June 13, 2003

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - West Coast Conference Player of the Year Christine Limbers became only the second Bronco ever to receive a regional ranking, as the OMNI Hotels final Collegiate tennis rankings were released last week by the ITA. As a team, the Broncos were listed 11th.

Limbers, who was ranked 28th by the ITA, follows former Bronco Sarah Duncan as the only SCU players to earn a regional ranking. Duncan was also ranked 28th following the 2000 season.

"An individual ranking in our region is extremely difficult and a huge accomplishment, given the fact that we are competing with eight nationally-ranked universities-including three that are in the top 10," SCU head coach Aby Ryan explained.

Limbers, a native of Carefree, Ariz., earned the Bronco program's first WCC Player of the Year award and also earned first team singles and doubles honors with sophomore teammate Janalle Kaloi. Limbers led the Broncos the past four seasons at the top singles and doubles spots. Additionally, she closes her career with the most combined doubles victories in Bronco history. She also surpassed the 60-win plateau in singles, and finishes her career third in the Bronco listing.

Santa Clara finished its season in April with a third-place showing at the WCC Championships. The Broncos went 10-10 overall, defeating one nationally-ranked team, No. 74 Northern Arizona. Eight of the Broncos' 10 losses were to teams ranked in the top 75 nationally.

"We were hoping for a little bit higher ranking regionally," Ryan said, "but one bad loss can make a difference in this sport. We will be more determined next year to improve upon this.

Stanford earned the top spot in the Northwest Region, followed by fellow Pac-10 powers California and Washington. Fresno State was fourth, followed by Oregon and Washington State. Cal Poly and Sacramento State tied for seventh, with Nevada and Idaho also coming in ahead of SCU.