University of San Diego Magazine 75th Anniversary 2024

TORERO ATHLETICS

Aiming for Excellence Claudia De Las Heras Making Her Mark with USD Women’s Tennis

oughly 6,000 miles separates Barcelona, Spain, from San Diego, California. Along with the physical distance, the two can also seem miles apart culturally, even when it comes to a sport like tennis. R When Barcelona native Claudia De Las Heras was contemplating where to play tennis collegiately, she had help from a close friend — one who also happened to be a Torero. Enter USD alumna Gemma Garcia ’20 (BA), also a native of Barcelona. During her tennis career, Garcia suggested that De Las Heras was someone for then-USD assistant coach and lead recruiter Nadia Abdala to follow. “Claudia and Gemma played in the same club program in Barcelona,” said Abdala, the current head coach for USD women’s tennis. “They didn’t have the same coach, but they knew each other and were from the same academy. When Gemma was a sophomore, she told me to watch for Claudia. I looked her up at that time and said, ‘Yes, I’ll put her on my radar.’” De Las Heras was just 16 at that time. But her tennis ability quickly blossomed and Abdala followed closely from abroad as De Las Heras won Spain’s 18s nationals title. When it came time to pick a college, De Las Heras chose the Toreros over other schools, even some with top-ranked women’s tennis programs. “Gemma played an important role,” De Las Heras said. “She told me USD was the best experience of her life so that was a green light. During the whole process of talking with the coaches, I had an instant connection with Nadia. Speaking the language was By Ryan T. Blystone

also important when going so far away. Even though I couldn’t visit campuses due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, I saw pictures and it was such a beautiful campus. I knew San Diego wasn’t some place in the middle of nowhere.” “Claudia had a ton of offers, but when I called her, she was already biased toward us because someone she knew had a very good experience here,” Abdala said. “She said she came to USD because she wanted to be part of a change to make the program great. Many teams recruiting her were in the top 10. Claudia was looking for a school where she could take a big role in turning it into a top-10 program. That’s exactly what she’s helping us do.” In February, the USD women’s tennis program earned its highest-ever national ranking — 12th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Securing

Claudia De Las Heras

and teammate

Elizabeth Goldsmith

were both named to

the All-West Coast

Conference First Team

in singles.

PHOTO: INTERCOLLEGIATE TENNIS ASSOCIATION

its highest ranking since 1989 (16th), came as a result of a tough pre-West Coast Conference schedule with wins over No. 2 Texas A&M and perennial power USC. Performances from a Torero roster with seniors Elizabeth Goldsmith, Jordyn McBride and Abigail Desiatnikov, sophomore Mia Mack and De Las Heras, a junior, have been key. “I feel I’ve improved so much, it has been a great experience. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else,” De Las Heras said. “I came here motivated.

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