Women's tennis underway

Cal Poly’s women’s tennis team is ready to hit the fall courts with a vengeance after just missing out on claiming the Big West Conference title last year. The fall season officially begins this week as the team competes at the ITA All-American Championships Tournament.

“We need to prepare to compete at the highest level every time out, no excuses,” said head coach Hugh Bream. “(We need to) play every match with the intensity with which we finished the year at the Big West Championships.”

Last spring the team placed second in the Big West, a very strong finish for a team that lost its No. 1 player and all-time wins leader, Carol Erickson, at midseason due to a forearm injury. With a team of two sophomores and five freshmen, Cal Poly still managed to upset No. 1 seeded UC Irvine in the semi-finals before losing to No. 2 Long Beach in the finals.

Now with a very strong team of women ready to pound the court, this may be the year the Mustangs own the title.

“We can be a Top 30 team and a No. 2 seed at NCAA Regionals if we commit fully on a daily basis to working hard and improving,” said Bream. “I see many positive signs early that this will happen but tennis is a marathon, not a sprint, with competitive play from September to mid-May.”

“We were the most improved team in the conference last season and will need to be again to win it. Athletically and depth-wise, we are way ahead of last year,” Bream continued.

Sophomore Brittany Blalock, who won the title of Big West Conference Freshman of the Year and finished at Cal Poly’s No. 1 singles and doubles positions last year, will prove to be a strong contender on the court along with the other returning starters.

“Brittany is a physically strong and aggressive player who loves to play the best,” Bream said.

Sophomore Steffi Wong played No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles with Blalock last year. “Personally, I’m looking forward to getting back and improving on last year,” she said. “As far as our team goes, with our new players and with our experience from last year, we’re a lot deeper . I think we definitely have a chance at the Big West.”

Junior team captains Maria Malec and Shannon Brady return to the courts after some outstanding wins at Pepperdine and Arizona State last year and with a productive offseason under their belts.

“Their motivation, character and drive will carry us a long way,” their coach stated. “As team leaders, they are without peer.”

Other returning sophomores are Diane Filip – who finished her spring season as the conference’s top player at No. 4 singles – and key players Melissa Bradford and Devin Peek.

Bream is also excited about the new additions to the Cal Poly team. Whitney Peterson is a junior transfer from USC who was selected for this week’s All-American Tournament. Bream said, “Whit is explosive, talented and highly motivated and will make a major impact for us.”

Freshman Amy Markhoff comes to Cal Poly from Washington and is looking to make a strong debut in both doubles and singles this year. “She is a 5-10 extremely athletic player who covers the net better than 90 percent of Division I players as a freshman,” Bream boasts. “With hard work on the groundstrokes, she can be a future All-American.”

Rounding out the Mustang women’s tennis roster is Brooke Pletcher, a promising freshman from Laguna Niguel.

The team left this weekend for the 2007 ITA All-American Championships Tournament in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The tournament began yesterday and will proceed until Oct. 7 and places the Mustangs up against strong competition including Stanford, UCLA, USC and Georgia Tech.

“The All-American Tournament is a highly selective event with only the top 150 players nationally competing,” said Bream. “It is a premier showcase event that we feel fortunate to have five players participating in. We have the opportunity for breakthrough performances as well as the opportunity to learn from competing with the best nationally.”