Nov. 2, 2009
Santa Clara basketball head coach Kerry Keating and sophomore forward Marc Trasolini will be featured on the fifth episode of WCC Live which will be back on the air on Tues., Nov. 3. The shows begins at 8pm to continue its four-part series previewing the men's and women's basketball seasons as well as feature a recap of this past weekend's WCC cross country championships. The series will feature coaches from across the league as well as prominent student-athletes.
Fans can participate to ask the guests questions by calling the listener line at 646-378-1311 or emailing questions to wcclive@ymail.com, which can also be done ahead of time as well. To listen to the show live, just go to www.wccsports.com/wcclive. Fans can also listen to any previous episode from the Podcentral tab on WCCSports.com.
Appearing on this week's episode will be San Francisco Cross Country Head Coach Helen Lehman-Winters, who talk about her team's historic finish in the WCC cross country championships. From men's basketball, WCC Live will be joined by Keating and Trasolini; and San Diego Head Coach Bill Grier and senior guard Brandon Johnson. On the women's side, WCC Live will welcome San Diego Head Coach Cindy Fisher and sophomore guard Dominique Conners and Saint Mary's Head Coach Paul Thomas and Jontelle Smith.
Keating returns two starters and eight letterwinners from a team that finished fourth in the league last season and reached the semifinals of the WCC Basketball Tournament in his second year at the helm. Trasolini, a member of the 2009 WCC All-freshman team, started 20 of 21 games last year and shot 68.1 percent to break both the single season record and freshman record at Santa Clara.
Coach Winters guided her women's cross country team to the program's first ever team championship for either men's and women's squads last weekend. The Dons' women's team ended a streak of seven straight Portland team titles helping Winters earn the Women's Coach of the Year Award. Her men's team finished in third.
Coach Grier returns two starters and six letterwinners from a team that finished fifth in the league and reached the quarterfinals of the WCC Basketball Tournament, including five players from the team that defeated Connecticut in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Johnson had to miss last season due to injury, but returns this year and has been placed on the WCC preseason all-conference team. He ranks second on the program's all-time assists (425) list and fifth (1,385) on the scoring list.
Coach Fisher returns three starters and eight letterwinners from a team that finished tied for fourth in the league last season and won three straight games to reach the WCC championship game. She has led San Diego to its three best sea¬sons with win totals of 21 in 2007, 19 in 2008, and 19 in 2009. Conners had an impressive freshman campaign last season, leading the team in assists (3.0) and steals (1.8) and will return as the team's leading scorer (10.2 ppg).
Coach Thomas fields an experienced team with four starters and 11 letterwinners returning from a team that finished tied for fourth in the league last season. In his three-year tenure with the Gaels, he has led them to a 24-13 (.648) record at McKeon Pavilion. Smith returns after sitting out last season due to injury. Already recognized by the coaches around the league as a preseason all-conference selection, she returns as the program's all-time career leader in three-pointers (190) and has led the team in scoring in each of her three active years.
