Pair of USD Teams Courting National Prominence in Tennis : Bonus Season for Larking Helps Women

Jennifer Larking’s University of San Diego tennis career ended last May at the NCAA championships. At least, that was the way it seemed to her and everyone else.

In fact, the former San Diego Section singles champion from Poway High then gave away all but one of her racquets and didn’t pick up the remaining one for six months.

Her eligibility had seemingly been exhausted, and she was expected to graduate in December with a degree in business administration and marry Steve Dawson on March 4. But things changed in December--both marriage and graduation were postponed to late spring--when the NCAA granted her another year of eligibility because of the circumstances of her transfer from the University of Oklahoma.

Consequently, when the national rankings were released Tuesday, Larking was ranked 36th (up from 38th at the end of last season) in singles. USD was ranked 16th, the first time in the school’s history that women’s tennis has made the top 20.

USD (12-4) already has defeated three top 20 teams--Pepperdine (No. 9), Trinity (15) and SDSU (18). Its only losses were to third-ranked UCLA, 10th-ranked Arizona State, 11th-ranked BYU and Pepperdine. USD’s goal is to make it to the 16-team draw for NCAA championships.

Much of this is happening because Larking is now in a senior season she thought she already had experienced.

At the request of USD Coach Sherri Stephens, an NCAA committee granted her a “hardship” year because of the situation at Oklahoma. While she was a freshman at Oklahoma in the fall of 1984, Larking and three other women’s tennis players quit after alleging misconduct on the part of a coach. Larking was released from her scholarship and transfered to USD, where she was allowed to play immediately and compiled 56-12 record over the next three years.

She did not know until late 1988 that she would have a fourth year coming.

“I didn’t even know they were trying to get my year back,” she said. “When they told me, my initial reaction was excitement. But then I thought about everything else. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come back. I wasn’t sure if I could. I stopped playing after the nationals. And I didn’t play at all until I got my eligibility back.”

Said Stephens: “Jennifer is a great player. Probably the best player I’ve had in all my years of coaching. She had to make the decision whether she wanted to put herself back on the line. She had had a great career. She was supposed to be getting married. She could have graduated. It was not an easy decision for her to make. I think she did it mostly for the team.”

After getting the OK from the NCAA and her fiance, Larking began concentrating on tennis again.

She has had a lot of fun. And the team is enjoying what could be its best season ever.

On Feb. 28, Larking won her No. 1 singles match in three sets (7-5, 2-6, 6-2) to lead the Toreras to a 5-4 victory over 18th-ranked San Diego State. Larking’s singles record is 9-5.

Just as nobody thought Larking would be playing, nobody four years ago would have envisioned USD among the elite.

“We had a couple of top players, and that’s it,” said Kelley Jewell, the senior captain from Tucson, Ariz., who has been with Stephens for eight years through high school and college. “Now we’re strong from top to bottom.”

In 1985, USD finished 4-26. It was Stephens’ first season after coaching high school in Tucson and serving as an assistant at the University of Arizona. Each year since has brought improvement, with the 1988 team finishing 15-9, including victories over two Top 20 teams.

“I knew it was going to take a while,” Stephens said. “I had nothing to promote. Now I feel I have something to sell. I’m very proud of that. And it helps in our recruiting and fund raising. It just snowballs. I just hope it keeps snowballing up.”

Stephens added, “It’s basically recruiting that certain kind of player. These girls are really close. I really believe in the team aspect. I recruit a person, not a player.”

With limited scholarships and a relatively meager budget, she has recruited a terrific blend of age, style and abilities.

The two other seniors are Jill Greenwood from Malibu and Nicole LaChiusa from Beaumont, Tex. Greenwood, a semifinalist at the 1987 West Coast Athletic Conference championships, has compiled a 22-13 doubles record over two years. LaChiusa was USD’s most valuable player her freshman season.

Junior Aby Brayton (San Jose) plays No. 3 singles and teams with Larking in No. 1 doubles. Another junior, Christy Drage, was the 1985 San Diego Section singles champion at Mission Bay High.

In the sophomore class are Tonya Fuller from San Jose (11-4 record in No. 2 singles), Stephanie Hogue (Bellaire, Tex.) and Hillary Hobel (Palos Verdes).

Enjoying exceptional freshman seasons are Sakolwan Kacharoen and Christine Schmeidel.

Kacharoen came to the United States from Bangkok, Thailand, as a 14-year-old after winning the international Sport Goofy tournament at Disney World in Florida. Living with a guardian in Malibu, she was valedictorian of her senior class at Colin McWen High and is 13-5 in No. 4 singles for USD. Schmeidel, of Valencia, has USD’s best record (13-2) playing No. 5 singles. She also was a finalist at last year’s Fiesta Bowl Tennis Championships.

“I really like our depth,” said Stephens. “I really believe I could switch any one of them on any given day, and we’d be just as strong.”

Of course, with Larking back, USD is even stronger.