March 15, 2011
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -
Briefly: This past week the Lions returned for a tough week of competition against Georgetown and then travelled up North to Saint Mary's and San Francisco. The Lions recorded a big win over Georgetown before falling to Saint Mary's and finally had to call the match to rain against San Francisco. This week the Lions will once again face a full schedule facing Columbia on Thursday at 1:30 and Louisville on Saturday at 11:00am. The Lions are 5-8 overall this season.
Inside the Lions: The Lions welcomed five new faces to their roster this season. They have a young, but talented team who's fresh competitive drive has already shown an impact in both their preseason play and so far in their competitive spring season. The WCC recognized the improvements to their roster, picking the Lions to finish 5th in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll even after going 0-9 in conference last year. The Lions have already seen strong play from April Bisharat, a transfer from UC Irvine, Bisharat has played at the Lion's number one position all season going 5-7 in singles play against nationally ranked players. Miya Jin has also started off with stellar play as just a freshman in both singles where she has earned a 7-6 winning record and 4-9 record with doubles partner Ashley Anderson, a transfer from University of Washington. The Lions have played four home matches and five on the road so far this season.
Lions to Watch: The Lions most recently recorded a win over Georgetown University and then traveled up North to face conference opponents Saint Mary's College and University of San Francisco. In singles play, Melissa Valenzuela, set her singles record to 5-4 overall, most recently recording back-to-back wins in Hawaii before dropping two matches. Freshman Miya Jin earned her fourth straight singles with a win over Santa Clara's McGeorge but was unable to keep this streak; Jin is now 7-6 in singles play on the season as just a freshman. Reka Rohonyi has had solid singles play recently recording four straight wins before falling to Hawaii. Rohonyi has regained her winning edge with a victory over Georgetown and is 6-6 overall in singles. Ashley Anderson was 2-0 in Hawaii with back-to-back singles wins and kept this winning streak over Georgetown before falling to Saint Mary's. April Bisharat also regained her competitive edge with a win against Hawaii and Georgetown before falling to Saint Mary's. In doubles, Junior Elisaveta Pironkova and freshman Reka Rohonyi set their record to 8-5 going 2-0 in Hawaii and recording another win over Georgetown before falling to Saint Mary's. April Bisharat and Melissa Valenzuela teamed up for the first time against Georgetown and recorded two straight wins with Lion's only win against Saint Mary's at the Lions number three position.
