Player Bio: Marissa Irvin

  Marissa Irvin
Marissa Irvin
Player Profile
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Santa Monica, Calif.
High School:
Harvard-Westlake
Height:
5-7

1999-2000 (Sophomore): Ranked No. 2 in singles and No. 1 in doubles, with Teryn Ashley, in the ITA Preseason rankings ... Currently ranked No. 130 in the world in singles ... Did not compete in any of the fall collegiate tennis championships ... Played in 12 professional events between June 12 and November 23, tallying a 36-12 record ... Reached the main draw semifinals at the Mount Pleasant (SC) Championships, Kirkland (WA) Championships, and the Santa Clara (CA) Championships... Reached the finals of the Largo (FL.) Championships ... Won seven matches at Largo, including a 7-5, 6-1 victory over No. 69 Emmanuelle Gagliardi in the semifinals.

1998-99 (Freshman): Finished the season ranked No. 2 in the ITA rankings ... Singles and doubles All-American ... Named Pac-10 Player of the Year after winning the Conference singles and doubles title ... First Team All-Pac-10 selection ... Named ITA February Singles Player of the Month ... Winner of the National Indoor singles championship, defeating Marissa Catlin of Georgia, 7-6, 6-3 ... Ended the year with a 49-7 overall record and a 23-4 dual record at No. 1 ... Named the ITA Doubles Player of the Month in October and April ... Won the Block "S" Award as Stanford's Most Outstanding Freshman Female Athlete ... ITA National Rookie of the Year ... Won 23 straight dual matches before falling to No. 19 Ditta Huber of USC (April 3) ... Compiled a 14-5 record against players ranked in the Top 25 ... Began the season ranked 50th by ITA before ever playing in a collegiate event... Also ranked 12th in doubles with Teryn Ashley... In her first collegiate tournament, won the doubles title with Ashley at the Riviera All-American Championships, upsetting two seeded duos... Advanced to the semifinals in singles competition at the same event, defeating the third seed before falling to seventh-ranked Martina Nedelkova of Virginia Commonwealth 6-1, 5-7, 4-6... As the No. 2 seed at the ITA Regional, advanced to the semifinals before falling to 13th seed Anita Kurimay of California 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4... Only lost seven games in three matches before defeating teammate Jennifer Heiser in the quarterfinals 6-2, 7-6 (2)... Completed the fall season with a 8-2 mark.

Prior to Stanford: Holds nine USTA national titles in singles and doubles... Won the Junior Girls Doubles Championship at the 1997 U.S. Open... Currently the top-ranked 18-and-under junior in the nation... Won the Easter Bowl Junior Championship in April, as well as the CIF Southern Section singles championships... Member of the 1997 U.S. National Team... Ranked first in doubles and nineteenth in singles in the ITF Junior World Rankings... Received the Lee Carlson Award as her high school's outstanding female athlete... Was the SCTA Player of the Year in 1994 and '95...

Personal: Born June 23, 1980... Father, Richard, was a three-time All-America volleyball player at UCLA, leading his team to three national titles.

Frank Brennan Says: "Marissa took the fall off to play professional tennis and did very, very well. So she got to play against some great competition which has helped her raise her game to another level. I think she will be the best player in the country this year. She has a great all-around game with the best serve in college tennis."

Best Wins: Annica Cooper, Allison Bradshaw, Amy Jensen, Mariel Verban (Wake Forest), Whitney Laiho (Florida), Marissa Caitlan (Georgia), Kristina Kraszweski (Washington), Rachel McQullen, Mashona Washington, Lilia Osterloh, Jennifer Hopkins, Sarah Walker (UCLA), Holly Parkinson, Mehgan Shaunessey, Jana Nejedly, Jolene Watanabe.

Career Statistics (Singles)

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dual Overall
1998-99 22-4 1-0 - - - - 23-4 49-7
1999-2000 - Did Not Play The Fall Schedule -
Total 22-4 1-0 - - - - 23-4 49-7