USD Magazine, Summer 2004

The Long and Grinding Road They did it the hard way. Almost. The baseball ream notched 35 wins this season, the third best victory total in school history, in the face of one of the nation's roughest schedules. NCAA Tournament selection officials, however, weren't sufficiently impressed. The squad won 15 of its final 17 games, bur for the first rime in three seasons USD failed to qualify for the West Coast Conference champi– onship game - and a chance at the automatic berrl1 into the national tournament that comes with the WCC championship. The Toreros also were passed over for an at-large tournament berth by rhe NCAA selection committee, despite boast– ing the conference's best overall record, 35-21. Although USD was second in the WCC's Coast Division ro Loyola Marymount, who won one more conference game, the Toreros non– conference schedule prior to wee play was ranked No. 1 in difficulry, and included games against national powerhouses such as No. 5 Texas, No. 8 Long Beach State, No. 19 Nebraska and No. 21 UC Irvine. Men's Tennis Goes to NCAA Tournament The men's tennis ream celebrated its eighth straight winning season with a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. USO, ranked 39th in the nation, lost in the first round to No. 32 California. Patrick Ysern, who was ranked as high as No. 11 in the nation during the season, was named to the All-WCC singles first ream. Sports Shorts Women's rowing standout Kelsey Watters and quarterback Eric Rasmussen, who rewrote the USD football record book, were named 2004 Torero Athletes of rl1e Year. The pair were selected among nominees from each of USD's 16 Division I reams ... Sophomore Emma Murphy rook her game to the NCAA Women's Tennis

Individual Championships in Athens, Ga. Though the 2004 West Coast Conference Player of the Year had to retire from her first-round

basketball ream fell to the conference cellar after winning the West Coast Conference rirle the year before. "We lost a lot of

senior leadership, and were simply unable to replace ir," he says. "Certainly we didn't play or coach very well, bur when injuries hit we didn't have the same caliber of player

in reserve we did the year before." Toreto recruiters have an additional burden: finding good players who are also good students. Many universities grant academic waivers to student arhleres, allowing chem to enroll despite low grades or test scores, but USO treats student-arhleres as students first. "Once we screen for academics, probably half of rhe players we identify are eliminated from consideration," says Marpe. "Even some kids who qualify for USO are intimidated by the academic reputation, and char really narrows the field for us." Other factors also intrude. Players looking for a college-town environment may be pur off by USD's urban setting, and the WCC doesn't hold the same prestige as some of its larger cousins, which makes the legwork of rhe recruiters even more important. Holland points to community college transfer Bryce Voonang as an example. "(Assistant Coach) Brian Fish knew (Voonang's) coach ar Eastern Oklahoma University for a long rime," he says. "When four-year universities came knocking and his coach said 'ralk to these guys (at USO),' char really set us apart." Holland has been on both sides of rhe recruiting fence, as a coach and as a top high school player. He always advises recruits to look beyond rhe prestige of a program or a conference. "Student-athletes will go to class and have many experiences, bur they will spend an inordinate amount of rime with their coaches and teammates," he says. "I always ask recruits to consider how well they chink they will fir in with our way of doing things. " Marpe offers similar advice. "College is a big part of anyone's life, so I'm always interested in students who want to be part ofUSD," she says. "Those who don't jump

Kelsey Watters march due to injury, she finished the season ranked 47th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. ... Eight Torero srudenr-arhleres were named to rhe WCC's 2004 All-Academic reams. Joey Prast, a senior baseball player with a double– major in accounting and economics, made it for the third rime. Other winners included: Justin Blaine (baseball); Yen Yi Chen (golf); Tim Cureton (golf); Jimmy Harris

Eric Rasmussen (golf); Lauren Kazarian (women's tennis); Kelsey Watters (women's rowing); and Patrick Ysern (men's tennis) ... Freshman softball player Rebekal1 Bradford was named the Pacific Coast Softball Conference's Freshman of rhe Year. Bradford led all freshmen with a .355 barring average during conference play, and had a ream-high .399 on-base percentage.

at rhe biggest names or rhe first universities char show interest, who rake con– trol of the process rather than letting rhe process dictate to them, tend to be the most successful on and off the court."

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SUMMER 2 004