Hey there tennis fans!

"Survive and advance." -Jamie Sanchez

            The Lady Lions will roar no longer as our season came to an end this week during the second round of the Conference Championship Tournament at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.

            We road tripped down two hours south with fire in our bellies and with the will to win. The week that we bring up on the first week of tennis in September and essentially what we think about all year finally came. We faced BYU in our first round, the competitors we had just lost to in our final regular season conference match. This time it was different. The Lions avenged and clinched a win to knock out BYU in the first round of the tournament. It was huge, and a big shout out to Tory Parravi on No. 2 for making that possible in that close final match.

In our second round match against Santa Clara, it looked as though our match could not have been predicted until the very end. Ironically, Santa Clara had us in the same position last year during the second round of the conference tournament Unfortunately this year, Santa Clara just won one more match that they needed to beat us for four total wins forcing the remaining match to stop.

 It's heartbreaking to see such a hardworking, dedicated and passionate team finish so abruptly, but by no means did we not put up a fight through and through. Like Jamie told us, "Survive and advance." We did not have to pull unbelievable stunts to win. We just needed to win the match or matches necessary to collectively claim the victory. Although the Lion's outcome wasn't in the way we wanted it, I am so incredibly proud of each and every one of my teammates. It's a long grueling season of long practice hours, strength training lifts, training room visits, and then factor in classes and homework and papers for days, but hey that's what student athletes are all about. Setting an example for the school as role-models is what I like to think of us as.

We all are going to miss our seniors, April and Adri so much! April, you have been such a tenacious fighter and have the best 'refuse to lose' mentality that I've ever seen in any competitor. It's no wonder when your match record speaks for itself. And Adri, despite your injuries, you have stayed with the utmost positivity that is so contagious and I admire your work ethic so much. It's as if a part of our family is leaving. We spend so much time together, it's hard to think that they won't be back with us. But I wish them the best of luck with their futures! They both shed a tearful goodbye at the final huddle following our match. Now go take on the world!

            It has been a pleasure blogging for you readers out there this season. I had a blast and I hope to continue it on next year as well. I wish you all a very relaxing and enjoyable summer.

Until next season!

Logan

Hey there tennis fans!

"The past is history, the future is a mystery. Today is a gift that is why we call it the present." -Jamie Sanchez

            No, Coach Jamie didn't actually come up with that quote on his own...I admit that I was fooled for a second though. I was one of the only girls on the team who hadn't heard that quote before. The quote was definitely pertinent to our circumstances this past week both on and off the court.

            For our final home match of the season against the Pepperdine Waves on Wednesday, we tried to create the best and most supportive atmosphere that we could get! We created an event on facebook, made it all of our statuses on facebook, talked to everyone we knew and even didn't know even about our big match. As a Communications major here at LMU, I feel like this was a great way to practice my marketing skills. LMU students sometimes don't find out about sport games unless it's through 'word of mouth.' We also had free pizza and jamba juice at the match to help reel in a bigger crowd as well, which definitely worked to our benefit. I was pretty impressed with the turnout. There were definitely people that stayed longer than to just simply grab a piece of pizza. Some were genuinely interested in our match and wanted to rep some school spirit. Plus some wanted to know the rules of the game because it was all a pretty foreign concept to them. We really appreciated the support though. Thanks so much for everyone who came out! Jamie is also arranged for a radio host from "radiotennis.com" commentate our whole match. It was awesome! A few of the girls on our team, including myself got to make announcements every few games or so. That was a cool experience! I have never been on the radio before!

            Unfortunately the Lions battled tough losses this week against the Waves and BYU on Saturday. It's a bummer to lose but these teams were tough and it did not come down to our lack of talent, it was just execution. On any given day, we can beat any of the teams in our conference. But it just didn't go our way for some of the matches in the bottom half of our season. But we cannot dwell on the past. As the quote says, "The past is history." The only thing that we should channel our energy towards now is the Conference tournament. The future may be a mystery, but we must be positive and focused for what is to come because this is the part of the season that matters the most. And I believe in my team and the determination we have. Bring it on Conference! We're ready for you.

            On Tuesday, we head down to San Diego for the Conference tournament where we play at the nice facilities of the Barnes Tennis Center. Wish us the best of luck if you see any of Lady lions around campus! We hope to make you all proud and bring home the championship!

Until next time!

Logan

Hey there tennis fans!

"I wish I could understand women. . ." -Coach Jamie Sanchez

            That was the line that Coach Jamie said that stuck out and made our team laugh in our meeting on Monday when he went into telling one of his 'stories.' Gotta love those... After his 38^th year coaching the women's tennis team here at LMU, you can say that Jamie has been predominantly surrounded by women his whole life. I have to give him major credit for that. The amount of nonsense that he has to put up with on the daily is beyond me! This sort of goes back to his notion about not understanding women, because in all honesty, no one does! But hey, he can't say that we don't provide him with endless amount of entertainment. We keep him youthful as he gets to stay hip with all the current college lingo, gossip and music and whatever other silly things us girls talk about.

            This is the third week in a row where we've maintained a spot in the rankings. Down to No. 71 this week! We are getting closer and closer to the end of the season and that means the big conference tournament! We had a crazy match-filled week this week.

On Wednesday, we played CSU Fullerton in a non-conference match where we posted a solid 5-2 score. Friday, we traveled to San Diego where we played 2012 defending conference champs, the USD Toreros. We barely lost 3-4 in by far one of our closest matches thus far this season. Every court, each girl was fought with such tenacity and heart. We really came together as a team for this match in that when certain match situations didn't go our way, other situations worked out as each of us had each others backs the whole way through. I am so incredibly proud of the efforts that we showed out there and I have no doubt that the next time we face them, that the outcome will be in our favor. Prior to the match, Jamie told all of us that at this point in the season, "We have to be ourselves." There is no other person or player that we need to strive to be or play like. We must play with the game and embrace the talent that we do possess because the best we can play is at our personal best. And this certainly applies to every day life situations as well.

Following our match in San Diego, we came right back to school to travel again the next day and this time to St. Mary's in Moraga on Saturday morning for a Sunday match. We fell just short with another 3-4 score. Have it be another day where we face them, we can beat them. That score is too close not to think it could have gone the other way. So next time, if we do in fact play St. Mary's we'll be prepared for the win to go our way, much like our logic with the USD match.

            This Wednesday, we play our biggest rival, Pepperdine at our final home match and then off to Utah for BYU on Saturday for our last conference match. The season is quickly coming to a close. We would really love all the support we can get. That being said, please please please come out to watch your fierce Lions against Pepperdine at 1:30. I promise you, it will be one match you will not want to miss!

Until next time!

Logan

Hey there tennis fans!

"Instead of leaning back, lean in and lean on . . ." -Jamie Sanchez

            I hope you all had a nice Easter. In our weekly meeting, our coach, Jamie brought up to us that he cares a great deal for us and not in the way that he feels obliged to say that because he is our coach, but because he truly and genuinely cares about each and everyone of us. I know I speak on behalf of the team that that means the world to us. Each member of the team has a different role and we all have different personalities that make our team a whole. Sure we may be a handful at times and drive our coaches crazy, but they wouldn't want us any other way. We are leaving a memorable legacy for our years at LMU.

Being a part of a team that has great chemistry and are so tight-knit, we tend to 'lean in' and 'lean on' more than we 'lean back.' This can be as little as reminding each other what color we are supposed to wear for practice or match that day or just being that supportive cushion when someone is having a rough day. I think Jamie knows we do this but he just likes to make us aware that just these simple factors can contribute to our success in our matches.

            And our wins thus far this season hold true to this notion. We've jumped to No. 61 in the rankings last week in the rankings! So so proud of my Lions!

            After the conclusion of a successful pre-conference season, we finally started our conference matches this week. We opened with Santa Clara on Thursday, and I could tell going into the match that we all were a little nervous and anxious. I would say that those emotions toyed with our game play especially in the doubles. We started off a little slow, and didn't seem to capitalize with the games and mentalities that I know I we all possess.  A big shout out to April playing at 1 who upset the No. 28 ranked player in the nation, Katie Le. Similar situations seemed to have taken place. Similar unfortunate situations happened in our match against USF. The doubles point could have been ours with the difference of a game or two and that partly shifted our fired-up intensive energy into the singles. But all the singles matches were well fought and super close throughout.

A pair of 2-5 losses were not the results we wanted into our Easter weekend. It is difficult to take any conference loss match lightly because every conference match is crucial. This is when it really counts. But I have so much faith in our team! I really do. Like Jamie always says, "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all." I know that the passion and unconditional support that we all have for each other will help us get through the tough losses and bounce back for our next round of matches.

This week we have back to matches on Friday and Saturday. Friday we play Portland and Saturday, we play Gonzaga. I know everyone out there has busy lives, but if you could spare some time to support your LMU Women's Tennis Team, it would mean so much to us!

Until next time!

Logan

Hey there tennis fans!

"Your destiny is in your hands."-Jamie Sanchez

Our team always jokes around that our coach, Jamie comes up with these captivating quotes that need to be documented in some way. My teammate, Miya thinks that his 'daily quotes' need to be written in those calendars where there's always an inspirational quote featured on the top of each page. Well at least for the sake of the blog, I am going to try to capture a memorable quote from Jamie throughout the week that I can use as my opening thought and could in fact inspire you readers as much as it does to my team and me. Some might even humor you as much as some do to us as well.

Our team mascot, Munchie (the squirrel) seems to have been M.I.A. these days...and it has started to worry us. It is no wonder, though,  when all we did was feed him a ridiculous amount of trail mix...How can he turn down an ample supply of the munchies? So he's clearly been overdosing on the nuts...I mean, it's normal for a squirrel to be nuts about 'nuts' but we may have taken it a little far. We'll definitely have to ease up on those generous donations of food to our beloved mascot.

Your LMU Lady Lions clinched a huge win over Princeton on Thursday against No. 62 ranked Princeton! After fluctuating in and out of the rankings, we jumped back into the No. 75 this week, and only to prove that we will continue to fight for a deserving spot in the top. After losing the doubles point, we knew we had to come out strong for the singles. It came down to Kristine's match on court 5, and she won so we claimed a 4-3 victory over the Tigers! On any given day, I know we can beat any team. That is just so 100% confident I am in my team. Not only do we have the talent to do so, but because we have the heart and determination. Jamie and Ivan always reiterate to us that are capable of beating any team we come across as long as we are disciplined enough to execute the games that each of us do have and that can really become effective for us as we get into the crucial part of the season.

I want to give a huge shout out to Kristine who is a perfect example of someone who put up a tenacious fight against Princeton this past week. She proved that she will do whatever it takes to win...to give every last bit of energy and drive to get there. She is such an inspiration!

The Lions continued the dominance into Saturday after our win over Dartmouth to cap off our Ivy League-filled weekend of competitors. Both of these teams played with strategic and tactical approaches that took a little time to adjust, but it was nothing that our Lady Lions couldn't handle. We played with patience and perseverance and it showed!

We are approaching Conference matches this coming week! Yeah, it's getting real. This is when it really counts! So we gotta keep that fired-up intensity. As we go into our Spring Break long weekend, we will get into two heated battles against University of San Francisco (USF) on Thursday and Santa Clara on Saturday.

Wish us luck! And have a Happy Easter!

Until next time!

Logan

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Hey there tennis fans!

            We found out that our coach is a celebrity this week...On our schedule for the week, Coach Jamie informed us that we would attend the baseball game on Tuesday against Long Beach which came as somewhat a surprise to us considering most baseball practices/games normally conflict with our tennis practices/games. Our initial thoughts were, "Cool, we can go out and support the baseball team since we rarely get to see them play" Jamie, however, had ulterior motives for our attendance of the game.

"Isn't anyone going to ask why we're going to the baseball game"? Jamie asked us. Little did we know that our very own coach would be throwing the first pitch in the game. Our faces all lit up when he told us. We are in the presence of a celebrity! We know how big of an impact Jamie has made to LMU, as an alum, coach and inspiration, so we should have realized that who better to throw out one of the first pitches for a baseball game than him. I mean, let's be real, he basically is an LMU celebrity...

            This week in strength training, Nick stressed how important it is for us to maintain our same workouts in the gym each week and to refrain from changing up the routine. This is so we will not feel fatigue from pushing too hard in weight on a particular exercise. I think that's a definitely a safe move considering we are in the middle of season and have matches on average at least once or twice a week. By sticking with the same exercises, we are challenging ourselves to peak in strength by progressively going up in weight each week. That's right, us Lady Lions got muscles! I know I can personally admit that I have not woken up the following day from lifting where I was so sore and couldn't move. So that's a plus for sure.

            This past Saturday, we faced New Mexico for an 11 am game time. We took care of business and ended up with a 5-2 victory. Despite some neck and neck battles, we came up on top, which gave us a little ego boost for working well with pressure situations. Getting through tough situations like these will help us be more prepared for Conference matches just around the corner, come the end of the month in fact.

            We have two matches this coming weekend. The Ivy schools are making their way to the 'west coast' aka the 'best coast' for some competitive matches. We play Princeton on Thursday and Dartmouth of Saturday. Come support the Lady Lions in their final matches before we get into Conference matches. We would really appreciate it! And spread the word!

Until next time!

Logan

Hey there tennis fans!

            We are just a week away from Spring Break. We can do it! It's hard to believe that we are nearly halfway done with the semester. It has been midterm season here on campus which has given students the excuse to walk around like zombies from class to class. When it's time for tennis, however, we have to block out that stress that is hitting us like a ton of bricks. At times, it is super difficult, but with such a supporting squad that we surround ourselves with, I think we do a great job of keeping our minds off of the cruel papers and evil exams with our jokes, oh and of course Munchie, our pet mascot.

            Exercise in general is such an amazing stress reliever especially in times like these, and we are so lucky that tennis is a part of our everyday lives. It feels so good to get through a tough academic day and escape to the courts where we can just forget about our studies for a while to grind out our strokes. Our daily dose of tennis helps us carry on the rest of our day refreshed and of course, fit. We try to maximize every minute that we're on the court because we know our homework will come soon enough. It's part of the trade-off of being a student athlete. We get to play the sport but we gotta put in our studies too.

A lot of my friends who are not on athletic teams at LMU envy that we are guaranteed at least two hours of physical activity a day. They wish they can make trips to the gym everyday, but it's difficult to fit it in their schedules sometimes because they are involved with a number of things. I admire that my fellow students keep themselves busy and are so engaged with the LMU community and all the opportunities that it has to offer.   

            We were on the road this past weekend against SDSU. Our No. 2 player, Tory and No. 4 player, Miya were overcoming injuries this past week so they weren't able to compete in our match so we made a few adjustments in our line-up. Everyone who was playing came out ready to compete and we faced some tough battles. Clau and April had an amazing 8-4 victory at No. 1 doubles. Their intensity was high throughout the whole match; it was so great to watch their chemistry work so well together. Kristine was happy with her win at No. 4. singles. She claims, "I stuck with my patters and didn't get impatient." April almost walked away with a win at the 1 spot and had unbelievable points while keeping that 'aggressive April mantra.'

In our team meeting following the match, Coach Jamie advised us the importance of discipline and that we need to implement it a little more not just for tennis, but it's all the factors that contribute to our performance on the court such as getting our proper warm up series in (band work, stretching, dynamic warm up) and drinking the appropriate amount of fluids and staying fueled so we never lose our energy on the court. Then we have to make sure we are drinking the U-Can shake Jamie wants us to take, get ice wrapped if necessary and then get our foam roll on to flush out those tight muscles. There is so much that we have to incorporate besides playing a match, but I have learned how crucial it is to our actual performance on the court. All of these factors are supposed to prevent us from fatigue during our demanding in-season schedule.

This Thursday, we play Nevada-Reno at home and we would love to see you out there on the courts at 1:30!

Until next time!

Logan

This blog is written by Ray Ferrari, a sophomore Communication Studies major from Eugene, Ore. Ray works in the LMU Sports Media department, is a leader of the ROAR Student Section, is a former sports writer at The Los Angeles Loyolan, and is a member of The Crimson Circle service organization. His weekly recap of LMU Athletics will be posted here every Tuesday allowing for a quick glance at the week that was in Lion Sports.

With baseball and golf beginning play last week, spring sports are now in full swing and hoping to provide some Lion success as the basketball teams continue to struggle towards the end of the winter season.

The baseball team started their season at home over the weekend with a series against the visiting Utah Utes. After a sloppy Friday game left LMU with a 6-3 loss, the Lions then turned the series around with stellar pitching. The Lions won 1-0 on Saturday and 11-2 on Sunday to take the series and advance to 2-1.

The golf team had its first tournament of the spring last week at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. The tough course conditions left the Lions scrambling all week, which resulted in a tenth place finish out of 12 teams. Now, LMU is currently playing in the Folino Invite at Industry Hills Golf Club in Industry Hills, Calif., which will finish play later this week.

After a strong 3-1 start, the women's tennis team hit a bump last weekend in Santa Barbara. A long match with UCSB brought play into dusk and with no lights on the court, two of the singles matches had to be decided by quick tiebreakers rather than a third set, which led to a heartbreaking 4-3 loss for the Lions. LMU was then defeated again the next day 6-1 by the University of Colorado.

LMU track and field competed at the Pomona-Pitzer All-Comers meet over the weekend. The highlight of the meet for the Lions was junior Kevin Joerger winning the 3000-meter race. Many other lions set personal records at the meet as well.

The men's basketball team went 0-2 on the weekend yet again, extending their losing streak to ten games and dropping them to 1-12 in WCC play. At Pepperdine on Thursday, it looked as if the Lions were finally going to get a win but a pair of missed free throws by the Lions and a basket by the Waves in the final minute gave Pepperdine the 52-50 win. At home against Saint Mary's on Saturday, the Gaels roster was just too big and too deep to handle, defeating the Lions 61-50 in front of the parents' weekend crowd.

The women's basketball team only had one game last week, which was a home loss against San Diego on Thursday. The 66-59 defeat was close, but LMU trailed the entire game. The loss dropped the Lions to 3-9 and seventh place in the conference.

Swimming, women's water polo, softball, and men's tennis were off last week but will return to play next weekend.

Hey there tennis fans!

            I hope you all had a well rested weekend and enjoyed the weather reaching into the 80's believe it or not. It's about time! We're so spoiled living in Southern California sometimes. Anything in the 60's and below is freezing to us. We can't even fathom what the harsh winters are bringing the east coasters right about now.

            Most of our team battled little hick-ups of injuries, which prohibited them from carrying on full practices this week. However, they properly took care of themselves in the training room and built up each day with more hitting in order to gear up for our big weekend of back-to back matches in Santa Barbara.

            My Peruvian teammate Claudia, but we call her "Clau" put on a lovely upbeat Spanish playlist for our strength workout with Nick this week. There's something about that Spanish flavor that is so catchy sometimes. Even Nick, our strength training coach and the most difficult to please when it comes to music, enjoyed the little Spanish mix.

            After drowning our sorrows in the thought that none of our team had valentines for Valentines Day (except for Adri who has a boyfriend who we all love and is one of our biggest fans) our coach, Jamie, or 'Jimbo' as we prefer calling him, gave us a glimmer of hope when he blessed our whole team with V-Day grams. It easily made all of our days! We couldn't have asked for a better valentine! We carried out the rest of day in high spirits and positive vibes, and then some of us treated ourselves to some Pinkberry later where I got my first medium sized fro-yo! I always settle for the mini, but in honor of this holiday giving me an excuse to binge on sweets, I thought why not go up in size! Oh man it was good.

            Unfortunately your Lady Lions faced two tough rounds of tennis in Santa Barbara this weekend. We fell just short to UCSB 4-3 on Saturday where we seemed to have had a rather slow start. On Sunday, we lost to Colorado State. I think our team has a lot of energy and spirit but we sometimes channel that energy elsewhere for a little. Winning that doubles point is so key and can really help our confidence towards the singles matches to follow. However, we have to keep up the intensity throughout the whole singles matches because they are not quick 8 game pro sets, they're 2 out of 3 sets. You gotta be in it to win it the whole time because the match doesn't end after the doubles point! There are definitely things we all need to work on but I am confident, without a shadow of a doubt that our team can improve and get there!

            In fact, I think we will make some improvements by this Friday against our match against SDSU. Wish us the best of luck for the upcoming week! We hope to kick some lion butt and do LMU proud!

Until next time!

Logan

This blog is written by Ray Ferrari, a sophomore Communication Studies major from Eugene, Ore. Ray works in the LMU Sports Media department, is a leader of the ROAR Student Section, is a former sports writer at The Los Angeles Loyolan, and is a member of The Crimson Circle service organization. His weekly recap of LMU Athletics will be posted here every Monday allowing for a quick glance at the week that was in Lion Sports.

As the basketball teams continue to struggle, disappoint, and sometimes embarrass the LMU community, the fan base is beginning to look towards the spring sports season with hopes of Lion success.

The sun is out and the grass is looking good at Page Stadium, where the baseball team will open up its season this weekend when they host Utah for a three-game series. Tuesday night in the batting cages, the LMU baseball program is having its first event of the new "10th Man" project in hopes to gain more of a fan presence in the stands at baseball games for 2013.

Softball opened up their 2013 season last weekend in St. George, Utah, where they played five games in three days in true collegiate softball fashion. The Red Desert Classic gave LMU five games against five opponents to kick off the year. The Lions started off strong with a 9-0 win over Colorado St. and a 6-0 win over Weber St. The Lions also beat Utah St. 3-0, but lost games against Utah and Arkansas for a 3-2 tournament record. 

The women's water polo team also had a big weekend, going 3-1 with three of the four games decided by two goals or less. At the UCSD Triton Invitational, LMU opened play against the host team, #19 UC San Diego, which ended in a bitter 8-7 loss. The Lions then went on to win the rest of their games with big wins over Marist, CSU Bakersfield, and #10 Michigan.

Women's tennis also continued its early season hot streak last week with a 7-0 sweep of UC Riverside at home. The Lions are now 3-1 and undefeated at home to start the 2013 campaign. They will continue their full, tough non-conference schedule next weekend against UC Santa Barbara and Colorado.

The men's tennis team is still trying to find its rhythm early on in the season. The Lions are in the midst of a long and exhausting road trip, containing match after match of tough competition. This along with three crucial injuries has resulted in a 0-6 start after falling to UC Santa Barbara 6-1 and losing 5-2 at Cal Poly.

The women's basketball team finally got a much-needed win last week, when they took down Santa Clara 71-50 at home last Thursday. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak but was followed with a game against first place Gonzaga, in which the Lions lost 70-56.

As for the men's basketball team, most of you know the story. The Lions have displayed a fruitless offense all year and continue to live and die by the three. And for a team that is bad at shooting threes, that means lots of death. LMU continued to shoot terribly from the field in the Northwest over the weekend, as the team dropped to 1-10 in WCC play after a 69-60 loss at Portland and a 74-55 loss at Gonzaga.

Hey there tennis fans!

            We have a new pet mascot, well I guess he's always been around but we might not have noticed him as much as we do now. 'Munchie' as we like to call him, is a squirrel that likes to show up at our practices on the stands of the stadium courts where all of our backpacks are in hopes that we will bless its little heart with scraps of food. To his delight, most of the food we bring to practice or at matches is trail mix and fruit, which is essentially the diet of a squirrel. You can only imagine the excitement that is presented on its face. We feed him from time to time, but what we are starting to realize is that the more we feed him, the more often he is going to return and perch up for more snacks. We will have to do some closer monitoring especially since he has found a way to get into some of our bags and find food.  On the plus side, I think we have found our No. 1 fan!

            I was happy to be mostly pain-free this week during my abbreviated practices on the court. I am slowly getting back to playing, but each time I'm out there, it makes me appreciate being healthy again. As painful as it might be to sit out for a while and rehab, it feels amazing to get back on the court and play. I missed it so much!

            We landed our first match sweep of the season over UC Riverside on Thursday. Our No. 2 player, Tory Parravi sat this match out to recover from a pulled muscle in her arm so the lineup was adjusted slightly. I'm proud of my Lady Lions for taking care of business out there. We hope to keep this winning energy and results into next week against Santa Barbara and Colorado State. Wish us luck!

Until next time!

Logan

Hey there LMU tennis fans!

            February is already here! We are inching our way closer to consistent warm temperatures and healthy people overcoming their sicknesses. Getting sick in college is the worst!  When one person gets sick, it's nearly impossible for others not to catch whatever bug is roaming around campus. Unfortunately, I caught this little 'bug.' It started with a sore throat and quickly turned to a flu. Living in such close quarters with my roommates and being around my teammates everyday for long periods of time, I have warned them all to take every pre-cautions for getting sick. Emergen-C and Vitamin C is key at a time like this! I am extremely stubborn when it comes to being sick, so I think I am better than I actually am, when I realize I'm not, and I really just need to just stay in bed and let this sicknesss just run its course. I finally gave in and got an appropriate and relaxing 12 hours of sleep. And oh man, that made all the difference! Our coach keeps suggesting to our team that we get flu shots, and after this little sick period, I wouldn't say that's such a bad idea!

            Our strength training coach, Nick gave us little gifts this week in weights. He helps us get fit in the gym, and he gives us gifts? What a guy! We all got our own foam rolls and stretch bands which will be very useful for us prior to getting on the court as well as after to stretch out all of those body kinks and sore muscles. Coach Jamie and Nick want us to incorporate the foam roll and stretch band into a routine every time we step on the court. Sure, it might require a little more time, but it will be worth it in the end when we are not aching the next day with unbearable pain. Our body can be fresh and ready for the next day of tennis whether it's practice or for a match. Otherwise, we might need to take an additional step back and take it slow so the body can recover a little from the harsh strain that was put on it the day before. So I think this new addition to our regular routine will make a difference in our success this season! Plus I think we look pretty cool lugging around our little foam rolls around!

            We had an awesome weekend of tennis! Your LMU Lady Lions pulled out a major upset against No. 39 ranked CSULB (CSU Long Beach) on Friday. I am so proud of all of them! We had a really tough match against them last year where it came down to the bitter end so it was really nice to get the victory this time around! Sweet revenge! On Sunday, we lost a tough match against UC Irvine but we battled hard!

My Switzerland teammate, Lisa turned 22 on Wednesday. As a team, we took her out to Venice for dinner to celebrate! Venice is such a fun place to go, and we're so lucky that it's a short distance from campus...yet another reason to love LMU.

            Next week, we have a match against UC Riverside on Thursday at 1:30! Come out and support and wish your Lady Lions good luck!

Until next time!

Logan

This blog is written by Ray Ferrari, a sophomore Communication Studies major from Eugene, Ore. Ray works in the LMU Sports Media department, is a leader of the ROAR Student Section, is a former sports writer at The Los Angeles Loyolan, and is a member of The Crimson Circle service organization. His weekly recap of LMU Athletics will be posted here every Monday allowing for a quick glance at the week that was in Lion Sports.

Lion pride is at a true low point around campus these days, with most LMU teams continuing their slumps over the past week. 

In what some might call the most anticipated LMU sporting event every year, the men's basketball team had no answers for the visiting Gonzaga Bulldogs. Last Thursday, LMU hosted Gonzaga in front of a packed Gersten Pavilion with hopes of upsetting the No. 7 Bulldogs, who are undefeated in the WCC. But the Lions failed to get stops on defense or baskets on offense, which added up to an embarrassing 88-43 loss. 

The women's basketball team had an unpleasant visit to the Northwest over the weekend, dropping another two conference games, extending their losing streak to four. Thursday night, the Lions fell to Gonzaga 79-57 before losing another close game with Portland, 65-63 on Saturday.

In their final meet before the season finale at the MPSF Championships, the LMU swimming team dropped a pair of decisions at UC Santa Barbara Saturday. At the double dual meet, the Lions fell to host UCSB 176-85 and also lost to Pacific 159-103. This meet ended the Lions' regular season, as the team will now begin preparation for the conference championships in two weeks.

The women's tennis team provided the highlight of the week when they upset No. 39 Long Beach St. at home 4-3 on Friday. The big non-conference win took the Lions to 2-0 to start the season. However, their luck changed when they went on the road Sunday as LMU was swept 7-0 to No. 65 UC Irvine.

The men's tennis team had a tough test at hand on Sunday as they took on No. 2 USC, who has dominated the region for years. The Lions lost 6-1 and dropped to a bitter 0-4 to start 2013.

While most of the teams in season are struggling, other teams are making coaching moves in hopes to foster future success. The women's volleyball team just named Ron Larson as its top assistant coach. Larson is the former head coach at UC Riverside and has also helped coach the U.S. Olympic team. The softball team just added Katie Schroeder to the coaching staff as well. Schroeder was a two-time All-American for UCLA before graduating last year. 

Hey guys!

            I hope you all had a nice weekend and great start to your week. I can't believe the Australian Open has come to an end. So many upsets and prime matches were played and in what better place to watch it all go down than in Melbourne, Australia. At some point in my lifetime, I would love to go there, not only to experience the amazing tournament in the scorching summer sun, but also to just be a tourist and see the sites. With all that high level tennis that was played in the past 2 weeks, I think I not only speak for myself, but for everyone, that it motivates people more to get out there on the court and play. I am especially hungry since I am still fully recovering from my Achilles injury. I'd prefer getting out there without further delay. But I guess my body will have to be the judge of that!

            Our coach, the legendary, Jamie Sanchez announced mid-week that our team received the highest GPA of all sports team at LMU along with the rowing team. The look on our faces was pure thrill and a little shock. We did not see that coming! It shows that we work hard not just on the court but in the classroom too! We were so humbled and honored. During the Alumni basketball game on Thursday against our rival, Pepperdine, we were recognized on the floor at half time. It was our 10 seconds of fame! Well done Lions!

            Nick, our strength trainer, had us working on a ton of upper body workouts this week, and I have to say, I feel that we are all getting a lot stronger. It also helps to take a lot of time at the end of our workouts for proper stretching and foam rolls. In the past, we tend to rush our stretching and wonder why we feel so sore the next day. Stretching is so crucial to prevent fatigue and injuries. Overall, this year, we've been a lot more conscious of taking care of our bodies post workouts or intense practices or matches on the court. And of course there's Nick and our coaches that keep preaching the importance of stretching over and over again.

            Our glimpse of warm weather came to a halt this week with a few downpours, which unfortunately prevented our first match from taking place at Westmont College in Santa Barbara on Friday. Luckily, the rain stopped in time for our home match on Saturday against Concordia. The Lady Lions secured a 7-0 victory over the Concordia Eagles, which was a great first win to start off the season.

That's all for now!

Logan

Hey there tennis fans!

            My name is Logan Finnell and I am a sophomore on the LMU Women's Tennis Team. I am taking over as the blogger this semester on behalf of my team where I will update you on recent results, team adventures traveling, as well as give you an inside look into the life of a college athlete.

I hope you all had a very nice holiday season and a happy new year! 2013 is upon us. This means, a new start, new beginning, and of course, a new season for your LMU Lady Lions! It was so nice for our team to reunite during our meeting on Monday after not seeing each other for four weeks. Being away from my team for so long, makes me realize how much I miss them because we are all so incredibly close, much like a tight knit of family of 13. We are that way, because we do spend countless amount of time together on the court, in the strength training gym, in the training room, as well as in classes. So you can say that we all see each other pretty darn often. It is so nice to be surrounded by teammates who are constantly encouraging and supporting one another whether it's through competitive match situations, or when someone's trying to bounce back from an injury, or even when the strains of academia get the better of them.

This week, our focus has been directed towards getting quickly adjusted back into our regular practice routine and a new strength-training schedule. It was also the dreaded, "fitness testing" week. I unfortunately am still recovering from an achilles injury for another week so I had to miss our fitness testing and tennis practices, but I am optimistic to return shortly! We knew that the holiday season brings a lot of unhealthy eating habits and perhaps a lack of exercise, but not for us! We instead tried to create a happy medium between the two. Sure, we enjoyed our holiday treats, but we made sure to maintain a relatively good diet regiment and kept up with our workouts from Nick, our strength trainer in addition to getting out there on the court as often as we could. Everyone is looking good; yes, we've lost a little color in our skin tone due to the bitter cold temperatures that a lot of us faced returning back to our homelands over break. Not to worry though! The hot weather months are approaching, and LA never disappoints to provide us with that sunshine that we've been missing. On Saturday we took our team pictures and individual pictures for the website. You can only imagine the anxiety going on prior. "Is my hair okay?" "Should I wear it up or down?" We are girls remember, we are bound to act like this before we get in front of the camera!

This Friday will be our first non-conference match against Westmont College in Santa Barbara! So wish us luck!

Until next week!

Logan 

This blog is written by Ray Ferrari, a sophomore Communication Studies major from Eugene, Ore. His weekly recap of LMU Athletics will be posted here every Monday allowing for a quick glance at the week that was in Lion Sports.

The heart and soul of LMU athletics in back with basketball season underway all across the country.

Friday night in front of a packed home student section, the LMU men's team put on a show, destroying Pacifica 108-49 with stat padding and slam-dunks abound. The 108 points was more than an LMU team had scored in two decades. In the Lions' first real test at SMU on Sunday, that offense was nowhere to be found as the Lions lost 73-58.

The women's basketball team opened up their season on a road trip throughout the Southwest this weekend. The Lions fell 79-51 at UTEP on Saturday in the first regular season game for new head coach Charity Elliott. LMU will look to salvage the trip tonight when the take on New Mexico St.

In their final weekend of play, the men's soccer team ended their season in style on a five game unbeaten streak. Friday, the Lions drew a 0-0 tie against Santa Clara who finished second in the WCC. In their final game on Sunday, LMU beat Saint Mary's 4-2 in a heated shootout, ending the year at 4-5-3 and tied for fifth in the WCC.

Volleyball also had a strong weekend, grinding out two key wins. The Lions beat No. 24 Pepperdine 3-1 in the final home match of the year to improve to 7-7 in conference play. In a non-WCC game Saturday, the Lions came back from down two sets to win in five on the road at Cal State Northridge.

Men's water polo went on the road last Thursday to end regular season play at Cal Baptist. The Lions barely came out on top 8-7, making it four wins in a row with three of those being decided by a single goal. The Lions are now 15-9 overall, heading into the WWPA Championships this week 

Both cross country teams competed in the NCAA West Regionals in Seattle, Wash. over the weekend. 10 of 14 LMU runners set personal records at the meet, with senior Sheree Shea finishing in 11^th place and qualifying for the NCAA National Championships next Saturday.

Both tennis teams wrapped up their fall schedules this weekend with the men at the SoCal Intercollegiates hosted by UCLA and the women at the Jack Kramer Invitational in Palos Verdes, Calif. Both teams sent a handful of players to their respective events and are now off until January when their main spring seasons will begin. 

This blog is written by Ray Ferrari, a sophomore Communication Studies major from Eugene, Ore. His weekly recap of LMU Athletics will be posted here every Monday allowing for a quick glance for the week that was in Lion Sports. 

Friday, one of the biggest nights every year in Lion Athletics occurred when LMU held its annual Madness at Midnight event. The night got fans excited for the upcoming basketball season, introducing everyone to the players of both the men's and women's teams. Players from both teams competed in a free throw contest, a three-point contest, as well as a dunk contest for some of the men. Along with showcasing the basketball talent, Madness was also an opportunity for the student body to see all of the school's Division I sports teams on display through dance competitions, which the softball team won. The night included food trucks and giveaways for students as well.

The women's soccer team had a huge weekend, earning six points through two conference victories. On Friday in Malibu, LMU destroyed then ranked #15 Pepperdine 3-0 getting all three goals in the first eleven minutes of play. Then at home Sunday, the Lions defeated San Francisco 1-0 after scoring 11 seconds into the first overtime period.

LMU Volleyball had an impressive weekend, also getting two much-needed wins. In the Northwest for the weekend, the Lions improved to 5-1 on the road this season as they swept Gonzaga Thursday and beat Portland in straight sets as well on Saturday.

An injury-filled men's water polo team continued to sink over the weekend, losing to two conference rivals. The #9 Lions had been on a roll with a seven-game winning streak before a series of setbacks led the Lions to drop matches to #1 USC a week ago and to #10 Long Beach St. and to #11 UC San Diego over the weekend.

In the final race before the WCC Championships, the men's and women's cross country teams sent four runners a piece to tune up at the Titan Invitational in Fullerton. The Lions did not have enough runners for the teams to place but will be in full force at the conference championship meet in Portland next weekend.

The men's tennis team competed at the ITA Regional tournament in Irvine over the weekend. Four Lions competed in singles and doubles events with the #7 seeded duo of Nicholas Bjerke and Sebastian Bustamante still alive in the doubles semifinals. In singles, Bjerke also advanced to the round of 16.

The women's tennis team was in San Diego for their ITA Regional tournament. April Bisharat and Reka Rohonyl both advanced to the round of 32 in singles competition while Kristine Kouyoumjian made it to the semifinals in the consolation bracket before the final two rounds were rained out.

The men's golf team went abroad last week for the Cabo Collegiate tournament in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. What was meant to be a three round event turned into only 18 holes of competition as day two could not be finished and day three never began due to rainy conditions. Tyler Torano's 72 was good for a tie for second place in the tournament with his back nine score of 33 good for the best nine-hole score in the event. The team finished in ninth place. 

This blog is written by Ray Ferrari, a sophomore Communication Studies major from Eugene, Ore. His weekly recap of LMU Athletics will be posted here every Monday allowing for a quick glance for the week that was in Lion Sports. 

Two weeks away from the WCC Championships, the LMU cross country teams continued to look fast over the weekend. Amongst a strong field at the Chile Pepper Festival race in Fayetteville, Ark., the women's team finished in fifth place and the men's team received fourth place.

After seven consecutive wins, the ninth-ranked men's water polo team was put to the test Saturday against #1 USC. The big home crowd helped the Lions to a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period but the talent and depth of the visiting Trojans proved too much to handle as the Lions eventually lost 13-6.

The volleyball team got back on track Thursday with a win in straight sets over visiting Santa Clara. After six straight home matches, the Lions then started their stretch of two weeks of road games. On Saturday, LMU fell to #13 San Diego in three games. The weekend split sent LMU to 2-5 in the WCC.

Considering they played against a team that had not lost the previous eight games in #18 Santa Clara, the women's soccer team performed quite well over the weekend. On the road against the Broncos, LMU barely lost 1-0 as a late goal held up for the home team despite more shots on goal and corner kicks by the Lions. Then at home Sunday, the team picked up its first conference win against Saint Mary's in an offense-heavy 3-2 match.

Continuing to struggle, the men's soccer team lost another pair of games during the week. After jumping to an early lead Wednesday against visiting San Diego, the Lions could not hang on and eventually lost 2-1 in the two overtime periods. At San Francisco on Friday, some defensive mishaps led to two USF goals, sending the Lions to an unexpected 1-4-1 start in WCC play. The Lions will receive a much needed bye week now before returning to play in San Diego on October 24.

The women's tennis team played well on the road when they traveled to Tennessee last week for the Memphis Invitational. On Friday, all six Lions won their singles matches against opponents from UT Martin but lost 1-2 in doubles matches against the University of Memphis. Saturday, LMU went 2-4 in singles matches against Memphis and swept Drake in three doubles matches.  And on Sunday, the Lions went 5-1 in singles matches against Drake to wrap up a successful weekend.

In their first competitions of the year, the women's swim team came out to a fast start as they earned a share of first place in the PCSC Relays Saturday and dominated the PCSC Pentathlon Sunday, which were both held at Biola University in La Mirada. Calif. 

This blog is written by Ray Ferrari, a sophomore Communication Studies major from Eugene, Ore. His weekly recap of LMU Athletics will be posted here every Monday allowing for a quick glance for the week that was in Lion Sports.

The ninth-ranked LMU men's water polo team won all four games at the Claremont Convergence tournament last weekend, extending its winning streak to a season-best of seven games. The tournament was a brief break from the tough schedule of ranked teams the Lions have been playing and was also a way to build confidence and momentum heading into a match with #1 USC at home this Saturday.

The men's soccer team split its first home weekend of conference games. Friday, the Lions defeated Gonzaga University 2-1 (2OT), giving the team three points and its first conference win. Against the University of Portland on Sunday, the Lions got out to an early lead but the visiting Pilots kept plugging away before coming away with a 2-1 win.

After a successful fall preseason, the women's soccer team opened up WCC play at home against the University of San Diego on Sunday. The Lions dominated the shot count at 15-5 but the only shot that mattered was San Diego's goal in the 64^th minute, which led to a 1-0 loss to the visiting Toreros.

Last week, the volleyball team continued its theme of getting hot early but failing to finish. Thursday, the Lions came out firing against visiting #16 BYU. But after winning the first two sets, BYU came out of the locker room determined, fighting back to win the next three sets and leaving with the victory. Saturday, LMU hosted Saint Mary's, a team the Lions defeated 3-0 in Moraga two weeks prior. However, the Lions could not do it again as the visiting Gaels won the match in four sets, dropping the Lions to a disappointing 1-4 conference record.

Both cross country teams continued their strong showings and fast finishes over the weekend. At the 20^th annual UC San Diego Triton Invitational, the women got their second team victory of the season, while the men received an impressive second place finish.

The women's tennis team had a very successful opening weekend as they competed at the Cal State Fullerton Fall Intercollegiate tournament for their first event of the fall. LMU sophomore Tory Parravi won the tournament for the top flight singles competition, with other Lions playing well also.