Saber Pierce
| School: |
TCU |
| Year: |
Senior |
| Home Town: |
Duncanville, TX |
| Home State: |
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| Home Country: |
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| High School: |
Duncanville High School |
| Height: |
5-5 |
| Weight: |
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| Birth Date: |
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| Dominant Hand: |
Right |
| Major: |
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| Singles Record: |
86-29 |
| Doubles Record: |
93-30 |
Outlook: Senior Saber Pierce, back for her final season as a Frog, will provide leadership for TCU while on the court. An enthusiastic player who expects nothing less than perfection from herself, Pierce is from nearby Duncanville, Texas. Fall 2003: Pierce’s fall competition included matches at the adidas Invitational, Riviera Pre-Qualifying Tournament and Omni Hotels Southwest Regional. With an even 4-4 mark, her most impressive win of the individual season came against No. 38 Kendra Strohm of Texas during regionals, as she claimed a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 victory. That win helped her earn the No. 24 ranking in the Southwest Regional poll. Pierce teamed up with junior transfer Paige Brown to post a 3-2 fall doubles record. The pair’s solid showing put them in the 15th spot of the fall regional rankings. 2002-03: During the fall, Pierce competed in the Riviera Pre-Qualifying Tournament, falling to Sarah Gregg of UCLA, 7-5, 6-2. She paired with sophomore Karla Mancinas, and the duo put together a 4-3 mark which included advancing to the round of 16 at the Omni Hotels Southwest Regional and competing in the Riviera Pre-Qualifying Tournament. The pair was ranked No. 12 in the Southwest Region at the end of the fall season. Splitting time between the second and third singles positions, Pierce tallied a 13-5 solo record for the spring season, winning seven of her eight final matches of 2003. On April 8, she upset 114th-ranked Svetlana Kouzmenko of SMU, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. With partner Mancinas, Pierce put together a 13-4 mark at No. 2 in doubles play for the spring. For the second year in a row, Pierce was named to the third-team All-Conference USA. For her efforts in the classroom, she earned the Commissioner’s Academic Medal for maintaining a GPA of 3.75 or better. She also was named to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll. 2001-02: Pierce, who spent much of the fall individual season hampered by a broken finger, played in only the TCU Invitational during the fall. The spring was a different story, though, as Pierce won her first 12 matches. Ten of those 12 victories came in straight sets. From Feb. 15 until March 9, Pierce won a team-best seven consecutive straight-set matches. Pierce teamed with senior Leoni Weirich for doubles play for much of the year. The pair posted an 18-8 mark, including a 9-7 win over 33rd-ranked Stoklasova and Palenikova of South Alabama on March 12. Pierce and Weirich were ranked as high as 34th in the ITA national polls (March 20), and finished the season ranked 12th in the Southwest Region listing. Pierce earned Conference USA Player of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 25. At the time, her consecutive straight-set win streak stood at six. In the spring, Pierce earned third-team All-Conference USA honors, and was named to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll in the spring for maintaining a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA and participating in a conference-sponsored sport. Summer 2001: Pierce spent the summer playing in the ITA National Summer Championships at Bloomington, Ind. She advanced to the singles semifinal where she fell to No. 2 seed Jennifer McGaffigan (Illinois) 6-3, 6-3. On the doubles side, she and partner Kendall Cline (North Carolina) finished second to Ohio State’s Erika Fisk and Monica Rincon (8-6). 2000-01: Pierce posted a very solid 24-6 singles mark as a freshman playing primarily between Nos. 4 and 6. She and partner Rosa Perez combined for a 26-7 doubles record, including an 8-5 win over #20 Richardson/Ferney of BYU on February 8. Pierce also doubled with Rebecca Reynolds at the Hurricane Invitational and brought home a 1-1 record. Personal: Saber Squyres Pierce was born August 23, 1982. The daughter of Deane and Nancy Pierce, she is a social work major who plans to do missionary work following graduation. Pierce spent part of the summer of 2003 in Nepal on a mission trip. A four-time letterwinner in tennis at Duncanville High School, she was an all-district, all-region and all-state selection in high school. In her free time, she enjoys winning at ping-pong, reading the Bible, playing Phase 10, and doing things with her little sister. Pierce is one of four children, including Stormy, Denver and Stefani.
