March 10, 2011
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -
Briefly:
The men returned from their spring break series in Hawaii to face College of Charleston this past Sunday and conference opponent Gonzaga on Friday March 11th. The men went 1-1 in Hawaii falling to the University of Hawaii but earned a win over Hawaii Pacific. The Lions then came back to record a win over College of Charleston 5-2 with strong play in singles. The Lions are 4-7 overall and 1-4 in conference and are looking to get a win over Gonzaga this Friday.
Inside the Lions:
The Lions welcome six new faces to the team this year returning only three veterans from last year. With such a young team, the Lions are talented and have the potential to develop as a team throughout the season. This young talent and fresh competitive drive already was recognized by the conference, as the WCC coaches picked the Lions to finish 4th at the conference tournament this year. Already the Lions have shown promise winning their first three matches of the season including a big win over conference opponents St. Mary's. However after this strong start, the Lions had a few rocky matches until they regained some of their early momentum with a back-to-back win in their last two matches. With both big wins and tough losses already this season, the young team will definitely be one to watch throughout the spring.
Lions to Watch:
In doubles, freshman Daniel Simko and sophomore Nicholas Bjerke have moved up in the Lion's line up to play the number one doubles position this season. The duo is 5-5 on the season thus far and 3-1 in conference with wins over Saint Mary's, Santa Clara and San Francisco. The duo had three back-to-back wins at the end of January into the beginning of February including a win over San Francisco, but suffered two losses before earning another win over Hawaii Pacific. Alex Wilton and Sebastian Bustamante have regained some of their winning record, with two straight wins over Hawaii Pacific and College of Charleston to make them 4-6 overall. In singles, the Lion's line up has been playing pretty consistent even with such a young team. Freshman Alex Wilton started off the season with four straight wins before dropping four on the road, Wilton is 5-6 on the season with wins over Santa Clara and St. Mary's. Wilton and doubles partner Sebastian Bustamante both earned two straight singles wins over Hawaii Pacific and College of Charleston. Freshman Daniel Simko also set his singles record to 5-6 with a win over Hawaii Pacific this past week. Transfer Nicholas Bjerke's singles play has been key in some of the Lion's wins. Playing at the number two and three singles spot, Bjerke is 6-4 in singles overall and 3-1 in conference play with his only loss to USD. Bjerke recorded two straight wins over this past week. After dropping three straight matches, freshman Tom Price earned two wins most recently to set his singles record to 5-5 in singles.
