Cal Poly Tennis Star Dies After a Traffic Accident

Xenia Anastasiadou, two-time Division II national champion in tennis for Cal Poly Pomona, died early Sunday from injuries she suffered in a Saturday automobile accident at Diamond Bar. She was 22.

Anastasiadou, one of Greece’s best female players, was the No. 1-ranked singles player in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s Division II this season.

Her automobile was struck in an intersection by a car that apparently had brake failure, Cal Poly Pomona officials said in a statement Sunday. She was taken to San Dimas Community Hospital where she died Sunday morning.

Anastasiadou, a senior, was trying to become the first woman to win three consecutive single titles in Division II, said Ron Fremont, Cal Poly Pomona spokesman.

“She was not looking past this season,” said Ann Lebedeff, Pomona’s first-year coach. “We had recently talked about whether she wanted to get on to the (pro) circuit or graduate. She wanted to finish school.”

Lebedeff said Anastasiadou was earning a degree in physical education, and was considering a career in coaching.

“She probably would have been an assistant coach here next season,” Lebedeff said.

Cal Poly Pomona, which has three matches this week, plays host to Brigham Young Hawaii today.

Lebedeff said Anastasiadou would expect the team, ranked No. 6 nationally, to continue playing as hard as she always did.

“This is going to have an effect on the kids,” she said. “They are despondent, but they know that she would want them to go on.”

Anastasiadou, who has a sister living near Cal Poly Pomona, decided to attend the school three years ago.

Mary Holycross, a former Cal Poly player who met Anastasiadou in Italy the summer before the Athens player entered Pomona, was surprised to learn they would be teammates.

Though an aggressive player, she was a warm personality off the court, Holycross said.

“Her family was the most important thing in her life,” she said. “Her family came first. If she was your friend she would do anything for you.”

Memorial services are pending as her family is en route from Athens.