Feb. 26, 2013

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LOS ANGELES -- After two weekends of unsuccessful trips to Santa Barbara and San Diego, the Lions return home looking to continue its undefeated form at the LMU Tennis Center as LMU hosts Nevada this Thursday.

LION TRACKS
The Lions' struggles on the road continued Friday with a 6-1 defeat against San Diego State. LMU (3-4) is winless on the road so far this season, and the trip to San Diego concluded a stretch of three straight away from the LMU Tennis Center. After a defeat earlier in the week to sixth-ranked USC, San Diego State bounced back to go 4-3 on the season.

ABOUT NEVADA
The University of Nevada women's tennis team earned its first win of the season on Sunday by defeating the Montana Lady Grizzlies 6-1.

The Wolf Pack (1-3) earned the victory in the final match of their road trip by defeating the Lady Grizz (2-4). The Wolf Pack was only able to manage one doubles victory, but swept all six singles matches, led by Michelle Okhremchuk. On court one, she rolled past Heather Davidson 6-3, 6-1. Court two saw Emma Verberne pick up her third singles victory of the weekend when she cruised to victory in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 over Haley Driver.

"We started slow in doubles today, but singles played extremely well," head coach Guillaume Tonelli said. "It feels great to get in the win column and hopefully we can keep up our momentum."

HALL OF FAME WORTHY
In November, LMU announced that former women's tennis player Lynn Scott has been named to the LMU Athletic Hall of Fame. Scott was the Lions' #1 singles and doubles player during her two seasons (1976-1977), leading LMU to back-to-back Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles. Scott's achievements will be recognized at the 2013 LMU Hall of Fame ceremonies taking place on March 3.

Recently, the West Coast Conference announced that LMU two-sport athlete Edit Pakay will be induced in the conference's Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 9. Pakay's stellar play guided the Lions to a victory over Pepperdine to win the 2002 WCC Women's Tennis Championships, the first in program history. She finished her illustrious career in 2003 with her second first-team All-WCC selection in singles and another honorable mention selection on the doubles side.

EARLY SEASON ACCOLADES
LMU sophomore Tory Parravi was named West Coast Conference Women's Singles Player of the Month in October 2012. Parravi finished the month 7-1 in singles during the month, which included a tournament victory.

In addition, senior April Bisharat is currently ranked No. 19 in the Southwest region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Bisharat went 8-2 in singles in the 2012 fall schedule, following an All-WCC second team honor from last spring leading to her current ranking.

THE LIONS GIVE BACK
LMU women's tennis are no strangers to comuunity outreach. This past fall, the Lions participated in the 28th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day this past Saturday, Sept. 15. The Lions helped clean up Toes Beach in Playa del Rey, Calif. along with other LMU clubs and organizations and hundreds of local community members. The team volunteered to pick up trash and debris at the event set up by the California Coastal Commission's Public Education Program.

The team is also giving back to the local community by participating in a mentoring program with students from Westport Heights Elementary, a local school in the Westchester area of Los Angeles near the Loyola Marymount campus. The team is serving as mentors to a team encompassing the diverse student body at Westport Heights. LMU's women's tennis team is a multi-cultural group from many countries, with players who are new to the United States. This makes the team ideal mentors for Westport Heights.

FOLLOW THE LIONS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA
The LMU Women's Tennis team has started a Facebook page. Check out photos, videos and all information about the program at facebook.com/LMUWomensTennis. In addition, you can follow all of the LMU Lions' Athletics Programs through Lions' social media. To connect with us, all you need is LMULions. Follow the Lions on Twitter at twitter.com/LMULions, Like the Lions on Facebook at facebook.com/LMULions, watch highlights and exclusive videos at youtube.com/LMULionsTV. For individual programs and coaches, visit the LMU Lions Social Media Directory at http://www.lmulions.com/multimedia/social-media-directory.html.

PREDICTIONS, PREDICTIONS
The WCC released the preseason coaches' poll last weekend, which has predicted the Lions to finish in sixth- place in the conference.

EXPERIENCE COUNTS
The Lions return 10 players this season. Senior April Bisharat was named All-WCC second team in singles with a 9-6 record in doubles last season, including a win over #45 Pepperdine. Sophomore Tory Parravi had a great freshman season as she was also named to the All-WCC second team with five conference victories including a fantastic win at the number-one position against #34 Saint Mary's.

Senior Adriana Radnovic returns after missing last season. Juniors Claudia Razzeto, Reka Rohnoyi, and Miya Jin bring valuable experience in singles and doubles to the Lions. Razzeto received an honorable mention in doubles on the All-WCC team. Sophomores Logan Finnell, Ana Lucia Fuentes, Lisa Piller, and Madison Wesseln provide the squad with depth. The only newcomer this season is freshman Kristine Kouyoumjian, a transfer from Cal Poly and four-year letterwinner at West High School in Torrance, Calif.

HALL OF FAME COACHING
LMU head coach Jamie Sanchez enters his 38th year as Director of LMU Tennis. An alum, Sanchez, has served as head coach since the inception of the program and is a member of the LMU Athletics Hall of Fame. In his playing career, Sanchez was a four-year letterwinner in men's tennis and a member of LMU's 1969 national champion football team. Sanchez is a three-time WCC Coach of the Year, and led the Lions to win the 2002 WCC title.

Assistant coach Ivan Lopez is in his third season with LMU women's tennis, and his second as an assistant coach after serving one year as a volunteer assistant. An alumni of LMU, Lopez had an impressive collegiate career. A 2010 graduate, Lopez recorded a 56-42 overall singles record finishing his senior season with a 16-8 record in both singles and doubles and a 6-3 singles record in conference match ups. This play earned Lopez first-team All-Conference Honors in both singles and doubles.

- GO LIONS -