Tag: USC

USC’s Samantha Bricio Does it All

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The following three tweets are from the University of Southern California women’s volleyball twitter account in their 3-1 victory over Oregon State University on October 23rd (25-20, 24-26, 25-16, 25-18). They provide valuable lessons for junior volleyball players.

There was a day when players were stereotyped – tall girls hit and blocked and short girls dug and set. Today all the players, no matter their height, have to do it all.

The first two tweets are about Samantha Bricio, a 6’2″ senior Outside Hitter from Guadalajara, Mexico.

Lesson 1: Bricio does it all!

USC W. Volleyball ‏@uscwomensvolley 8h8 hours ago
@samybricio finishes with 23K (.246) and 15 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. She also had two aces and three blocks #FightOn

Lesson 2: Bricio actually got her double-double just prior to the end of the second set. Bricio has been a consistent well-rounded player for a number of years.

USC W. Volleyball ‏@uscwomensvolley 9h9 hours ago
With 15K and 10D, @samybricio already has her 10th double-double of the season (50th career) through two sets#FightOn #vbscores

Lesson 3: When you are number one in the country, how do you lose a set 24-26 when you have 23 kills and a block? Guess you have to hit your serve in….oops!? (USC missed 5 serves in the second set.) You lose matches when you have unforced errors.

USC W. Volleyball ‏@uscwomensvolley 9h9 hours ago
USC hit .373 in set two and scored all 24 of its points (23K, 1B) but had five service errors | S2 Tied 1-1 #FightOn #vbscores.

bricio

Best College Tennis Players in Country Go Unnoticed in Boulder

horvath 1 Comment

The best college tennis players in the country recently went unnoticed in Boulder. The  city has a poor track record of supporting (watching) great sports performances.  Boulderites would rather play than watch – which isn’t all bad.

Over a 10 day period (March 14th to March 24th) Colorado tennis fans had an opportunity to see the future of American women’s professional tennis in Boulder as the 74th-ranked Lady Buffs tennis team played USC (12th), Cal (16th), UCLA (2), and Stanford (4). Eleven of the PAC-12 visiting opponents are currently in the top 30 of the ITA singles rankings.

Zoe Scandalis, #1 Player USC, against CU Buffs. Scandalis is one of the top college tennis players in the country.
Zoe Scandalis, #1 Player, University of Southern California, in match against CU Lady Buffs.

The USC powerhouse is led by #1 player Zoe Scandalis (see photo) and includes a group of 9 elite junior players from California and 1 player from Mississippi. All were highly-ranked junior players who participated in a variety of USTA programs.

On the other hand Cal’s team is comprised of a mix of accomplished American and International players. For example, Hungarian Zsofi Susanyi, #3 singles player, advanced to the singles finals at the 2009 Junior Wimbledon.

The Stanford team includes 5 Californians, two East Coast players, and a Canadian. Three of the six players (Krista Hardebeck, Carol Zhao, and Carolyn Doyle) played in various junior Grand Slams and Kristie Ahn, #1 player, played in the main draw of the U.S. Open.

UCLA is coached by Stella Sampras, older sister of Pete Sampras. All six Bruin players (Robin Anderson, Jennifer Brady, Catherine Harrison, Chanelle Van Nguyen, Kyle McPhillips, and Courtney Dolehide) played in multiple junior Grand Slam events. In addition, one player played in the main draw of the U.S. Open. All of the players except Dolehide are currently in the top 50 of the singles ITA rankings.

It is disappointing that there weren’t more people in attendance to watch some great college tennis by the Buffs and their opponents. (Average estimated attendance for the four matches was less than 200 people.)

It is an even greater travesty that the Colorado tennis community doesn’t give the Lady Buffs the ongoing support the team deserves!