TRITON Magazine Spring 2021 | Page 39

WOMEN ’ S TENNIS

LIZ LAPLANTE

FEW HAVE SEEN the transformation of UC San Diego like Liz LaPlante . The longest-tenured head coach in the Athletics department , LaPlante took the reins of the women ’ s tennis program in 1979 , shortly after graduating from college herself . With four Division III national championships under her belt and continued success in two decades of Division II thereafter , LaPlante sees a bright Triton future in Division I and the Big West Conference .
What has changed over time about scholar-athletes at UC San Diego ? When I first arrived , the team had only been going for a few years ; it was obviously very small , and they hadn ’ t won anything . But from that beginning and all throughout , we ’ ve had the same academically strong , smart women , obviously . But in recent years , I think they ’ ve gotten even smarter . Tennis-wise , too , it ’ s a completely different level — the seriousness , the athleticism , the strength … they ’ re just trained so much more now as junior players . Really , the level has gone up tenfold since I started .
Talk about winning those national championships — what did it mean to you ? Well , obviously , that was hugely exciting for the program . We won our first one in ’ 85 when we were Division III , and we were always one of the top-ranked teams — several times , we just barely missed it , coming in second . But it put us on the map as a really strong tennis program , and we held that strength for many years in Division III . When we transitioned to Division II , it was a different story , but it gave us so much history for those many years in Division III , which is something that can never be taken away from us .
How would you describe the transitions you ’ ve seen — from Division III , II and now Division I ? The transition from III to II was not huge . I think we really had outgrown Division III , just as far as playing so many small schools and winning a number of championships . The transition was smooth , though I was leery of losing our routine of always being one of the top teams . And yes , we never did win another national championship in Division II , but we held our own ; we were very competitive and ended up in the top 20 pretty much every year , even going to nationals for a handful of years .
Division I will be a whole different ball game . The level ’ s going to be very different — much stronger obviously — but it ’ s exciting to be able to play peer institutions and see how we fare . We beat UC Davis a couple of years ago , and it was a huge upset , for example . The Big West has strong players , though . The first couple of years may be a little bit of a struggle , but three or four years of athletic scholarships should make us highly competitive .
What message would you give to your alumni who have passed through the program all these years ? Well , obviously , a huge thank you for all the time and effort they put into the team . It definitely is a grind to be a scholar-athlete here at UC San Diego , but they love it , and hopefully , they take away amazing memories and friendships and lessons learned from being a part of a team . I hope I ’ ve taught them about teamwork and team chemistry and helping each other , and they realize the importance of that — having lifelong friendships as a result .
“ Coach was so calm , cool and collected , even though we had some strong individuals on our team . She probably was only a few years older than us players , but we had no idea — she carried herself with confidence , even though she told me later she was scared to death . But she was stable and supportive , with an amazing inner strength . She just never gives up . I mean , she coached through all of her pregnancies till the last day ! And now having coached in all three divisions , she and the team will thrive in DI — she was made for it .” – Rhonda Meier ’ 89
“ Liz is very , very calm . It ’ s what makes her such a good coach with the mental game of tennis . It gave us confidence as well ; we just always believed we were going to win , and that ’ s really the most important thing when you walk onto the court . And even if we fell behind , she never let us assume the match was over . It was just ' Come on , you got this .' With DI ahead of the team , it ’ s the same thing — she ’ s got this .” – Christine Behrens ( Almeida ) ’ 90 , Hall of Fame 2013
What have you learned coaching at UC San Diego ? I ’ ve learned you ’ re not just there to teach tennis . You teach players to be better people , you see them grow , and you work to create an atmosphere on the team that ’ s comfortable , that feels like family . It took me many years to realize that kind of supportive team atmosphere was really the key thing . It ’ s the foundation on which I , too , continue to grow and try to improve everything that I do .
— Jeff Tourial
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