April 21, 2005

Complete Men's WCC Bracket in PDF Format
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Complete Women's WCC Bracket in PDF Format
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The Santa Clara University men's and women's tennis teams will participate in the West Coast Conference Championships held in Malibu and San Diego this Friday through Sunday. Pepperdine University will host the men's tournament while the University of San Diego will host on the women's side. The Bronco men enter the Championship as a fourth seed, with an overall record of 12-10. The women also enter the Championship as a fourth seed, with an overall record of 14-6.

A.J. Kerin and the Broncos will battle for the WCC's top prize this weekend.

On the men's side, the tournament features three nationally-ranked teams. Pepperdine currently stands at No. 7 in the nation and has captured 35 WCC titles, including the last 14. The Toreros are currently listed 31st and are the only WCC team other than Pepperdine to have once earned a WCC title. Portland recently entered the rankings as well and currently stands at No. 72. Six men's singles players in the conference are currently ranked nationally, including Pierrick Ysern of San Diego who ranks 11th. In doubles, Scott Doerner and Pedro Rico of Pepperdine are ranked second by the ITA.

Leading Santa Clara are seniors Taylor Bedilion and Francisco Zepponi. Playing in the top two spots, Bedilion has recorded 11 dual wins. Zepponi set the program mark for career singles wins last Saturday and enters the championships with 73 under his belt. Both players have been key to the team's overall record of 12-10, fourth best in the WCC. Freshman AJ Kerin has also been a significant contributor for the Broncos with an overall record of 19-10 at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions. The Broncos are peaking at the right time of the season, as they finished the regular season slate by winning eight of their final 10 matches. Santa Clara has finished in the top four in seven of the past eight WCC Championships.

The women's tournament also features a nationally-ranked program. Pepperdine is currently listed 39th in the nation and has captured 15 of the 18 WCC women's tennis titles. Loyola Marymount captured the crown in 2002 to become the only current WCC school other than Pepperdine to have won the championship. Three of the tournament's players are ranked in singles. Emma Murphy of San Diego is listed 30th while Bianca Dulgheru and Caroline Raba of Pepperdine are listed 39th and 68th, respectively.

With an overall record of 14-6, tops in the league, the Broncos are led by senior Janalle Kaloi. Her 14 dual singles victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions have been crucial to the Broncos' success. Kaloi has also made significant contributions in doubles. Teamed with sophomore Kelly Leathers, the pair has an overall record of 12-6. Santa Clara enters the tournament having won 10 of its last 13 matches. The Broncos posted back-to-back third-place finishes in 2002 and '03 for the best finishes in program history.

Play is set to begin on Friday, with the Bronco men taking on fifth-seeded San Francisco at 11 a.m. in Malibu. The women's team takes on fifth-seeded St. Mary's in San Diego with at match set to begin at 10:30 a.m.