THE MEN
STANFORD
COACH: John Whitlinger
’10 FINISH: 20-6, Pac-10 Co-Champions, NCAA Round of 16
•Many expected Bradley Klahn (Stanford’s first NCAA singles titlist in a decade) to turn pro after stretching fellow Californian Sam Querrey to four sets (6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4) on the proving grounds of Flushing Meadows last summer, but the six-foot All-American/Sherwood Cup champ, now in his third year on The Farm, has other plans — winning a team title on his home courts when Stanford hosts the NCAA Championships in May. With an imposing roster that includes Klahn, Ryan Thacher, Alex Clayton, Denis Lin and Greg Hirshman, he might just get his wish.
CAL
COACH: Peter Wright
’10 FINISH: 13-8, 2nd Round NCAA Regionals
• Led by a trio of soaring sophomores — Christoffer Konigsfeldt, Carlos Cueto and Riki McLachlan — the Golden Bears are hell-bent on a Sweet 16 finish or better. 18th-year head coach Peter Wright also has formidable weapons in five-time Pac-10 Player of the Week Pedro Zerbini (a 19-match winner in the No. 1 slot last year), Bozhidar Katsarov, Jonathan Dahan and Nick Andrews (who notched a team-best 26 wins).
UC-SANTA CRUZ
COACH: Bob Hansen
’10 FINISH: 14-8, NCAA D3 West Region Runner-Up
• Lefty Brian Pybas (who won the D3 doubles title with fellow Slug Marc Vartabedian in ’10) has one more year of eligibility at Santa Cruz, which fell to Claremont Mudd-Scripps in the West Region final. NorCal Hall of Famer Bob Hansen lost just two starters (including Vartabedian) but retains six sophomores and adds four freshmen. “Our team is going to have to grow a lot — there’s just so many good teams out there,” he said. “But we were right there, knocking on the door.
FRESNO STATE
COACH: Jay Udwadia
’10 FINISH: 19-10, WAC Co-Champions, 2nd Round NCAA Regionals
• Jay Udwadia’s Bulldogs are on the upswing a year after claiming a share of the WAC title and scalping BYU for their first NCAA Regionals win since ’03. Back on the Wathen Tennis Center courts are Siddharth Alapati, David Ayoun, Sebastian Hafner, Hugo Verdi Fortin, Rikus de Villiers and Remi Boutillier. Plus, Udwadia has added Ouachita Baptist transfer Jean-Charles Diame and Nick Papac to the mix.
SANTA CLARA
COACH: Derek Mills
’10 FINISH: 18-7, WCC Championships Runner-Up
• The Broncos are coming off one of the best seasons in school history, having risen to a program best No. 43 in March and finished second only to Pepperdine at the conference championships. All-WCC Second Teamer Kyle Dandan of the Philippines leads the way for SCU, and will be backed by Tom Pham and newcomers Kyohhei Kamono and John Lamble.
SACRAMENTO STATE
COACH: Slava Konikov
’10 FINISH: 17-12, Big Sky Conference Champions, 1st Round NCAA Regionals
• Eight conference titles in the last 13 years. Not a bad track record for back-to-back Big Sky Coach of the Year Slava Konikov’s Hornets, who last year embarked on a dominant 10-match winning streak in mid-March. Two-time Big Sky MVP Kiryl Harbatsiuk of Belarus, the first men’s player in program history to be selected to play in the NCAA Singles Championships, will provide veteran leadership on a roster that features seven recruits.
USF
COACH: Peter Bartlett
’10 FINISH: 12-9
• Leadoff man Thai Tu returns after a 12-5 season in which the Cal transfer earned All-WCC honors, and will be backed by an international mélange that includes Belgian newcomer Germain Bahri, the Norwegian trio of Ola Bakke, Jacob Hartwig and Peder Steen, Brazil’s Richard Bucalem and Ukraine’s Alex Kotlyar.
UOP
COACH: Ryan Redondo
’10 FINISH: 9-12
• After a three-year stint as an assistant to Gene Carswell at his alma mater San Diego State, former touring pro Ryan Redondo takes over at Pacific, which features the all-international lineup of Big West Athlete of the Year Artem Gramma (Ukraine), Ivan Castro (Brazil), Lance Dugan (Australia), Alex Golding (England), Tomasz Krzyszkowski (Poland), Fernando Ristow (Brazil) and Angus Thomson (Australia). “I’m hungry to make UOP a powerhouse,” said Redondo, who guided some of NorCal’s top juniors at the Winter Nationals in December, which should give him a leg up when it comes to recruiting some homegrown talent.
UC-DAVIS
COACH: Daryl Lee
’10 FINISH: 8-13
• The Aggies return eight players from the ’09-’10 roster, including lone senior/team leader Nick Lopez. Other familiar faces include Nick Hallchurch, Chris Aria, Josh Albert, Toki Sherbakov, Jack Horowitz, George Horowitz and Connor Coates. Recruits Alec Haley and Kyle Miller round out Daryl Lee’s 10-man roster. “We have a real good mix in terms of players with experience and a solid new group,” said Lee, now in his 16th year at the helm. “We have some players who are looking to improve and prove themselves this season. Once our new players get a feel for the college experience, they’ll really contribute.”
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE
COACH: Michael Wayman
’10 FINISH: 6-17
• St. Mary’s hopes to rebound from a disappointing 6-17 campaign in which the Gaels settled for a sixth-place showing at the WCC Championships. But it won’t be easy: SMC will face the likes of two-time defending NCAA champ USC, Pepperdine and Washington in ’11. The towering, 6-foot-5 Joakim Norstrom (a two-time national junior champion in his native Sweden) should bolster a lineup that already features power players Lucas Tirelli and Sherif Hamdy. “Joakim plays an aggressive, well-rounded game and his serve is his major weapon,” said head coach Michael Wayman.
USC
COACH: Peter Smith
’10 FINISH: 25-3, Pac-10 Champions, NCAA Champions
• Back-to-back national championships have the Trojans thinking three-peat. And why not? Five players return from the ’10 title-winning team, including National Indoor runner-up Steve Johnson, Jaak Poldma, Daniel Nguyen, Peter Lucassen and J.T. Sundling. New to ITA National Coach of the Year Peter Smith’s roster are Michael Grant, Ray Sarmiento, Corey Smith and Emilio Gomez. “We’ve been lucky to have the depth necessary to go far, and it looks like we have it again this year,” said Smith. “When we get to that point in the season where we’re playing really big matches, we have some experience on our side and we really hope to use that.”
UCLA
COACH: Billy Martin
’10 FINISH: 17-7, NCAA Quarterfinals
• The Bruins were dealt a crushing blow when it was announced that Nick Meister would miss the entire ’11 campaign after undergoing hip surgery. Without his No. 1 singles and doubles player of a year ago, Billy Martin will look to Maxime Tabatruong and Amit Inbar to fill the leadership void, with support from Adrien Puget, Daniel Kosakowski, Clay Thompson, Holden Seguso, Evan Lee and Jeff Gast.
PEPPERDINE
COACH: Adam Steinberg
’10 FINISH: 17-11, WCC Champions, 2nd Round NCAA Regionals
• WCC Coach of the Year Adam Steinberg’s Waves are rolling off their 41st conference title and are already focused on No. 42. Three-time All-American Bassam Beidas will be tough to replace, but Pepperdine is hardly starting from sratch. WCC Freshman of the Year Sebastian Fanselow of Germany (28-8 last year) is back in action, and will be joined by Puerto Rico’s Alex Llompart and New Zealander Finn Tearney.
UC-IRVINE
COACH: Trevor Kronemann
’10 FINISH: 17-12, Big West Conference Champions, 1st Round NCAA Regionals
• Big West Coach of the Year Trevor Kronemann leads the Anteaters in a quest for their 14th conference tournament title and 11th appearance at the NCAA Championships. UCI returns eight members of the ’10 roster, while adding UNC transfer Chris Kearney, Ryan Cheung and Eric Gast.
UC-SANTA BARBARA
COACH: Marty Davis
’10 FINISH: 14-11
• UCSB will be tested early and often, with a schedule consisting of 14 ranked opponents, including five-straight ranked foes coming out of the gate. “Staying positive is the key,” said Marty Davis, whose lineup will consist of All-Big West pick Alex Konigsfeldt (14 singles wins, mostly at No. 1), Benjamin Recknagle, Mathieu Forget, Taylor Chavez-Goggin, Max Glenn and Philip Therp. “My biggest concern is that we get demoralized. Our schedule is so strong that we risk losing confidence.”
SAN DIEGO STATE
COACH: Gene Carswell
’10 FINISH: 13-13, Mountain West Conference Runner-Up
• If momentum counts for anything, SDSU is headed in the right direction. The Aztecs closed out the ’09-’10 campaign winning four of their final five and nine of their last 11 matches, while falling just short against TCU in the MWC final. Gene Carswell hopes to carry that into this season with a lineup spearheaded by Javier Pulgar, Giovanni Vaglietti, Andre Feliz, Tim Schulz van Endertt, Juan Florez and Hunter Nicholas.
UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO
COACH: Brett Masi
’10 FINISH: 12-9
• Brett Masi will look for veteran leadership in All-WCC selections Dean Jackson, Nikola Bubnic and Thibaut Visy at USD. Jackson went 14-2 atop the Terrero lineup last year, while ITA Southwest Region Player to Watch Bubnic (30-6) became the first Terrero men’s player in nearly two decades to notch 30 singles wins for the combined fall/spring campaign.
CAL POLY
COACH: Justin McGrath
’10 FINISH: 9-14, Big West Conference Runner-Up
• Returning to action is versatile Big West Conference Freshman of the Year Jordan Bridge, who saw action at Nos. 1-4 last year, winning nine matches. The 6-foot-3 Irvine native should see significant rotation time at the top of the lineup along with Andre Dome, Brian McPhee and Alexander Sonesson.
UC-RIVERSIDE
COACH: York Strother
’10 FINISH: 3-17
• A talent-filled roster at UC-Riverside likely means York Strother will unveil a few different looks at the top of the Highlander lineup in ’11, rotating Frenchman Felix Macherez (who has overcome an injury and appears ready to return to form), Quoc Doan and Austin Andres. “Until one of them establishes themselves significantly, there’s a really good chance that we’re going to play the No. 1 spot by committee,” said Strother, who will also look to Cal Poly Pomona transfer Kevin Griffin to make an impact.
THE WOMEN
STANFORD
COACH: Lele Forood
’10 FINISH: 25-1, Pac-10 Champions, NCAA Champions
• Title droughts (even brief ones) don’t go over too well down on The Farm. So there was a collective sigh of relief across Palo Alto last year when the Cardinal put an end to a three-year “dry spell,” edging Florida 4-3 for its record 16th NCAA Championship. Back for more are Mallory Burdette (who clinched the win against the Gators), All-American/ITA National Player to Watch Hilary Barte (who won the NCAA doubles title with Lindsay Burdette and went 38-9 in singles), Stacey Tan (30-9), Carolyn McVeigh (24-10) and Veronica Li (27-7).
CAL
COACH: Amanda Augustus
’10 FINISH: 20-6, NCAA Round of 16
• Back-to-back NCAA runner-up finishes proved too tough an act to follow for Amanda Augustus’ Bears, who last year stumbled against Notre Dame in the Round of 16. But the Berkeleyites should be in the mix again in ’11, thanks to the presence of the No. 1-ranked Jana Juricova, who won a team-best 44 matches last year and rode a 19-match winning streak into the NCAA singles final. Backing the Slovak is the potent trio of Tayler Davis, Annie Goransson and Mari Andersson.
SACRAMENTO STATE
COACH: Dima Hrynashka
’10 FINISH: 19-7, Big Sky Conference Champions, 1st Round NCAA Regionals
• The Hornets are favored to win their 10th Big Sky Conference title, having won 72 consecutive matches against conference competition dating back to ’02. Dima Hrynashka returns the team’s top three players in Big Sky MVP Tatsiana Kapshai, Rebeca Delgado and Clarisse Baca, each of whom registered 16 wins.
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE
COACH: Lisa Alipaz
’10 FINISH: 17-7, WCC Champions, 1st Round NCAA Regionals
• It was a year of firsts for the St. Mary’s Gaels, who went an undefeated 9-0 in WCC play, won their first-ever conference title (defeating Pepperdine 4-1) and made their first appearance at the NCAA Championships. Five-time WCC Coach of the Year Lisa Alipaz returns WCC Freshman of the Year Catherine Isip, Alex Poorta, Anna Chikhikvishvili and Claire Soper, who pooled their efforts for 51 singles victories.
SANTA CLARA
COACH: Ben Cabell
’10 FINISH: 14-7
• A relatively inexperienced roster didn’t hold Santa Clara back last year, and Ben Cabell’s crew should only improve with another season under its collective belt. “With the freshmen we have [Katie Lee and Carolina O’Haren] and returning players ready to compete, we can do even better,” said Jessica Agra, who went 13-8 at Nos. 4-5 in her first year with the Broncos. Agra is joined by Alex Zaniewski and Kelly Lamble, who rotated at Nos. 1 and 2.
USF
COACH: Hilary Somers
’10 FINISH: 13-11
• Jennifer-Lee Heinser remains a dominant force at USF, and has yet to be defeated in conference play in her three-years on The Hilltop. Despite a disappointing result at the NCAA Championships (she fell in the first round to Irene Rehberger 6-2, 5-7, 6-2), the Floridian finished at a sparkling 20-1 and returns for a shot at her fourth consecutive WCC Player of the Year nod.
UC-DAVIS
COACH: Bill Maze
’10 FINISH: 9-11
• Dahra Zamudio won a team-best 19 matches atop the Aggie roster at Nos. 1-2 last year, and returns to spearhead an improving lineup that has taken aim at making a splash in the Big West. Zamudio, who topped Stanford’s Veronica Li last fall at the St. Mary’s Invitational, heads an all-Californian lineup of Ellie Edles, Lauren Curry, Noelle Eades and Shawdee Rouhafza, and newcomers Kelly Chui and Melisa Kobayakawa.
FRESNO STATE
COACH: Simon Thibodeau
’10 FINISH: 8-20
• The freshmen-heavy Bulldog contingent came oh-so-close to its ninth-straight WAC Championship last year, falling just short against Boise State 4-3 in the conference finale. “The fact that we were only one team point away from winning the WAC is in itself a good accomplishment considering the factors we had to deal with,” said skipper Simon Thibodeau, who was forced to rely on his underclassmen following the departure of four seniors. He’ll call on Melissa McQueen, Bianca Modoc and Laura Pola to lead Fresno State back to the .500 mark and beyond.
UCLA
COACH: Stella Sampras Webster
’10 FINISH: 21-4, Round of 16 NCAA Championships
• UCLA comes into the ’11 campaign ranked No. 5 nationally behind only defending NCAA titlist Stanford, Florida, Baylor and Notre Dame. Six-foot freshman Courtney Dolehide is a blue-chip recruit who has main-draw doubles experience at the U.S. Open, and should have an immediate impact near the top of Stella Sampras Webster’s lineup. Dolehide is joined by Noelle Hickey, McCall Jones, Pamela Montez and Andrea Remynse.
LONG BEACH STATE
COACH: Jenny Hilt-Costello
’10 FINISH: 19-6
• LBSU’s bid for its seventh straight Big West Conference title was quashed by UC-Irvine last year, but the 49ers should be in the thick of it again in ’11. Back is Big West Freshman of the Year Jaklin Alawi (21-13 last year primarily in the top spot), as well as all-conference competitors Anais Dallara (16-4) and Deborah Armstrong, who has the second-most wins in program history (77).
CAL POLY
COACH: Hugh Bream
’10 FINISH: 16-7
• Hugh Bream calls his Mustang contingent “one of the deepest teams I’ve coached in my 25 years.” Credit the return of five players from ’09-’10, and the addition of Jennifer Cornea, Kathryn Webb, Florence Lehane, Gabrielle Gatewood and Old Dominion transfer Margarita Spicin. Topping Bream’s lineup is Alexa Lee, who went 12-7 last year mostly at No. 5.
SAN DIEGO STATE
COACH: Peter Mattera
’10 FINISH: 15-11
• The Scarlet and Black return all seven letterwinners from ’09-’10, including Roxanne Ellison, Sierra Ellison, Alicia Aguilar, Julia Wais, Olivia Coleman, Emma Cioffi and ITA Southwest Region Player to Watch/Mountain West Conference First Teamer Julia Trunk, the Maria Kirilenko look-alike who’s coming off a 21-10 campaign in which she occupied the No. 1 singles slot
USC
COACH: Richard Gallien
’10 FINISH: 14-10, 2nd Round NCAA Regionals
• “We don’t have any weaknesses with the potential exception of depth,” says Rich Gallien. “We have a lot of talent, but we don’t have a lot of bodies.” The Women of Troy will look for leadership from USTA/ITA National Indoor champ Maria Sanchez (the All-American/All-Pac-10 pick opens the year as the nation’s No. 3 ranked player), ITA Southwest Regional titlist Danielle Lao and newcomers Kaitlyn Christian and Hayley Miller.
UC-IRVINE:
COACH: Mike Edles
’10 FINISH: 13-11, Big West Conference Champions, 1st Round NCAA Regionals
• The ‘Eaters captured their first-ever Big West crown in ’10 and return all-conference pick Courtney Byron, Kristina Smith (who went 21-3 last year), Hannah Holladay, Hayley Young, Miranda Young and Becka Kwan. Big West Coach of the Year Mike Edles has UCI poised for a repeat performance.
UC-SANTA BARBARA
COACH: Pete Kirkwood
’10 FINISH: 13-11
• The return of All-Big West standout Sofia Novak from a semester abroad and the addition of Paola Cos give the Gauchos a much-needed boost as they look to tackle a schedule that includes dates with No. 9 Northwestern, No. 27 SMU and No. 44 Pepperdine. “I’m going to go out on a limb and tell you that this team is going to be really good,” said Peter Kirkwood. “We expect to beat a few of those ranked teams and fully expect to finish in the national rankings ourselves.” Natalia Lozano will see significant playing time at No. 1,
UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO
COACH: Sherri Stephens
’10 FINISH: 13-12
• The Torrero’s are led by returnees Juliette Coupez, Maja Sujica, Laura Claus and Maria Raygada, who went a spotless 8-0 in last March and posted a team-best 24-10 mark en route to her second All-WCC nod. Germany’s Claus went 13-11 exclusively at No. 2 in helping USD to a third-place finish at the WCC Championships.
PEPPERDINE
COACH: Gualberto Escudero
’10 FINISH: 12-14, 1st Round NCAA Regionals
• Pepperdine came within a match of the WCC title last year (the Waves were shocked by St. Mary’s) but returns with its collective eye firmly fixed on the program’s 23rd conference crown. All-WCC pick Anamika Bhargva is back after a 16-14 campaign that included an impressive win over Stanford’s Lindsay Burdette, and will be joined by Ali Walters, Arianna Colffer, Andrea Oates and Marie Zalameda (who’s sister, Riza, starred at UCLA and is now a WTA pro).
UC-RIVERSIDE
COACH: Mark Henry
’10 FINISH: 4-13
• UCR hopes an influx of young talent – namely freshmen Jamie Raney, Kate Bergeson and Thanh Doan — will help the Highlanders climb back toward the .500 mark and beyond. “They’re all really competitive,” said Mark Henry of his newcomers. Taylor Raney tops the roster at No. 1 and is expected to see plenty of action on the doubles court with her younger sister, Jamie. She’ll be backed by Nadia Sakhakorn, Angelique Corpuz and Natalie McKay.
CAL STATE
FULLERTON
COACH: Bill Reynolds
’10 FINISH: 4-16
• The Titans return six players, including All-Big West force Tiffany Mai, who played exclusively at the top of 22nd-year head coach Bill Reynolds’ lineup. Among the new faces are freshmen Morgan McIntosh and Megan Sandford. “They’ve played a lot of national tournaments, so they won’t have the jitters. It’s really nice to have them come in and feel like they can play a leadership role,” said Reynolds of his newcomers. CSF saw a three-match winning streak snapped in the second round of the Big West Conference Championships last year, but vows to go a step or two further in ’11.
