April 28, 2011

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The conference named LMU's April Bisharat to the All-WCC First Team Singles team for her stellar play at the WCC Tournament this past weekend. Bisharat earned top singles wins at the conference over Portland and USF on the final to days to help advance the Lions to a fifth place finish overall. Bisharat and doubles partner Melissa Valenzuela also earned second team All-WCC for their doubles play at the tournament.

Bisharat ended her season with a 13-10 overall singles record and won two straight singles matches on the last two days of the WCC Tournament in convincing fashion to earn her a first team recognition. Bisharat shut our Stephanie Fuchs of Portland 6-0, 6-0 on Friday and then a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Wartenburger of USF on the final day that helped the Lions to win the consolation bracket for the tournament. Bisharat led the Lions throughout the course of the tournament with her top play and gave the Lions momentum to earn some notable victories after dropping their first match of the weekend to Pepperdine.

In doubles, Bisharat and partner Melissa Valenzuela was also named to the All-WCC second team for their doubles play over the course of the weekend. Earlier this season, the duo recorded wins over top-50 nationally ranked teams and continued to play strong in the post season. The duo earned two straight wins on the final two days of the tournament, shutting out San Francisco 8-0 in their final match. The duo ended their season 6-7 playing at the Lions number one doubles position and then was 2-0 in the tournament.

Full listing of the 2011 West Coast Conference women's tennis honors are listed bellow:

Player of the Year: Alex Poorta, Saint Mary's
Freshman of the Year: Katie Le, Santa Clara
Coach of the Year: Sherri Stephens, San Diego

2011 All-WCC First Team - Singles
Alex Poorta, Saint Mary's
Anamika Bhargava, Pepperdine
April Bisharat, Loyola Marymount
Arianna Colffer, Pepperdine
Catherine Isip, Saint Mary's
Laura Claus, San Diego

2011 All-WCC Second Team - Singles
Claire Soper, Saint Mary's
Juliette Coupez, San Diego
Katie Le, Santa Clara
Lacey Pflibsen, Portland
Khunpak Issara, Pepperdine
Stephanie Hoffpauir, San Diego

Honorable Mention: Andrea Oates, PEP; Anna Depenau, USD; Cecilia Gratian, USF; Jenny Jullien, SMC; Josymar Escalona, USD; Kacie Wagner, SCU; Kelly Lamble, SCU; Maja Sujica, USD; Rika Mendhiratta, GON

2011 All-WCC First Team - Doubles
Ale Granillo/Khunpak Issara, Pepperdine
Anamika Bhargava/Marie Zalameda, Pepperdine
Juliette Coupez/Stephanie Hoffpauir, San Diego

2011 All-WCC Second Team - Doubles
April Bisharat/Melissa Valenzuela, Loyola Marymount
Claire Soper/Jenny Jullien, Saint Mary's
Jessica Agra/Katie Le, Santa Clara

Honorable Mention: Anna Depenau/Maja Sujica, USD; Catherine Isip/Laurie Gingras, SMC; Cecile Duriez/Yurie Hashiguchi, USF; Danielle Farmer/Rika Mendhiratta, GON; Josymar Escalona/Laura Claus, USD; Kelly Lamble/Maggie McGeorge, SCU; Lacey Pflibsen/Valeska Hoath, POR