The WOMEN

STANFORD
Coach: Lele Forood
‘06 Finish: 30-0, Pac-10 Champions, NCAA Division I Champions
• It’s like the old Saul Steinberg New Yorker cover. You know, the anything-but-to-scale “map” in which the island of Manhattan dwarfs the rest of the world. When it comes to women’s collegiate tennis, Stanford could surely sub for Mr. Steinberg’s Big Apple. There’s Stanford and then there’s the rest. Who can compete? A 4-1 victory over Miami gave the Cardinal its 15th NCAA team title last year; Stanford has now appeared in the title match for the 20th time in the 25-year history of the NCAA Championships; Plus, the team’s won three straight NCAA titles. Despite having her 89-match unbeaten streak snapped by Georgia Tech (the team’s first dual-match loss since ‘03), Lele Forood makes a habit of successfully wooing the nation’s top recruits. Take the ‘06-’07 squad, which has added Lindsay Burdette to the already impressive Murderer’s Row of Whitney Deason, Celia Durkin, Lejla Hodzic, Theresa Logar, Jessica Nguyen, Anne Yelsey and Megan Doheny. Stanford celebrated on its home courts last year. Expect the Cardinal to be in a celebratory mood again in Athens this May.

CAL
Coach: Jan Brogan
‘06 Finish: 17-8, 2nd Round NCAA Regionals
• The Bears may have fallen short of the Sweet 16 last year, but Suzi Babos did bring home Cal’s first-ever NCAA singles title. Babos, who defeated Pac-10 foe Lindsey Nelson of USC for the crown, is in a great position to make a run for another title. The junior is currently ranked No. 3 in the nation and with fellow Hungarian Zsuzsanna Fodor is No. 2 in doubles. Newcomer Nina Henkel of Germany — the team’s lone freshman — won the ITA Northwest Regional in October and looks to make an immediate impact. Daron Moore, Cristina Visico, Marion Ravelojaona (France), Stephanie Kusano and Bojana Bobusic (Australia) give head coach Jan Brogan a formidable force that will no doubt be in the hunt for its share of May Madness.

FRESNO STATE
Coach: Simon Thibodeau
‘06 Finish: 20-7, WAC Champions, NCAA Round of 16
• Fresno State’s consecutive run to the NCAA tournament dates back to ‘96. That’s 11 straight appearances. And despite the loss of Lucia Sainz and Katharina Winterhalter — runners-up at the NCAA Doubles Championships — there’s no reason to think that streak will end now. Simon Thibodeau returns five, including Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe. Plus he’s added Renata Kucerkova, Anastasia Petukhova and Danon Beatty. Gloria enters the ‘07 campaign ranked at No. 4, having reached the ITA All-American final and the semis at both the ITA Regional and the Indoor Championships. With the ability to upend such programs as Cal and Sac State, Fresno State has to be considered a bona fide contender.

SACRAMENTO STATE
Coach: Dima Hrynashka
‘06 Finish: 14-9, Big Sky Conference Champions, 1st Round NCAA Regionals
• How will the Hornets survive the post-Karnaukhova era? Only time will tell. The first player in the 43-year history of the Big Sky Conference to earn four straight conference MVP awards and Sac State’s first-ever All-American honors, Margarita Karnaukhova never lost a conference singles match during an incredible four-year run that saw her reach the Round of 16 in individual play at the NCAAs. Coming off its fifth-consecutive Big Sky Conference title and having advanced to the NCAAs for the fifth-straight year, Sac State has forged a winning tradition. First-year head coach Dima Hrynashka’s international lineup of Katrina Bandere, Cecilia Helland, Karina Jarlkaganova, Anastassia Lyssenko, Joyce Martinez Gutierrez, Luba Schifris, and Aileen Tsan aims to carry on that tradition.

USF
Coach: Hilary Somers
‘06 Finish: 13-7, 1st Round WCC Championships
• Before Jennifer-Lee Heinser even made her Green ‘n’ Gold debut, it was clear the Floridian was destined to be an impact player. Heinser, one of the top recruits in USF women’s tennis history, a player who had reached the ‘05 French Open Junior Round of 16, claimed the ‘06 San Francisco City Open with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Stanford’s Lejla Hodzic. “She’s just the type of player we need to bring our program to another level,” said USF head coach Hillary Somers. Returning to a team that fell short at the WCC Championships is a trio of Frenchwomen — Mylene Martin (who was a perfect 20-0 at No. 5 singles), Sarah Oudomvilay and Camille Pamart — as well as Jenny Sperry, Kelly Hickey, Lauren Hickey, Jessica Kapoor, Joana Laranjinha de Macedo and Emma Taylor.

ST. MARY’S COLLEGE
Coach: Lisa Alipaz
‘06 Finish: 11-9, 2nd Round WCC Championships
• The Gaels had the misfortune of running into a hot Pepperdine team last year at the WCC Championships. With All-WCC selection Aude Lambert of France (who went 13-7 at No. 1) and WCC Freshman of the Year Erin Young returning to Lisa Alipaz’s lineup, SMC is gearing up for another post-season run. Filling out the international roster are Caitlin Aloia, Tahitian Feline Charlot, Aussie Jessica Hoath, Kathryn Malec, Stef Ordoveza and the potent (think six-foot twins) Dutch duo of Femke and Nienke Strybis.

UOP
Coach: Bob Chiene
‘06 Finish: 9-12, 1st Round Big West Conference Championships
• With 88 singles wins and counting, Russian Natalia Kostenko has quietly become Pacific’s all-time winningest player. But will her presence be enough to propel Pacific in the Big West? The Tigers are coming off an injury-plagued ‘06 and the unforeseen exit of prized recruit Jasmina Bogucanin. Healthy runs from Kostenko, All-Big West pick Vana Mrazovic, Carla Tamborini, Svenja Arens, Helen Schneider, Jolanta Twarowska, Sasha Fisher and Clara Schuhmacher could make the difference for head coach “Chino” Chiene.

UC-SANTA CRUZ
Coach: Erin Ness
‘06 Finish: 7-7, 1st Round NCAA Division III West Regionals
• First-year head coach Erin Ness returns to her alma mater to fill the void left by Dave Muldawer, who departs after nine seasons at the helm. The Slugs are blessed with eight returnees, including team leader Angel Zabala, who’ll be a fixture at No. 1 singles and doubles. Backing Zabala will be Emily Cook, Lauren Tisdale, Kelly Kerr, Chayla Furlong, Megan Sweeney, UC-Irvine transfer Jessica Ruth and Marjorie Youn, as well as freshmen Kyla Rowe and Chrissy Nichol.

UC-DAVIS
Coach: Bill Maze
‘06 Finish: 4-17
• Californians Herzyl Legaspi and Desiree Stone are nice pickups for Bill Maze, but the 11th-year coach and former doubles partner of John McEnroe still has his work cut out for him. Coming off a lackluster 4-17 campaign, he’ll need his recruits to step up big time if the Aggies are to avoid the losing streaks they endured last year, including a seven-match mid-season slide. Legaspi is a two-time Monticello Empire League champ out of Vallejo H.S., while Stone was undefeated in her final two seasons at North Hollywood H.S. “We feel lucky to have signed them,” said Maze. Robin Guier brings experience at the top of the lineup and will be backed by Anita Athavale, Kaitlin Callan, Jessica Harris, Jenna Kappel, Yuka Otaka, Andrea Phillips and Emma Shapiro.

SANTA CLARA
Coach: Ben Cabell
‘06 Finish: 7-13, 1st Round WCC Championships
• Ben Cabell is heading the Santa Clara program on an interim basis after spending two years as an assistant. He’ll be charged with returning the Broncs to the .500 mark and beyond. TCU transfer Lindsay McBride and surprise walk-on Meghan Madden could provide the spark Cabell is seeking. “Meghan has improved the most. She came in as a junior and has turned herself into a Division I player,” said Cabell. Samantha Georgino has been slowed by injuries, but is expected to make significant contributions, while Erika Barnes, Canadian Kim Daniel, Myra Davoudi, Stephanie Galainena, Casey Knutson, Michelle Luxton and Flavia Miracle will also see action.

The MEN

STANFORD
Coach: John Whitlinger
‘06 Finish: 18-4, Pac-10 Co-Champions, NCAA Quarterfinals
• While others regularly go global in search of the next great thing, the Stanford men have historically refrained from dipping their toes into the foreign talent pool. That is until now. Enter England’s Richard Wire, who recently defeated defending NCAA singles champion Ben Kohlloeffel of UCLA at the Sherwood Cup. And enter Ireland’s Paul Morrissey, who reached the doubles final with teammate Blake Muller at October’s ITA Northwest Regional. Of course, as always, the top homegrown guys are there, too, including Matt Bruch, Eric McKean, Phil Kao, David Ryan, James Wan, Jeff Zeller and newcomer Kevin Kaiser, a former NorCal junior standout. But early-season derailings against Boise State, USC and UCLA don’t bode well for a team aiming at ending a six-year NCAA title drought.

CAL
Coach: Peter Wright
‘06 Finish: 16-7, 2nd Round NCAA Regionals
• A 4-0 loss in the NCAA Regionals at the hands of rival Stanford wasn’t exactly the ‘05-’06 ending the Bears had envisioned. But despite the loss of Pac-10 Player of the Year Conor Niland, a retooled Cal lineup should have them in the thick of it again in ‘07. Daniel Sebescen/ Pierre Mouillon recently won the ITA Northwest Regional doubles (knocking off Stanford’s Paul Morrissey/Blake Muller); Tyler Browne has put a hip injury behind him and returns after going 23-12; Eoin Heavey is back in business after having his season cut short by a foot fracture; Peter Wright has added former Norwegian doubles champ Nicolai Horgen and highly sought-after recruit Kallim Stewart, as well as transfers Carsten Thorstensen (UC-Santa Barbara) and Geoff Chizever (University of Colorado); and the Bears return Ken Nakahara, Vaclav Burger and John Pettit. Early losses to USC and UCLA shouldn’t keep them from a trip to Athens, Ga., for a Sweet 16 appearance.

FRESNO STATE
Coach: Jay Udwadia
‘06 Finish: 14-7, WAC Championships Runner-Up
• Fresno State went 10-0 on its home courts last year and reached the WAC final, but didn’t make the cut when it came to qualifying for the NCAA Regionals. However, don’t count the ‘Dogs out of a run at May Madness in ‘07. Leading the way for Jay Udwadia & Co. is Jakub Cech, who won the ITA Northwest Regional in October by defeating the likes of Stanford’s Paul Morrissey and Cal’s Pierre Mouillon. Also making waves at the Regionals were Charles Irie, Greg Jackson, Mirko Zapletal, Rudolf Siwy and Taylor Leiby. New to the program is Santa Clara transfer A.J. Kerin, who won 40 matches in two seasons with the Broncos.

UOP
Coach: Guido Baumann
‘06 Finish: 14-8, Big West Conference Championships Runner-Up
• The loss of All-Big West hitters Arnar Sigurdsson and Jorgen Vestli (28 wins combined in ‘06) will surely reverberate, but Guido Baumann does return a formidable mix that includes Vladimir Zdravkovic, Tim Koniarski and Moritz Starke. Zdravkovic went 12-5 last year at No. 3, while Koniarski and Starke contributed 22 wins in the bottom half of the lineup. UOP always manages to slip under the radar.

UC-SANTA CRUZ
Coach: Bob Hansen
‘06 Finish: 13-7, 2nd Round NCAA Division III Championships
• The changing of the guard that wasn’t. Santa Cruz, which fell short of the D3 Championships’ Elite Eight for the first time in 18 years, appeared to have bid farewell to perhaps the most dominant player ever to set foot on a D3 court — Matt Seeberger. With one year of eligibility remaining, Seeberger, who won two NCAA D3 singles and doubles titles and helped guide his teammates to a team crown, had transferred to D1 Hawaii. But no sooner had he joined the Rainbow Warriors than he was back with the Banana Slugs. A case of cold feet perhaps? Seeberger will be joined by transfer Jeffrey Fong and Brian Pybas, as well as returnees Donny Divanian, Justin Dorfman, Kian Fattahi, Ilya Gendelman, Jared Kamel, Bryan Lee, Max Liberty-Point, Colin Mark-Griffin, Aaron Morrill, Max Ortiz, Conner Schiller, Julian Sunn, Alexander Villalobos and Justin Woodjack.

SACRAMENTO STATE
Coach: Vyacheslav Konikov
‘06 Finish: 12-11, 2nd Round Big Sky Conference Championships
• Sac State — the winner of five of the last nine Big Sky titles — welcomes a strong recruiting class that boasts reigning NorCal 18s Sectionals champ Xavier Barajas-Smith, Timothy Lantin and Anton Stryhas. In addition, the Hornets feature four returnees, including All-Big Sky performer Gabriel Loredo, Warwick Foy, Ramon Perez and Hague Van Dillen. But do they have the stuff to qualify for the NCAA Regionals?

ST. MARY’S
Coach: Michael Wayman
‘06 Finish: 11-9, 1st Round WCC Championships
• Frenchman Joel Kusnierz turned heads at the ITA Northwest Regional in October when he knocked off Pac-10ers Geoff Chizever of Cal, Blake Muller of Stanford and Daniel Chu of Washington in succession. That bodes well for Gaels head coach Michael Wayman, who’ll also call on Adam Fauvre, Dan Anderson, Thomas Dawson-Roberts, Achim Christner, Alp Ozpinar, Yury Platonov, Andre Sion and newcomer Andrea Zannoni. An upset of Arizona is a sign that the Gaels are headed in the right direction.

SANTA CLARA
Coach: George Husack
‘06 Finish: 14-15, 2nd Round WCC Championships
• Coming off an up-and-down ‘05-’06 campaign, the Broncos return all but one starter and have added four. George Husack will count on upperclassmen Jan Macek (an All-WCC selection), a healthy Bobby Rasmussen, Kevin McQuaid, Blane Shields, TCU transfer Robert Gallman, Brian Brogan, Tommy Hicks (24 wins last year) and Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong. The incoming freshmen include Jay Wong, Steven Benvenuto and Joe Galbraith, whose uncle, Pat Galbraith, reached the Wimbledon doubles final in ‘93 and ‘94. “We learned a lot last year about how opportunities can come and go,” said Husack.

USF
Coach: Peter Bartlett
‘06 Finish: 10-14, 2nd Round WCC Championships
• Peter Bartlett’s Dons are coming off a Jekyl-and-Hyde season. One minute USF was beating UC-Davis, UOP, St. Mary’s and Santa Clara, the next they were falling to non-powerhouses Minnesota and New Mexico. Playing with more consistency will be priority No. 1. The good news is Matt Berry and Thong Tu turned in strong outings at the ITA Northwest Regional. Tu overpowered Cal’s John Petit 6-2, 6-1, while Berry bested Sac State’s Warrick Foy 7-6(2), 6-1. Freshman Asaf Cohen notched three wins at the UOP Invitational, while Torin Ching, Matt Berry and Falko Huettenberger also enjoyed strong outings.

UC-DAVIS
Coach: Daryl Lee
‘06 Finish: 7-13
• Limping to a 7-13 finish last year, the Aggies were clearly due for an overhaul. Perhaps that’s why the majority of the ‘06-’07 roster is made up of new faces. Daryl Lee was a busy man in the off-season inking talent, many of whom honed their skills at Bay Area high schools. The additions include Nicholas Amaroli (St. Ignatius), Simon Cheng (Leland H.S.), Kevin Liang (Mira Loma), Thomas McGee (De La Salle), Peter Del Moral and brothers Hunter and Tyler Lee, as well as Boston College transfer Michael Reiser. Providing leadership will be returnees Michael Chin, Daniel Elefant, Jayce Fitch, Justin Garcia, Henri Landes and Casey McMakin. The Aggies are in the midst of a four-year transition from D2 to D1, and will be full members of the Big West Conference beginning in ‘08.

 

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