First Female Tennis Player into
Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame

A list of her accomplishments:

• Cal Poly’s only 4x All-Big West Conference first team honoree in singles
• 3x All-Big West Conference first team in doubles
• Big West Freshman of the Year in 2007. The first and only female in Cal Poly’s Division I women’s tennis history to win a major conference award
• Twice qualified for the NCAA Championship in doubles
• 101 combined wins in singles and doubles is a school record and was nationally ranked as high as No. 26 in doubles and No. 71 in singles.
• #3 at Cal Poly in career wins in singles with 47 and tied for #1 in career wins in doubles with 54.
• Defeated #2 ranked team from Stanford in doubles
• Defeated #8 ranked player from USC in singles. Cal Poly's first-ever victory over a nationally-ranked top 10 singles player
• 4x team MVP

Can you talk about some of the big factors that made Brittany stand out during the recruiting process? What were some of her strengths or attributes that caught your attention?

You know, I just had a chance to watch her play several times and was just really impressed with her tenacity. She was rated as a 5 star recruit out of high school and ranked 35 nationally in the 18s, and all those things qualify as a very high-level recruit for Cal Poly, but even more than that, I saw a lot of upside because of her work ethic and competitiveness. I saw her play a fantastic match against, Gail Brodsky (who is still on tour), where Britt lost 7-5 in the 3rd. And as far as my views when it came to her academics and her character and her great attitude it was a no brainer for Cal Poly if she said yes.

Brittany quickly got bumped into the number 1 singles slot during her freshman year, did you have any idea that Brittany would play such a major factor on the team so quickly?

I thought she was going to play high for us. We had a great #1 player starting that year, Carol Erickson, who had done super well for us for 3 years previously and was entering her senior year. She had gone 3 sets with the NCAA champion. So as the year started, Carol was playing number 1 and Brittany was playing number 2 and they were playing doubles together. She was a fantastic friend and mentor for Brittany. Unfortunately, towards the middle of the season Carol was hitting a routine volley and injured her wrist and was out for the rest of the year. I remember bringing Brittany in and sitting her down and saying, “You’re young but you’re tough and motivated and you’ll be playing #1 the rest of the season.”

Brittany’s win in both singles and doubles against Stanford University might’ve been her most impressive and exciting matches during her 4 years. Did you ever believe she would play at that high of a level?

You know, she kept working her way towards that level. I don’t remember the order, but I remember her winning at UCLA, USC and Stanford – all those matches on the road; all very tough, long singles matches. And I think Stanford was the last one. When we went up there they were ranked #1 in the nation and they had won 124 matches in a row on their home courts. College matches start with doubles, and Brittany and Suzie Matzenauer beat the #1 team in the nation 8-6, and then we had a match point at the number 2 doubles for the doubles point and we got that. Then Brittany turned around in singles and beat Lindsay Burdette to go 2-0 against the #1 team in the country on their home court. It was a really special day in her career.

Can you recount any parts of that match and what you told her to help secure a win against one of the top players in the country?

I think she was just always ready to go. To win at USC, UCLA, and Stanford she was just always excited to play her best tennis against the best players. The doubles match against Stanford with Suzie was fascinating because they came out so strong and were ahead 6-1 in what seemed like 10 minutes. Stanford inched their way back until finally we were serving 7-6 in the 8-game pro set and I thought, “If we don’t hold here it will be tough,” because Stanford had so much momentum. And I remember Suzie serving big and Brittany poaching 3 or 4 times in that game. They had to take the match from them since they knew Stanford wouldn’t make errors. It was a really exciting moment and definitely one, as her coach, that I will certainly remember.

Brittany is known to be competitive. She has always been someone who will do whatever it takes to win. How did this competitiveness translate to her success on the tennis court?

I just think in each of those wins against USC, UCLA, and Stanford she was playing an All-American, a team ranked top 5 in the nation, just the highest level and in all those matches she just kept fighting and fighting and fighting. Her opponent probably thought she would fold or get intimidated and she never did. And that’s how she got those wins. To describe it in a nutshell, we had a home match once and she ran for a ball, hit a shot and ran into the side fence and fell down; her opponent hit a pretty safe volley into the open court assuming she wouldn’t get up to cover the shot; but Brittany got up, ran it down, hit a winner and crashed into the other fence. So that’s the competitor she was. And those qualities led her to be the 1st Cal Poly Women’s tennis player getting inducted into the Cal Poly Hall of Fame.

Was that competitiveness ever seen off the court? It’s been rumored that Brittany was known to battle her teammates in speed workouts.

I remember when Suzie (Matzenauer) arrived her junior or senior year, we were running intervals in the fall, a series of 400-meter sprints, and those two knew they’d be competing for the number one spot. As I watched them run, they were coming around the corner inches apart, elbows going out and connecting with each other and both of them just really wanting to finish first. And that’s how they practiced against each other and that’s how they played doubles with each other and that’s how they qualified for the NCAA tournament and beat the number one doubles team in the nation.

Brittany was a captain of the team during her final year. How would you describe her leadership on and off the court?

She was such a great leader by example. A great student, a great person, no ego whatsoever but highly competitive. Always super coachable; always respectful to her teammates and coaching staff. It permeated through the whole team and made for a special year.

Brittany is the first women’s tennis player to be inducted into the Cal Poly hall of fame. Can you talk about what makes her the perfect person to represent Cal Poly women’s tennis?

I think if you have boxes to check, she checks every box -- from great sportsmanship to great loyalty to the program and work ethic. I know she is still involved today with Cal Poly Athletics and reaches out to Alumni. She was 4 time All-Big West All-Conference in Singles and Doubles. She has top national level wins. She helped with recruiting the next group of players who also qualified for the NCAA Championship in 2011. I just can’t say enough about her and it really makes me proud. I think it’s great for the Cal Poly Women’s Tennis program and I look for more members of that program to earn their way into the Hall of Fame just like Brittany.

We are so proud and happy for Brittany.

Congratulations on this amazing honor!