Feb. 1, 2006
Briefly... Loyola Marymount returns home after a 1-1 split in Hawaii to face three teams in three days this weekend. The Lions will have their home opener against Wisconsin on Friday, February 3 at 1:30 p.m., at the LMU Tennis Center. The Lions will then start West Coast Conference play when they travel to San Diego to face San Francisco Saturday, before taking on the host Toreros Sunday.
A Closer Look at the Opponents... Wisconsin enters Friday's match with a 2-0 record. The Badgers come in with a win over DePaul. USF is coming off a 4-3 loss to Fresno State, but defeated the University of Hawaii on January 23. The Dons enter Saturday's match with a 1-1 record this year like the Lions. The Lions will then take on USD, who is ranked 37th in the nation. USD is 2-1 on the season and is coming off a victory over the UNLV Rebels. This is USD's second straight win, after falling to 5th-ranked UCLA to start the season. The Lions will look for a strong start in conference play on Saturday and Sunday as the results will help decide the seeding of the WCC Championships in April.
Malet, Phillips Return Undefeated... Loyola Marymount opened the season with a 6-0 sweep of Hawaii-Hilo last week on Thursday. After defeating the Vulcans, the Lions took on the Rainbow Warriors in Honolulu. Junior Matt Phillips and senior Carlos Malet remained perfect in 2006, picking up singles wins Saturday at Hawaii, but it was not enough to help the Lions' overcome the Rainbow Warriors. The Lions, playing without standout Nico Terrien, fell 5-2 in Honolulu.
The Big Question?... The Lions hope for the return of standout player Nico Terrien. Last week Terrien missed his second match of the season Saturday due to an ankle injury. He is questionable for this weekend's action against Wisconsin, San Francisco, and 37th-ranked San Diego. Without Terrien the lions will look for others to step it up in singles play.
Terrien Notches Top Ranking in Program History... Nico Terrien made program history this fall, becoming the highest nationally-ranked singles player LMU men's tennis has ever produced. Terrien began the 2005 fall season ranked 76th in the nation in the ITA preseason rankings. Terrien completed the 2004-05 season ranked 125th in the final rankings. He jumped from 125th to 76th in the preseason poll. Terrien's 2005 final ranking marked the first time in program history that a Lion has finished the season as a ranked player. This preseason ranking makes him the all-time highest ranked individual for LMU men's tennis. The LMU men's tennis program has had ranked singles players and doubles teams in the past, but none have been able to finish the season in the rankings or break into the top 90. Terrien was also ranked 29th in the ITA's west region. The Lions' junior, who was the 2004 WCC Freshman of the Year, finished 2005 with a 15-10 overall record after missing the fall season due to an injured playing hand. His spring season was highlighted by a victory over 2004 WCC Player of the Year Pedro Rico of Pepperdine. Rico had been as high as eighth in the nation during the season.
Program Adds First Assistant Coach... Sri Lanka native and UC Irvine graduate Renouk Wijemanne joins the Lions as an assistant coach. Wijemanne becomes the program's first assistant coach. Wijemanne, who hails from Colombo, Sri Lanka, was a national champion in his native country as a junior. He played for Sri Lanka's Davis Cup team in 1999, 2001, 2004, and 2005, accumulating a Davis Cup singles record of 11-7. He was a collegiate student-athlete at UC Irvine from 2001 to 2004, graduating with a double major in mathematics and economics. While playing with the Anteaters, Wijemanne was a three-time Big West Conference Scholar-Athlete. He also garnered ITA Scholar-Athlete honors in 2004. Wijemanne went on to play the professional circuit in 2005, achieving world rankings in both singles and doubles.
Head Coach Nik DeVore... Head Coach Nik DeVore is in his fifth season after four successful years at the helm of the LMU men's tennis program. Since joining the LMU staff, DeVore and the Lions entered the 2006 season with an impressive 62-36 over the past four seasons and have finished in the top three in the West Coast Conference two of the past four years. In 2002, the Lions finished 20-6 overall, 14-0 at home, and defeated 57th-ranked Santa Clara for third place in the WCC, with all of these marks setting program records. For his efforts, DeVore was named 2001-02 WCC Coach of the Year. In 2002-03, facing an even tougher schedule, the Lions finished 15-10 overall. Nine of their 10 losses were to nationally-ranked programs, and the Lions defeated nationally-ranked Colorado, Yale, and UAB along the way. In 2003-04, with a team of mostly freshman who started the season 3-5, the young Lions went on to win twelve of their final sixteen matches to finish 15-9 overall and third in the WCC. That season, LMU also achieved a top-75 national team ranking for the first time in school history after defeating nationally-ranked Yale. Most recently in 2004-05, the Lions rallied to win eight of their final ten matches after starting the season 4-9 to finish 12-11 overall. Eight of their 11 losses were to nationally-ranked opponents.
-GO LIONS-
