March 26, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Briefly
Loyola Marymount University women's tennis plays the first two matches of their season ending four-match homestand this week. Thursday, Cal State Fullerton travels to the bluff to face the Lions in a non-conference match at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, LMU will host West Coast Conference rival San Diego at 12:00 p.m.

LMU This Season
The Lions will be counting on 2007 WCC Player of the Year, senior Pavla Mesterova, and fifth-year senior Tamara Tanner for leadership this season. They also return four sophomores in Bliss Nixon, Audrey Bulkley, Audra Silman and Maria Garcia-Planas Albert, and two more seniors, Natalie Tejada and Shawnell Russell. In addition, head coach Jamie Sanchez also welcomes three freshmen, Jasmin Heckel, Caroline Nothnagel and Shauna Morgan, along with one transfer student, whose collegiate tennis experience could prove invaluable. Junior Tina Razloznik (University of Arizona) will bring two seasons of Division I experience to the Lions. "The biggest plus is that we have a good player at the top of the line-up. Having that top player is an indication of any good Division I team. We also have a good amount of depth, which is the second ingredient of a good team," Sanchez said. "We are tough and strong going after the number one spot. The team feeds off of the tenacity and experience that players like Pavla, Tamara and Tina bring". Over the course of the spring 2008 season, the Lions will face a total of 13 teams that appear in the national rankings.

Last Week Recap
Loyola Marymount women's tennis played Yale Tuesday at the LMU Tennis Center. The Bulldogs secured the doubles point, but the Lions came back to win four singles matches to take the victory, 4-3. Seniors Tamara Tanner and Pavla Mesterova won their second consecutive match at No. 1 doubles, defeating Jessica Rhee and Lindsay Clark, 8-2. Unfortunately, the Lions lost on courts two and three, giving the doubles point to the Bulldogs. At No. 2, junior Tina Razloznik and freshman Jasmin Heckel lost to Stevi Petrelli and Janet Kim, 8-1, while sophomore Bliss Nixon and freshman Shauna Morgan fell to Yale's Lilian Nguyen and Lindsey Dashiell, 8-6. In singles, 65th-ranked Mesterova clinched the victory for the Lions, winning her match on court one over Janet Kim (6-4, 7-6). Mesterova moves to 9-5 at No. 1 singles this season. Tanner lost on court two to Rhee (6-2, 4-6, 3-6), and Razloznik won her match at No. 3 singles, defeating Clark in three sets (6-1, 1-6, 6-1). At the bottom half of the singles line-up, Heckel lost to Petrelli (6-2, 6-3), while sophomore Audrey Bulkley defeated Nguyen (6-0, 6-1). Morgan won her third match at No. 6 singles, beating Silla DeFilippis in straight sets (6-3, 6-1). LMU played yet another nationally-ranked opponent, 61st-ranked Nebraska, Thursday at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, CA. The Cornhuskers won the doubles and five-of-six singles matches for a 6-1 victory. Seniors Tamara Tanner and Pavla Mesterova won their third consecutive match at No. 1 doubles, defeating 30th-ranked Imke Reimers and Jana Albers, 8-3. Unfortunately, the Lions lost on courts two and three, giving the doubles point to the Cornhuskers. At No. 2, junior Tina Razloznik and freshman Jasmin Heckel lost to Wiveca Swarting and Maria Ring, 8-4, while sophomore Bliss Nixon and freshman Shauna Morgan fell to Stephanie Evans and Amber Chandronnait, 8-4. The Lions earned their only point of the day at No. 5 singles with Shauna Morgan defeating Amber Chandronnait 6-4, 6-6 (5-2 ret). Tanner filled in for Mesterova at the No. 1 position where she lost to 96th-ranked Imke Reimers (6-2, 4-6, (8-4 ret). Razloznik fell on court two to Wiveca Swarting (6-2, 7-6 (4)), Jana Albers beat Heckel (6-4, 6-3), Stephanie Evans beat Audrey Bulkley (7-6 (6), 6-4) and Ashley Finnegan defeated Nixon at the No. 6 slot (7-5, 6-2).

About Cal State Fullerton
Akron swept the three doubles matches for the decisive point in a 4-3 non-conference women's tennis victory last Monday afternoon over Cal State Fullerton on the Titan courts. Shelly Injejikian at No. 2, Karina Akhmedova at No. 3 and Brandy Andrews at No. 5 won singles matches for Fullerton. Two days later, the Titans hosted Amherst College. Shelly Injejikian's straight set victory at No. 2 singles was the only point Cal State Fullerton managed in a 6-1 loss. Injejikian also teamed with Karina Akhmedova to win the No. doubles match as the Titans dropped to 3-13 on the season. Bill Reynolds is in his 18th year of coaching Cal State Fullerton women's tennis

About San Diego
The USD Toreros competed hard but were overmatched against the No. 10 ranked USC Women of Troy as they dropped a 6-1 road decision on Tuesday at The Marks Stadium. USC jumped out to a 1-0 lead after sweeping doubles play. The USD tandem of Helene Lindstrand and Alex Demidova jumped out to a 4-2 lead in #2 doubles, but USC's Nelson/Kinstler rallied for an 8-5 win. It was Demidova who provided the Toreros their lone team point. She defeated #102 Maria Sanchez 6-4, 1-6, 1-0 (10-6) in the No. 4 singles spot to register a win over one of USC's many ranked players. Sherri Stephens is in her 24th year as head coach of the Toreros.

Lions In The Rankings
Loyola Marymount women's tennis has been in the ITA National team rankings for most of the 2007-08 spring season. The Lions started the year at 64th in the nation, but have fallen out of the rankings in the most recent ITA Poll. Senior Pavla Mesterova's consistent play so far this season has earned her a spot in the ITA women's individual singles rankings. Mesterova sits at No. 65 out of the top-125 singles players in the country. She earns her spot with a record of 9-5 at No. 1 singles, while beating four nationally-ranked opponents, No. 41 Katrina Zheltova from Sacramento State, 71st-ranked Julia Trunk from San Diego State, No. 81 Sophie Kobuch from Hawaii and 117th-ranked Jessica Hoath from Saint Mary's.

ITA Poll
It has become an annual expectation for the Loyola Marymount women's tennis program. The Lions were ranked No. 64 in the first poll of the spring 2008 season by the Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings administered by the ITA. Since 2000, LMU has held a NCAA National Ranking in seven of the last nine years. The Lions are coming off a third place finish (tied with San Diego) in the 2007 season after rain dominated the WCC Championships and halted the match.

Mesterova Already Makes Her Mark
The Lions roster returns two players who earned All-WCC honors on either the singles or doubles side. Leading the way is senior Pavla Mesterova, who earned the 2007 WCC Player of the Year honor, working her way to a No. 40 preseason ranking entering the 2007-08 season. Last season, she led the Lions with a 27-6 record, going 19-3 in dual matches at No. 1 singles. The 27 wins rank fifth all-time in LMU history for victories in a single season, while her .818 winning percentage is the best in program history. She is currently ranked 14th in the West Region. Mesterova also earned first-team All-WCC honors in doubles with former teammate Robyn Baker. Since the beginning of the 2007-08 women's tennis season, Mesterova has been on a roll, having been selected to compete in the Riviera All-American Tournament followed by the ITA National Indoor Championships. Her play in the ITA Regionals made her eligible for the at-large bid for the Indoor Championships. The ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships is the second of three national tournaments for singles and doubles during the collegiate tennis season. The other two include the ITA All-American Championships in October and the NCAA Championships in May. Playing in the tournament marked a first for Mesterova and for LMU, since it is the first time in her career, and in school history that the Lions have had a representative selected to play in the Indoor National Tournament.

Tanner Is Back
Senior Tamara Tanner returns for her fifth and final year of eligibility for the Lions. After earning honorable mention All-WCC honors in doubles play last year, Tanner's experience and leadership will serve a key role in leading the Lions this season.

Head Coach Jamie Sanchez
Jamie Sanchez is in his 33rd season as head coach of the Loyola Marymount women's tennis program. Sanchez, the program's only coach since its inception, began coaching the team in 1975 and has posted a career record of 418-378. In 2002, Sanchez guided the Lions to their first ever WCC Championship with a 4-2 win over Pepperdine. For the first time in program history, Sanchez and the Lions advanced to the NCAA playoffs as a team, and were represented in the Individual NCAA playoffs with the doubles duo of Andrea Lord and Angelina Zdorovytska. He was named the WCC Coach of the Year for the second straight year in 2002, and in 2006 he earned his third honor.