The USF men's and women's tennis teams both finished respectably in the upper division of the West Coast Conference tournaments last month. The men took third place in their event, held at St. Mary's College in Moraga. The two teams finishing ahead of them were Pepperdine and San Diego, both nationally ranked. Kalama Kim won two singles matches to pace the Dons.
On the women's side, USF finished fourth, just one win behind third place Loyola Marymount. Margaret Hong won the consolation singles title for the Dons, defeating Judy Lin in what both players called "an odd situation." Hong and Lin then put other matters aside and teamed up to win the consolation doubles title.
In three of her four years on the Hilltop, Margaret Hong has won the WCC Tournament's consolation prize in both singles and doubles competition. In 1994, she went 13-4 in singles competition, a .764 winning percentage, on a team that ended the year with a 6-12 record.Â
Coach John Drocco admitted his team will be hampered by Hong's departure, who won almost 80% of her matches during her career at USF. "She did lots of work off the court with freshmen in order to improve their games during the season," he said recently. "Nobody can replace her, either mentally, physically, or as an Assistant Coach." Freshmen player Carol Collins also praised Hong for her patience and her willingness to help players off the court. "Margaret was the person who took me aside and worked on my serve after practice," she said. She had an impact on my confidence, and pulled us all together as a team (TheFoghorn)."
