SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The Pepperdine University women's tennis team has been selected to win the West Coast Conference crown for the upcoming 2019 season, the league office announced Wednesday. Portland was picked to finish eighth in the poll, which was voted on by the league's head coaches.
Pepperdine was the unanimous selection to win, garnering nine first place votes as conference policy prohibits coaches from casting a vote for their own team. The Waves won their sixth straight WCC Championship last season and 14th title in the last 16 years.
Loyola Marymount was picked to finish second, while Gonzaga collected the final first-place vote and was third overall with 62 points.
Portland returns all seven primary lineup players from last year's team including junior Jelena Lukic, who finished last year 5-1 in WCC play at the No. 1 position and earned honorable mention all-league honors.
Two freshman have joined the roster as Angela Schuster had a solid fall campaign, while
Marija Elenova joined the team this month.
The Pilots got off to a strong start to the spring with a dual match win at
Chaminade and dominating effort at the
Hawai'i Pacific Invitational.
The 2019 WCC Women's Tennis Championship will take place at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, Calif., April 25-27.
2019 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON POLL
| Team (First Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. Pepperdine (9) |
81 |
| 2. Loyola Marymount |
71 |
| 3. Gonzaga (1) |
62 |
| 4. San Diego |
54 |
| 5. Saint Mary's |
53 |
| 6. Brigham Young |
42 |
| 7. Santa Clara |
36 |
| 8. Portland |
20 |
| 9. San Francisco |
16 |
| 10. Pacific |
15 |
2019 ALL-WCC PRESEASON WOMEN'S TENNIS TEAM
Madison Clarke, Santa Clara, Sr.
Mariia Kozyreva, Saint Mary's,
Ashley Lahey, Pepperdine, Jr.
Evgeniya Levashova, Pepperdine, Soph.
Veronica Miroshnichenko, Loyola Marymount, Soph.
Eva Marie Voracek, Loyola Marymount, Soph.
Sophie Whittle, Gonzaga, Sr.
*Seven members due to a tie in voting
