USD’s Noriega Out With Tendinitis

A doctor confirmed Tuesday what University of San Diego’s Jose Luis Noriega had feared--rotator cuff tendinitis will sideline the No. 1-ranked player in college tennis until at least the NCAA tournament in May.

What had been a promising season for Noriega and USD only a week ago is now all but over.

“We’ll just have to go for individual honors now,” Coach Ed Collins said.

USD entered the Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala., 10-2 and ranked 23rd in the nation. Noriega was 17-0 and ranked No. 1 in singles.

But the Toreros lost to Drake, 6-3, in the first round. Noriega won his singles match in three sets over Donnie Isaak, a transfer from USC, but was in pain throughout the match. “I was placing my first serve in,” Noriega said. “I could get away with it because Isaak didn’t pressure me. It was pretty painful when I hit overheads and served.”

Noriega went on to play the doubles match against Drake. But he and Kevin Bradley lost.

“I told Ed after the match, that was it,” Noriega said.

The Toreros (10-6) have lost their last three matches without Noriega, including Tuesday’s 5-1 loss to fourth-ranked USC. Collins said he expects the team to drop out of the rankings when they are released Monday.

Noriega said his rotator cuff injury occurred in the juniors and began to flare up before he left for the National Intercollegiate Indoors in January.

“I think I hurt it one day while serving,” he said. “I felt something, but I kept playing. I thought it would go away. I iced it and it left for awhile. But it came back.”

Said USD trainer Carolyn Greer: “The injury is from overuse and some kind of structure break down. There is an inflamed nerve in the rotator cuff.”

Greer said the nerve is being irritated by a bone spur in the shoulder.

“The bad part is the spur is always going to be there,” Greer said.

Noriega was examined and given a cortisone shot and an anti-inflammatory Tuesday by USD Dr. William P. Curran. Greer said she expects Noriega to be ready by May 20th, when the NCAA individual tournament begins.

Noriega, a three-time All-American, has won the National College Clay tournament and the National Indoors, but he has never captured the NCAAs.

“The important thing now is to get ready for NCAA’s,” said Noriega, who expects to lose his No. 1 ranking because of inactivity.

Swedish pipeline?: Jim Crakes, Point Loma Nazarene men and women’s track coach, swears he doesn’t recruit Swedish athletes, but he doesn’t turn them away either.

Since Crakes became head coach at PLNC 18 years ago, he has had at least one Swede on his team every year. This season, a third of his 36 track team members are from Sweden.

“I didn’t realize we had that many until a Swedish reporter that was covering the America’s Cup got them all together for a picture,” Crakes said. “I don’t recruit anybody, I just answer letters of inquiry.”

The letters began arriving about a year after Kent Anderson left PLNC. Anderson was Crakes’ first Swedish athlete. When he left PLNC, Anderson began working for the Swedish Athletic Federation.

“Kent has an eye for the kind of person that could get along with me,” Crakes said. “These athletes are happy to come here for partial tuitions, where as some other people might not be able to afford it. They are able to get loans from their government to make up the difference.”

Crakes has no regrets about opening the Swedish pipeline.

“They have a tremendous work ethic,” he said. “They have a lot of self-motivation and have been models for the other kids. Many of them have been NAIA Academic All-Americans.”