About Marc Lucero
Marc Lucero is an experienced tennis player and coach at the college
level.
Lucero served as assistant coach to Princeton University women's
tennis team from 2004-2007.
Prior to his time at Princeton, Lucero lived in San Diego, Calif.,
where he worked with high school players at the University of San
Diego High School, top local juniors, and professionals. More
recently, he has also served as a practice partner for multiple top 20
WTA players.
Lucero is a 2002 graduate of
Boston College
where he was captain of the men's tennis team. During his career,
Lucero led the Eagles in total victories and was a three-time
member of the Big East Academic All-Star Team.
Lucero currently is based in San Diego, Calif.
30-Oct-2009
All-Americans vs. Futures
Marc Lucero takes a look at college tennis as an alternative to playing futures as a path to development.
3-Jul-2009
Liversage Prevails in Open Hard Court Championships
People like to say that tennis is the sport of a lifetime. Anyone who
was at the Balboa Tennis Club June 8-14 would definitely testify to
that as an eclectic cast of characters descended upon San Diego to
compete in the USTA National Open Hard Court Championships. For the
second straight year, Thomas Liversage found himself in a third set in
the championship match, only this time he was facing a much younger
player - rising high school senior, Zach Leslie.
11-May-2009
Ranking Redux, Part II
Marc Lucero takes a another look inside the junior rankings and how they correlate with performance in college.
28-Apr-2009
Pop Culture in College Tennis
The end of April. This is one of the most intense periods on the
college tennis calendar - with conference tournaments just wrapping
up, and the national championships just on the horizon. Marc Lucero
keeps things light with a pop culture grid featuring several top
college tennis players.
2-Apr-2009
Countdown: Nguyen - Blue Chip to Big Blue
Parents of junior players often call and ask for advice about the
recruiting process; the answer is usually the same. Keep your options
open, do not limit yourself early on, and gather as much information
as you can. For Mimi Nguyen, opening herself up to
options outside of her initial comfort zone helped her find the right
place to attend school next fall. Today the Blue Chip athlete
discusses her commitment to the University of Michigan.
13-Feb-2009
In a Perfect World: College TennisDay Schedule
With college football season just having wrapped up, the idea struck
me that it would be an incredible opportunity for college tennis to
put the spotlight on one dual match every weekend in the same way that
ESPN's College GameDay does every week during the college football
season. Maybe we can call it College TennisDay and do live pre-game
show from the courts. Let's take a look at the premier matchups
throughout the season for the College TennisDay roadshow!
16-Jan-2009
Smith Chooses the Anteaters
Location, location, location. This tireless real estate axiom is also
very relevant during the college search and for many prospective
students is one of the determining factors. Kristina Smith, a 5-star
senior from Laguna Niguel, CA, has decided to play her college tennis
at UC Irvine, in large part due to its proximity to home.
12-Jan-2009
Ranking Redux
Marc Lucero takes a look inside the junior rankings - and how they correlate with performance in college.
27-Nov-2008
De Simone Repeats as San Diego CIF Singles Champion
The fall means girls high school tennis in Southern California, and
the San Diego Section of the California Interscholastic Federation
held its singles championships from November 17-21 at the Barnes
Tennis Center. Gabi De Simone, a Blue Chip sophomore at Cathedral
Catholic High School and defending champion, won her second CIF
singles championship 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) over Lacey Smyth, a Blue Chip
junior at San Marcos High School.
15-Nov-2008
Fall Signing Week '08: Sundling to Fight On at USC
J.T. Sundling was in the position that tons of people would love to be
in. The Thousand Oaks, Calif. blue-chipper was one of the most heavily
recruited high school seniors and had all the big boys coming after
him. Ultimately the University of Southern California was able to
convince Sundling to stay close to home, as he has decided to be a
Trojan.
14-Oct-2008
Countdown: Huskies Pick Up McMorrow
Kyle McMorrow knew what he was looking for. He knew what he wanted
out of a college tennis program and when he saw it he did not need to
see anything else. Today the Blue Chip recruit from Thousand Oaks,
Calif. discusses his commitment to the University of Washington.
3-Oct-2008
Talking with UNC-W Coach Jennifer Garrity
People often measure the quality of a coach by the amount of success
her team achieves. This is a little skewed because not all
coaches start with players of equal caliber. A better metric is
measuring how much players on her team improve. The UNC
Wilmington women's team is one such program. Head Coach Jenny Garrity
has quietly turned this program around from one that was well under
0.500 to one that has had six winning seasons in a row.
24-Sep-2008
Tayler Davis's Choice is Golden
No matter the sport, college coaches know that their success is
largely based on recruiting. You often hear coaches talk about their
commitment to recruiting and having a strategy where they want to
"build a fence" around their state with the idea of keeping the top
players in their area local. Coach Amanda Augustus of the California
Bears has executed this strategy with Tayler Davis of San Jose, Calif.
Today she announces her commitment to play for Cal.
13-Aug-2008
Girls 16s Wrap-up
The word of the week at the USTA Girls 16s Nationals in San Diego was
upset. The semifinals only featured one of the top four seeds, and
the finals saw #12 seed Lauren Davis defeat #11 Monica Turewicz by a
score of 6-2, 6-1.
8-Aug-2008
Training Talk with Paul Pisani
What do Ashley Harkleroad, Amer Delic, Robby Ginepri, Sam Querrey, and
Justin Gimelstob have in common? They all have worked with fitness
trainer Paul Pisani. Pisani has developed a niche working with
up-and-coming American players, helping them reach their fitness and
tennis potential. Marc Lucero chatted with Pisani about his strategies
and experiences.
20-Jun-2008
Jones and Liversage Win Hard Court Championships in San Diego
One of the better kept secrets in tennis is the USTA National Open
Hard Court Championships in sunny San Diego, CA, held at the Balboa
Tennis Club July 9-15. Not many tournaments offer the triple crown of
possible prizes: USTA Pro Circuit Wild Cards, gold/silver/bronze
balls, and decent prize money. These three things combine to bring in
an attractive field made up of current college players, some juniors,
and a strong contingent of very good local former college players
still in their 20s.
16-Apr-2008
NCAA Women's Tournament Bracketology
As we pass by Tax Day, the college tennis regular season is drawing to a
close. Conference races are wrapping up, and post-season tournaments
are coming up quickly. Marc Lucero identifies some of the D1 women's
tennis teams who are "on the bubble" - identifying how they can help
themselves down the stretch.
25-Mar-2008
Countdown: Ramos A Trojan for Another Four Years
Joining Coach Richard Gallien's Women of Troy this fall will be
Alison Ramos. Ramos, of course, attended Troy High School in Fullerton,
California. With this sort of coincidence did any other school really
stand a chance?
25-Feb-2008
Applying a Little Scholarship to the Tennis World: 2 Nagging Questions
Marc Lucero tackles two intriguing questions: (1) Is there a more effective way
for coaches to evaluate talent? (2) Is the USTA deserving of the
public's criticism that it receives for not producing champions?
21-Sep-2007
2007-08 College Preview and Freshman Women to Watch
The US Open is over, student-athletes are back in school, and the
leaves are just starting to change colors. At least I assume they are
changing colors somewhere; the only colors we see in San Diego are
green (grass), blue (the Pacific Ocean), and red (the mercury in the
thermometer from the September heat waves). Anyway, what all this
means for college tennis players, coaches, parents, and fans from
Wazzu to The U is that the fall tennis season is upon us.
