Seniors lead women's tennis in strong season

By Joe Doss-Antoun

A trio of senior tennis players helped the women's team exceed expectations this year as the Broncos finished their season on a high note.

Behind seniors Casey Knutson, Erika Barnes and Kim Daniel, the Broncos placed fifth in the West Coast Conference tournament despite entering the tournament as an overall seventh seed.

"Our conference is really tough, so to take fifth place at conference means a lot for our school," said Knutson.

With their collegiate careers coming to an end, finishing fifth was just one of the many things these seniors achieved.

Knutson, Barnes and Daniel were all honored by the WCC. Knutson was named to the WCC Second Team for both singles and doubles, while Barnes joined her on the WCC Second Team for doubles. Daniel earned Second Team honorable mention for the singles team.

"Getting the awards just shows all the hard work we put into tennis the last four years has really paid off," said Knutson.

Barnes, who competed with Knutson in doubles throughout the year, entered the season with 45 total doubles victories. After going 13-5 this season, she now ranks fourth in school history with 58 total wins.

"It's been really awesome playing with Casey," said Barnes. "It's a completely different feeling than singles because we're playing with each other and bouncing off each others' positive attitude."

In the month of April, the pair went 6-1, including victories over No. 41 Washington State and No. 12 Fresno State. The victory over Fresno State proved to be one of the biggest victories in school history as Barnes and Knutson defeated Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova. The Bulldogs' pair had earned a No. 39 national ranking in doubles play.

In addition, Daniel proved to be one of the key contributors to the Broncos' success this season.

Daniel went 10-9, including a 5-2 record in singles. Daniel also clinched three of the team's eight victories this season.

On April 18, in the seniors' final home match of their respective careers, Daniel defeated Fresno Pacific's Audrey Laib to clinch the victory for Santa Clara. Laib had been unbeaten up to that point.

Daniel continued to come through in the clutch for Santa Clara in the WCC tournament. In the Broncos' victory over sixth-seeded Portland, Daniel defeated Jenna Tanzer 6-2, 6-3 to clinch the match, earning Santa Clara a spot in the fifth place match versus USF.

"It was a really great way to finish out our last year, especially with all of us seniors doing so well," said Barnes.

With all of the success this season, the seniors have the program heading in the right direction for next year.

Santa Clara won eight matches this season, one more than in 2006. In addition, the Broncos surpassed last season's singles win total and also eclipsed last year's wins in doubles. The Broncos added 7 more dual match wins and 8 more doubles victories on the season.

As a fifth-year senior, Knutson was a major factor in the team's improvement and success. She helped the team earn important victories in both singles and doubles matches.

Knutson was named Bronco of the Year, a combination of the Most Valuable Player and Most Inspirational Award, as chosen by fellow members of the team.

"As a fifth-year senior, it obviously means more to me than the all conference awards because it's my team that believes in me," said Knutson. "It's my team that thinks those things about me."

Contact Joe Doss-Antoun at (408) 551-1918 jdossantoun@scu.edu.