Jan. 26, 2010

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - LMU was picked to finish middle of the conference at 5th on the men's side and 4th on the women's. The 2009 West Coast Conference champions, Pepperdine were once again picked as the overall conference favorites in the preseason coaches poll.

The LMU men have three seniors on their roster and with two talented sophomore transfers, they are looking to be a formidable opponent in the west coast conference. Already in their fall season, junior Ivan Lopez emerged as the Lion's top player. As of January 5th, Lopez was ranked 87th nationally for singles while Lopez and partner Otto Sauer were ranked 60th overall in doubles play. Lopez's strong start was also acknowledged by the conference as he was polled as a preseason All-Conference singles player. In addition to Lopez, the Lions will be looking to seniors Borja Malet, Renzo Maggi and Nick Von Der Ahe to lead the Lions to success.

Looking at the conference poll, Pepperdine garnered seven first place votes in the men's poll; currently ranked No. 17 in the ITA national rankings they will be the team to beat this spring. San Diego, last year's second place finisher in the WCC, received the remaining first place vote and a total of 41 points to take second place in the preseason poll. San Francisco was picked third with 33 points, while Santa Clara came in fourth with one less point than the Dons. Loyola Marymount received 24 points, edging out Portland, who received 21 points from the coaches. Saint Mary's came in seventh with 16 points, and Gonzaga rounded out the poll with eight.

Under head coach Jamie Sanchez, the LMU women are looking to have a successful conference season. Seniors Audrey Bulkley, Maria Garcia-Planas Albert, Bliss Nixon, and Jane Pringle, will bring leadership and experience to the Lion's roster. They will also be looking to junior Jasmin Heckel for strong singles play. In addition the Lion's have a well-rounded and talented coaching staff including new assistants Cintia Tortorella and Eric Basica to help lead the Lions to success.

In the conference on the women's side, Pepperdine and Saint Mary's were both chosen to finish first this year. Coming off another conference title last year, the Waves are currently ranked No. 40 in the ITA rankings while unranked Saint Mary's garnered the same amount of first place votes in the WCC preseason poll. Joining the Waves in the ITA rankings is No. 59-ranked San Diego with 37 points in the preseason poll for a third place spot. Loyola Marymount was selected fourth with 28 points, just one point ahead of San Francisco. Santa Clara took sixth with 17 points, while Portland and Gonzaga rounded out the poll with 14 and nine points, respectively.

2010 WCC Men's Tennis Preseason Poll
1. Pepperdine - 49 (7)
2. San Diego - 41 (1)
3. San Francisco - 33
4. Santa Clara - 32
5. Loyola Marymount - 24
6. Portland - 21
7. Saint Mary's - 16
8. Gonzaga - 8
(First place votes)

2010 WCC Women's Tennis Preseason Poll 1. Pepperdine - 46 (4)
1. Saint Mary's - 46 (4)
3. San Diego - 37
4. Loyola Marymount - 28
5. San Francisco - 27
6. Santa Clara - 17
7. Portland - 14
8. Gonzaga - 9
(First place votes)

The WCC men's and women's tennis coaches were also asked to vote on their preseason all-conference selections. Six singles players on the men's and women's side received those honors.
Preseason All-Conference Singles Players
Men Dean Jackson, USD
Bassam Beidas, PEP
Alex Llompart, PEP
Filip Zivkovic, POR
Ivan Lopez, LMU
Nikola Bubnic, USD

Women
Jenni Heinser, USF
Alex Poorta, SMC
Juliette Coupez, USD
Anamika Bhargava, PEP
Alexandria Walters, PEP
Anna Chikhikvishvili, SMC