Lloyd Comes Home and Shows His Improvement

Former Esperanza High tennis star Tom Lloyd continued his turnaround sophomore season for Arizona this weekend as he led the surging Wildcats to road victories over UC Irvine and the University of San Diego.

Lloyd, who had a losing record at No. 4 and No. 5 singles last year, improved to 8-3 this season with two straight-set victories at No. 2 singles on Friday and Saturday. In a 6-1 victory over 70th-ranked UCI on Friday, Lloyd defeated Dave Matthew, 6-2, 6-1. In 52nd-ranked Arizona’s 4-3 victory over 50th-ranked San Diego, Lloyd’s 7-6 (4), 7-5 victory over Ricardo Rizo clinched the match. He also helped Arizona win the doubles point Saturday as he and partner Whi Kim won their set, 8-6.

On Saturday, Lloyd had an added edge. The match was played at his father Hank’s club, Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

“Tommy loved being back home,” Arizona Coach Billy Wright said. “He loved that Orange County food and water.”

Lloyd is loving a lot about this season. After a rough transition into college tennis last year, he spent the summer playing on the professional Futures tour and then spent the fall toning his body with Arizona strength coach Neal Wiley.

Lloyd didn’t grow--he’s still 5 feet 7. But his added bulk and improved conditioning have made him a different tennis player.

“He’s hitting the ball a ton now and he’s much quicker to the ball,” Wright said. “Now we just need to work on getting him into the net a little more.”

Said Lloyd : “I’m stuck with this frame. But I’ve gotten a lot stronger and I’m playing with a lot more confidence.”

That was evident Saturday in the match against Rizo, who beat Lloyd in the fall, 6-3, 6-3.

Lloyd wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school, even though he was ranked fourth in Southern California as an 18-year-old. San Diego, Arizona and Fresno State were the only schools who showed interest. Wright said he had a feeling about Lloyd.

“He wasn’t one of those kids with great athletic ability or a great serve, but I liked his racket head speed,” Wright said. “We don’t get top-five players in the country here, so we have to recruit on potential.”

It appears Lloyd is fulfilling his potential. “Going to Tucson has been a great move for me,” Lloyd said. “I couldn’t see myself any other place.”

THREE FOR NAVY

Former Mater Dei guard Maile Shimoda of Navy was chosen to the women’s basketball all-rookie team in the Patriot League and has made an average of three three-pointers per game. She leads the team with 48 three-pointers, making 41.4%.

But Shimoda has been more than just a long-range shooter for Navy. Earlier this season she was named Patriot League rookie of the week for her performances in victories over Albany and Lafayette. In the two games Shimoda averaged 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.

SOCCER

Defender Rhiannon Tanaka and midfielder Michelle Maitland have been added to the preseason roster of the San Diego Spirit of the Women’s United Soccer Assn., the club announced.

Tanaka, a graduate of Marina High, where she was a four-year starter, and Maitland, who played for Kennedy High, were among three players selected from a group of 20 that participated in an invitation-only tryout at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.

Tanaka is a former All-American at both USC, where she played as a freshman, and UCLA. She was a two-time All-Pacific 10 selection. Maitland played at Cal Poly Pomona, leading the Broncos to the ’99 NCAA Division II title game.

The Spirit opened training camp Thursday with 27 players and must reduce its roster to 20 by April 1. The season begins April 22.

CYPRESS TRANSFERS

Several former Cypress College athletes are having good seasons elsewhere.

Josh Snook, a junior left fielder at Houston, was named Conference USA player of the week for the period ending Feb. 26. Houston went 3-1 during the week and Snook batted .412 with a .971 slugging percentage. He was seven for 17 with three doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs, seven runs and four stolen bases.

Sharee Brown, a 6-foot center for the women’s basketball team at Cal State San Bernardino, is averaging 10.3 points. She holds the Cypress record for career rebounds and is second in scoring.

Triana Allen left Cypress after her freshman season and is a starting guard at Gonzaga where she is averaging eight points. On Dec. 20 she hit a 12-footer at the buzzer to give Gonzaga a 74-73 victory over Montana.

NOTABLE

Arizona State junior Leah Combs, a center from Esperanza High, was a second-team selection for the 2001 women’s basketball Academic All-District VIII team. Combs is a broadcast journalism major and has a 3.94 grade-point average.

Anais Cunha, who attended El Modena High, is a pre-medicine major at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and a senior forward on the women’s hockey team. She has played in 100 games in her career and has 25 goals and 40 assists. The team is ranked 10th in NCAA Division III.

Former Laguna Hills High three-sport standout Tayyiba Haneef, now at Long Beach State, won the high jump at the recent Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Championships, clearing 1.81 meters. Last fall in volleyball, Haneef was a first-team All-Big West selection.

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Staff writers Paul McLeod and Bob Rohwer contributed to this report.

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