RAISING THE BID : Up-and-Coming Tennis Programs Such as SDSU’s Wonder How to Continue the Ascent

Arizona State and San Diego State are 350 miles and a desert apart. The climates are almost ideal during the college tennis season--mild and dry.

The coaches of the women’s teams have built their programs from the ground up. San Diego State’s Carol Plunkett and Arizona State’s Sheila McInerney recruit the same type of player--often the same players--but have the same problem: They sometimes seem to be fighting a losing battle against the upper echelon tennis schools, such as Stanford, UCLA, USC, Cal and Florida.

Both schools are consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20, sometimes among the top 10, but neither has been able to break into the elite five.

Today, ASU and SDSU are expected to receive bids for the NCAA team championships in Gainesville, Fla., which begin May 10. ASU is ranked ninth, SDSU 16th.

ASU’s highest finish was eighth in 1987. SDSU’s was fourth in 1984.

Why has neither fared better?

While the USCs and Stanfords pick from a list of 20 blue-chip junior players, McInerney and Plunkett must chase those with promise instead of solid credentials.

“We’re forced to recruit on potential,” said Plunkett, who is in her 13th year at SDSU. “We recruit the 40th- or 50th-best players. We look for the players who love to compete. If you have talent but not a competitive mind, then it’s not going to serve you well.”

McInerney also recruits the “good attitude, hard-worker,” but not by choice.

“If we could get the No. 1 kid, I’m sure we would put up with some of the attitude problems,” she said.

Because Plunkett has been unable to steer any of the top California juniors away from the Pac 10 powers, she has been forced to recruit out of state, and even out of the country.

Her No. 2 player is Kristin Hill of Palatine, Ill.; No. 4 is Jessica Buss of Great Neck, N.Y.; No. 6 is Claire Bateman of Essex, England; No. 7 is Eva Olivarez of Manila, Philippines.

Plunkett also says SDSU’s inferior courts discourage top talent.

“We need a better facility,” she said. “There’s no comparison with our courts and those schools. We resurface our courts every five to seven years, while they’re doing it every year.”

ASU has a large, newly refurbished tennis complex. And it has been making progress in joining the privileged group--the Sun Devils beat USC last year--but McInerney still feels she’s got a way to go before she joins the “in crowd.”

“We’re pretty much in the same ballpark as San Diego State,” said McInerney, who has been in Tempe five years. “We’ve gotten stronger, and we’re getting comparable. My goal is to get a top 10 program and then move up from there. I’d like to get into that hierarchy.”

So would Plunkett. And although she says the athletic administration has never pressured her into joining that elite group, she has put it on herself.

“I feel as much pressure to win as you’ll feel anywhere,” Plunkett said. “I’m evaluated whether I win or lose. But in this city, if you want support, you have to win. I feel a responsibility. If I get a little more money than the softball program, I feel it’s my responsibility to put a good product out there.

“I hate to lose, it’s the pits. If I was flipping burgers at McDonald’s, I want to flip more than anybody else.”

That mentality has carried over to her players.

Sondra Mitchell at No. 1 singles is the prototype Plunkett player, although, Plunkett didn’t even have to recruit her. Mitchell came to her as a walk-on.

“She has phenomenal mental strength,” Plunkett said of the 1988 Big West player of the year and the MVP of last weekend’s Big West tournament in Ojai. “She is just an absolute hard worker. She’s not the most physically gifted player, but she won’t beat herself. You’re going to have to beat her.”

By Mitchell’s sophomore year, she had earned a partial scholarship. Last year, Plunkett offered her a full ride.

“I just wanted to play for a good team and play against good competition so I could improve my tennis,” said Mitchell, who played No. 1 singles at Capistrano Valley High in Orange County. “‘I never imagined I’d be playing this well.”

Mitchell credits much of her improvement to Plunkett.

“She changed my game, even though I didn’t want to,” Mitchell said. “I wanted to go to the fence (play from the baseline) and hit my ground strokes because I couldn’t hit the rises.”

But Mitchell adapted her game the way Plunkett has adapted her program. Plunkett said she has had several opportunities to run for the fence, but each time she has come to the net.

“It’s my program,” she said. “I’ve built it. If I leave it will not be to take another college coaching position but to go another direction.”

Plunkett hopes the only direction SDSU women’s tennis goes is up.

Notes

The 14th-ranked University of San Diego’s women’s program is also expected to receive a NCAA bid, as are the USD men.