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| Lisa Hart |
Join Cougar tennis head coach Lisa Hart in a live online chat Friday, April 18 at 11:30 a.m.
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| Moderator: Good morning Cougar fans and thank you for visiting wsucougars.com and today's online chat with Washington State Tennis Coach Lisa Hart. The Cougar tennis team, ranked 40th nationally, concludes its regular season against No. 34 and intrastate rival Washington tomorrow at noon at the Simmelink Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. The senior class will be honored at 11:30. Coach Hart, thank you for joining us this morning. |
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Lisa Hart: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about Cougar Tennis! |
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| Moderator: Okay, let's get to some questions |
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| Tim (Boise): What ranking/rating do you have to have to get invited to the NCAA tournament? And if you don't make it this year, what do you think about your chances in the future. (You're doing a great job, by the way.) |
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Lisa Hart: The NCAA Selection Process works very similar to NCAA Basketball. There are 31 Conferences that all have at-large bids. Unfortunately several of those conference winners do not have a national ranking. Usually if a team is ranked in the top 40 they have a great shot of getting in and teams ranked between #40-#50 are on the bubble. A win against UW tomorrow would significantly help our chances. If we don't make it this year, I am optimistic for the future. Our players are very "hungry"....it is their goal to go to NCAA's this year and hopefully that will happen-but if it doesn't, I know the returners will keep working hard and I am excited about what our incoming freshmen will add to our program. Thanks for your support Tim! GO COUGS! |
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| Jim (Spokane): Lisa, with the winter the region experienced, how beneficial was it for your program to play and practice in the new indoor facility? Also, I understand you have new outdoor courts as well. How beneficial has that been? |
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Lisa Hart: The new indoor facility is awesome!! Thank you Audrey Simmelink, who provided the funds to renovate the Fieldhouse into an indoor tennis facility! It is wonderful not having to drive to Lewiston for practice and matches. The outdoor facility is very nice but we have only had the opportunity to play two matches. Hopefully the weather will improve soon! There are four courts currently in the Fieldhouse so it would be nice to have a six-court indoor facility in the future. One of our goals is to always strive to improve our facilities in all of our sports so they are the best in the conference. We will continue to work on providing our student-athletes the best facilities. |
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| Jeremy (Philadelphia): Coach, I've noticed that we have alot of international students on the roster. Is the recruiting process different in tennis than other sports and is there an effort to bring in more local athletes (state of washington?) |
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Lisa Hart: Tennis has become such an international sport. Just about every Division 1 team has international student athletes, even the schools in the most desired "tennis" areas. The talent overseas is outstanding. Very few players in the state of Washington can compete at the Pac-10 level; however, we go after the very best student-athletes wherever they might live and we always eagerly recruit any local players that can play at the Pac-10 level. |
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| Jill (Bellingham): Can you talk about Ekaterina Burduli's play? How impressive are her accomplishments and what has she meant to your program? |
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Lisa Hart: Ekaterina is a special player and person. She is arguably the best player that has ever played at WSU. She is the ultimate competitor. She is a winner and has found a way to consistently win on the court and in the classroom over the past four years. We are going to miss her BIG TIME! But, I can guarantee you she will be successful in whatever she pursues. |
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| Steve (Seattle): I have been following the team from the west side all season, and I was just wondering how you feel about this years senior class and the accomlishments they have achieved during their four years. |
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Lisa Hart: The special thing about our senior class, Eka, Alex Stefanova, Kara Konomos, is how consistent they have been throughout their careers. They have been committed to their craft and have always strived to improve their game on the court and achieve in the classroom as well. Aside from those qualities, I will also miss the leadership they have provided this team. They have been a big part in the rebuilding process here and are a significant reason why we are a nationally-ranked program now. |
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| Scott/Pullman: Lisa - great job with the team so far this year. Who do you think will take Eka's spot at #1 next year? |
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Lisa Hart: That's a hard question to answer. We have so much parity on our team. Kate Kamendova, a freshman who currently plays in the top of the line-up, continues to improve. Also, I am very excited about our two incoming freshman, Elisabeth Fournier and Ioana Oprea, who I believe both could contend for top of the lineup positions. I expect our seniors next year, Bianca Selaru and Sasha Cekic, will also significantly contribute to the team next year. |
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| Leslie (Olympia): Lisa, can you talk about living in Pullman and what the area offers? |
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Lisa Hart: I LOVE living in Pullman! The support we receive from the community is AWESOME! The family atmosphere is second to none and I love the four seasons here. It is wonderful to have Pac-10 Athletics nestled in the tight-knit community that Pullman offers. That combination provides our student-athletes with an experience that I believe no other school can provide. |
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| Moderator: Okay, that's all the time we have. Lisa, thank you once again for taking the time to join us and best of luck tomorrow. |
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Lisa Hart: Thank you for having me. I encourage everyone to come out tomorrow and see a great match against Washington. It will be the last time the seniors play in Pullman. As a reminder, we will be honoring the seniors at 11:30 a.m. at Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. Thank you everyone for all of your support this year. Your support makes a huge difference in the success of our program. GO COUGS!!! |
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| Moderator: Thank you to everyone for your questions. Remember, to get all the information about Washington State University Athletics, go no further than wsucougars.com, the official website of Cougar Athletics. Please check back to wsucougars.com for future online chats. |
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