There’s More to This USD Team Than Noriega : Tennis: Seniors Dan Mattera and J.R. Edwards are most prominent among others who have taken their games to new levels for the 19th-ranked Toreros.

Sometimes Ed Collins, the University of San Diego’s men’s tennis coach, has a hard time fathoming just how much sophomore Jose Luis Noriega of Peru has meant to his program.

“I’ll be the first to admit Jose has helped our program tremendously,” Collins said. “He’s a national (college clay court) champion. That’s something to be proud of, and it helps our program. Because when Jose’s name is mentioned, people tend to think of USD tennis.”

Noriega’s impact was not unlike that of a rookie quarterback coming in and leading a veteran NFL team to its first Super Bowl. In his freshman season, Noriega won the West Coast Conference singles and doubles championships and reached the round of 16 at the NCAA individual championships.

It wasn’t coincidence that the Toreros gained their first NCAA Division I tournament after 10 years of competing at that level.

“He’s accomplished a great deal since he’s been here,” Collins said. “He deserves all the attention he gets.”

Seniors Dan Mattera and J.R. Edwards don’t mean to downplay Noriega’s importance--he was 11-2 in No. 1 singles last year--but they admit accepting his fame has not always been easy.

“Last year was really tough because all we heard was Jose, Jose, and I was having a pretty good season (23-6 at No. 6 singles),” Mattera said. “I used to be so bitter. But you just finally realize it’s going to be that way and learn to accept it. I feel like we are finally content with the way we’re playing, and we don’t really care about other things so much.”

And while Mattera was bitter, Edwards said he was intimidated by Noriega.

“I always felt nervous playing doubles with him,” Edwards said. “I don’t know if I ever felt really comfortable. As good as he is, he’s definitely intimidating.”

But this year, Mattera and Edwards say they have learned to accept Noriega for what he is. And the bitterness and nerves have turned to admiration and friendship.

“All the fears came from us,” Mattera said. “We were the ones who were causing the tension. He was modest the entire time.

“What makes us better is that he believes he can win at No. 1. He handles everything so well. I couldn’t handle all that pressure of playing No. 1.”

Although Noriega doesn’t claim to be a team leader, he said the way he deals with pressure has rubbed off on the others.

“I just tell every one to have fun and not have so much pressure on them,” he said. “I’ve seen some players doing some things that they’ve never done before.”

Such as occasionally beating him in challenge matches.

“I think they’ve learned to prepare themselves better mentally and not feel so intimidated,” Noriega said. “I think I show that it’s not that hard. They all have the tennis skills to beat anybody.”

Collins said Noriega has also shown that hard work can lead to victories.

“If they work hard, he works harder,” Collins said. “He doesn’t waste a minute in practice. He has a purpose for every ball he hits.”

At one time, that was the antithesis of Edwards’ and Mattera’s approach.

“Both of them are extremely talented, but they had a lot to learn about tennis,” said Collins, in his 12th year as coach at USD. “A lot of changes have been made systematically in their games over the years.”

With Edwards, who came to USD from Denver, Collins’ job was to tone down his power game.

“When he came here from the altitude in Denver, he had a big serve, and that was about it,” Collins said. “He took a lot of chances and didn’t have a large margin for error in his game. He could fall apart at any moment.”

Edwards agrees. “I thought a good strategy was to serve and volley and go for winners,” he said. “I didn’t really have a purpose. When I first got here, I beat everybody before they figured out what I was doing. And then when I started losing, I’d always lose to the same type of player. A quick guy who could run down shots and hit a lot of balls.”

And until his junior year, Edwards would rarely come back after losing the first set. He had the worst comeback record on the team for two years.

But last year, Edwards went 13-5 after losing the first set--the best of any player on the team. This season, while playing anywhere from No. 2 to No. 4, Edwards has gone 26-8 in singles and doubles and is ranked 74th in singles for the 19th-ranked Toreros (20-4).

“After going undefeated in the Blue-Gray Classic, he’s shown that he’s learned to play with pressure,” Collins said. “He’s also toned down his game and increased his margin for error.”

Edwards said his game has undergone a complete transformation.

“I love to rally now, and I don’t have a problem staying on the baseline,” he said. “In fact, I am now playing like the players that used to beat me.”

Mattera came equipped with a fierce two-handed backhand, but not much else.

“I might have been easier to work with than J.R. because my game was so undeveloped,” said Mattera, who played in high school at South Torrance High. “I had to start from scratch. I didn’t have to have an overhaul, because I didn’t have a serve, an overhead or a volley.”

Said Collins: “It was so obvious. He needed to improve his full game.”

Mattera has done so to such an extent that he is now the most consistent winner on the team. He is 37-8 overall (ranked 47th nationally in singles) and has a perfect 19-0 record in doubles; 15 of those victories have come when playing with freshman Kevin Bradley.

USD has also been helped this year by seniors Chris Toomey of Poway High, who is 28-8 in singles and doubles playing in a number of different spots, and Tim Bubnack of Torrey Pines, who is 14-6 in singles and doubles.

“Sometimes I can’t believe how much we’ve improved,” said Mattera, who has won 75% of his matches during his USD career. “Last year we were winning at No. 5 and 6, but to be playing at No. 2 or No. 3 beating these guys, that’s hard to believe.”

Collins finds it even harder to believe that he may miss Mattera and Edwards more than Noriega.

“A year ago, two years ago, I was sure I’d be able to improve my program when they left, but now it’ll be impossible to replace them,” Collins said. “Next year will definitely be a rebuilding year.”

Mattera said he’s hopeful Collins won’t have too many of those.

“Since we’ve been here, we’ve beaten Stanford, Cal, USC and gone to the second round of the NCAAs,” he said. “When I first got here, we’d be lucky to get a match off those teams. But now we’re a legitimate threat. People know who we are. It would be disappointing to see all that go down the tubes.”