner Lauren Perl have been selected as the WCC Doubles Team of the Month (March). This is the second monthly honor for Murphy and the first for Murphy and Perl.

Murphy, a native of Cork, Ireland, has been a force for the Toreros in the month of March. Despite facing many higher ranked opponents, the junior has taken them down with relative ease. She owns a record of 8-2 in March at the No. 1 position, defeating great players such as Michaela Moldovan of Florida State (No. 17), Margarita Karnhaukhova of Sacramento State (No. 21), Ekaterina Burdelli of Washington State (No. 71), and Lauren Fitzgerald (No. 103) of Hawaii. Her only losses were to Julie Coin of Clemson (No. 2) and a three-set setback to Dea Sumantri of Washington (No. 15). Murphy is currently ranked No. 30 in the nation.

The teamwork and consistency that Murphy and Perl, also a junior, exhibited have paved the way for many victories this past month, as the duo own a stellar 9-1 doubles record in March. Playing at the No. 2 position, their only loss came at the hands of Ashley Kroh and Jeanne Schwartz of No. 70 Marshall University. Kroh is a returning All-American who reached the NCAA Doubles Finals in 2004. The Toreros have faced many ranked teams in March, including No. 13 Clemson, No. 21 Washington, No. 32 Sacramento State, No. 34 Florida State, and No. 68 Washington State, but the San Diego pair found a way to come out on top in each of those occasions.

Toreros in the Rankings: Junior Emma Murphy found herself ranked No. 30 in the nation when the latest polls came out on March 22. 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. In addition, she took No. 15 Nicole Leimbach of USC and No. 15 Dea Sumantri of Washington to three sets and defeated No. 17 Michaela Moldovan (Florida State), No. 21 Margarita Karnaukova (Sacramento State), No. 71 Ekaterina Burdelli (Washington State), and No. 103 Lauren Fitzgerald (Hawai'i) in straight sets. The 2004 WCC Singles Player of the Year is also the seventh-best player in the West Region. In addition, junior Lauren Perl received a pre-season ranking of 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.

Did You Know: Senior Lauren Kazarian worked this summer as an intern for Ernst & Young in their Carlsbad office. All of her hard work paid off, as she will work for them on a full-time basis when she is finished with her senior year at USD. The 5-4 native of Fresno, Calif. is also of Armenian descent and loves to go back home for her mother's cooking. For more information about Kazarian, please click here .