USD Women's Basketball 2004-2005

25th year

KATHYMARPE Head Coach

Entering her 32nd year as a head coach and her 25th season at the helm of the University of San Diego women's basketball program, Kathy Marpe's name is synonymous with the success of the USD Toreros. Marpe's coaching career began in Minnesota at Spring Lake Park High School in 1971 where she not only coached basketball, but also the volleyball and softball teams. In the combined three sports, the teams totaled an impressive 53-1 record.

Two years later, Marpe was coaching in "The Pit" at the University of New Mexico where the Lobos accumulated a 51-30 record in her final three seasons. She led the Lobos to consecutive finishes in the Associated Press Top 20 and made six AIAW Regional appearances in seven years. In addition, attendance records were attained with the women drawing over 1,000 a game with crowds reaching 2,000-3,000 - attendance figures that were unheard of in the 70's . In 1980, Marpe brought her coaching exper– tise to USD. Over the years, she has witnessed many changes in the game of women's bas– ketball including the skills and athleticism of today's student athletes. Coach Marpe's ability to embrace and capitalize on the changes in the

athletic environment has resulted in many milestones that aspiring coaches admire including 372 career coaching victories, 112 West Coast Conference wins, two WCC coach of the year awards , two conference tournament championships and two NCAA Tourna– ment teams. In addition under Marpe's tutelage, six Toreros, Susie Erpelding, Jessica Gray, Erin Malich, Chris Enger, Deb Weinreis and Marta Menuez have become professional basketball players. Coach Marpe values the academic success and community in– volvement of her players. Her encouragement and support of her players are apparent as the Toreros teams have included 13 First Team All-West Coast Conference players, and 31 players have been honored as WCC Scholar Athletes . Coach Marpe states, "It is very important to remember who you are and where you come from, and also to give back to the people around you who are not so fortunate. " Marpe has successfully guided the USD Toreros to two NCAA Tournament bids. In 1993, the USD team earned their first trip to the NCAA Tournament by bouncing back from a 4-10 WCC record