AT THE HEART OF WAVES' OFFENSE BLAKER PROVIDES INSPIRATIONAL LIFE.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

MALIBU - April Blaker's heart is something of which the Pepperdine women's soccer team is well aware.

The Waves' sophomore midfielder sometimes has to go to the sidelines when her heart starts to beat awkwardly. She has to stay well rested and avoid certain things such as caffeine.

What the team notices most, though, is the heart she shows on the field. Even though she lacks size and suffers from an irregular heartbeat, Blaker is one of Pepperdine's most determined and fearless players. Those attributes, combined with her superior ball-handling skills, make her a key part of why the Waves are anticipating the best season in their eight-year history as they head into Sunday's home opener against Mississippi.

``She looks like a little china doll,'' Pepperdine coach Tim Ward said of the slender 5-foot-4 player. ``She's not super big. Normally you think of the good players as being bigger. April's very athletic, but she's not 6-foot.

``That doesn't stop her, though. She's unbelievable quick. And once she has the ball at her feet, very rarely does she lose it. Teams sometimes don't pay as much attention to her because it doesn't look like she'd do much, but she does so much for us.''

Blaker contributed just three points - all on assists - last season, but she has been moved to center midfield and showed signs of becoming an offensive force during the spring. Speed, vast vision of the field and ball control are skills that have made her valuable for years.

``I've always been small my whole life,'' Blaker said. ``I've tried to compensate with being good in other areas.''

She was a four-year varsity player at Agoura High, where she also ran cross country. She earned All-Marmonte League each year and team MVP three times. She was playing on the Las Virgenes Blazers under-18 club team when she was a freshman.

``She's unbelievably skilled,'' Ward said. ``She's probably one of the best technical players I've coached. We call her magic because she's magic on the ball.''

Blaker, 19, came to the Waves last season after attending San Diego State for a year. Her heart condition, which she says ``just means I have to be really careful,'' caused the Aztecs to initially deny her athletic clearance for tryouts.

Blaker opted to take the year off from playing, rejuvenate her passion for the game and return home to play with former club teammates and a coach she's known for years.

``I was kind of burnt out after I graduated, so I don't think I would have done a very good job if I played my freshman year,'' Blaker said. ``Coming here was good for me. I really like it here.''

She also likes Pepperdine's chances of emerging as a force in the West Coast Conference. The Waves went 11-7-1 with only two conference wins last year, but it was considered a significant step since they went winless in WCC play in 1998.

Last year's entire starting lineup is back.

``It's incredible,'' Blaker said. ``We have a really good shot this year. Our thing is just to get better and better. I can't see us ever regressing.''

BLAKER FILE

Name: April Blaker

Team: Pepperdine women's soccer

Position: Midfield

Year: Sophomore

Age: 19

High school: Agoura High

Quotable: ``She has the ability to be an awesome offensive player. April's the type of player that's always creating something. She has unbelievable vision of the field.''

- Coach Tim Ward

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Speed, vision of the field and ball control make April Blaker a prototype midfield player at Pepperdine.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer

Box: BLAKER FILE (See text)