USD Women's Basketball 2000-2001

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2000-200'1 Torero Basketball

Dean Marpe As the "dean" of West Coast Conference coaches, Marpe possesses the necessary perspecti ve to apprec iate the radical changes in the league. Marpe has led USO to two West Coast Conference Tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances ( 1993 & 2000). During her tenure at Alcala Park, Marpe has twice won WCC Coach of the Year honors. She shared the award in 1993 after leading the Toreros into the NCAA Tourna– ment for the first time in school hi story - upsetting Santa C lara in the WCC Tournament Champi onship . Marpe won the award in 1997-98 after leading her team to one of the largest single-season turnarounds in WCC hi story - an improvement of eight games. Last season, Marpe led the Toreros to a 2000 WCC Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The #4 seed Toreros earned the WCC title by defeating #5 seed Loyo la Marymount, 65-62. Marpe then led her team to a 61-56 victory over the tournament host and #3 seed Santa Clara Broncos. In the championship game, her Toreros upset # I seed Pepperd ine, 68-5 I to earn the right to cut down the nets. Excellence On and Off the Cou1·t Marpe is the active leader in career coaching victories with 242 at USO and ranks third among conference coaches in WCC wins (97). In 15 WCC seasons, Marpe has produced 17 All-WCC perfonners, 18 WCC All-Academic se lections and has placed four players on the WCC All-Freshman teams. In 1998-99, junior guard Susie Erpelding, became the first Torero women 's basketball player to earn GTE/CoSIDA First Team All-Academic America honors. Erpe lding matched her feat in the 1999-00 season, by earning GTE/ CoSIDA Third Team All-Academic America honors. She was also honored as the WCC Scholar Athl ete of the Year in her senior season ( 1999-00). Pt•ior To USO

Kathy Marpe, 1998,1993 West Coast Confe,·ence Coaeh of the Year

Prior to arriving at USO, Marpe directed the Uni– versity of New Mexico to seven seasons of success on and off the court. The Lobos were 51-30 in Marpe's last three seasons, having posted wins over two nationally-ranked teams in the same season . Playing in "The Pit" , the UNM women drew over 1,000 a game with crowds reaching the 2,000-3 ,000 mark on occasion - attendance figures unheard of in the mid- 70s. By the time she left the Albuquerque campus, Marpe had led the Lobos to consecutive fin– ishes in the AP Top 20 and six AJAW Regional ap– Marpe broke into the coaching ranks at Spring Lake (MN) High School in 1971 after earning a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education at the Uni– versity of Minnesota that same year. Along with heading women' s basketball, Marpe also served as the head coach for women's volleyball and softba ll. Over two years , Marpe comp il ed an impress ive 53-1 record in the combined three sports. Involvement pearances 111 seven years. In the Begin11h1g

lJSD Coaching Staff (1-r): Nadine Mastro /eo, Kathy Marpe, Erik Johnson & Nicole Anderson

The Minnesota nati ve strong ly emphasizes community invo lvement and has stressed it to every team she has ever coached. Marpe fee ls that "It is very importan t to remember who you are and where you come from , and also to g ive back to the people around you or to those who aren't as fortunate." Marpe a lso has served as a voting member of the AP Top 20 Po ll , the Kodak All-Ameri can se lect ion board and the Western Regional seeding committee. In 1990, she was a member of the go ld medal-winning East coaching staff at the U.S. Olympic Festival. Kathy's famil y is also invo lved in the program. Her mother, Genevieve, ass ists in the basketball office keeping in touch with the Torero women's basketball alumni and ex tended family. The J<-,uture After surpassi ng 300 career victori es, closing in on I00 conference victories and wo rking with a qua lity group of veteran returners and exc iting newcomers on the ri se, Coach Marpe feels rejuvenated and excited for the upcoming season, her 2 1st yea r guiding the Torero hoops fortunes.