May 12, 2005
Malibu, Calif. -
Live Scoring and Tournament Cental
Ninth-ranked Pepperdine (21-2) will return to the courts this weekend as the Waves host one of sixteen regional championships in the first and second rounds of the 2005 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship. Coming to the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center will be UC Irvine, Stanford and University of San Diego. Play begins Saturday with the Waves and UCI at 10:00 a.m. (local time), following that Stanford will take on USD no earlier than 1:00 p.m. The two winners will meet in Sunday's final at 1:00 p.m. for one of sixteen berths in the championship bracket.
Some of the nation's top talent will be on display in Malibu this weekend as five top-50 players will compete for the four schools. The list is headed by Stanford's (#1)Sam Warburg and (#15)KC Corkery. (#10)Pierrick Ysern leads USD, while Pepperdine's (#25)Pedro Rico and (#34)Scott Doerner round out the crop.
On the Line: At steak this weekend is a trip to the Men's Tennis Championships at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas, May 21-30. The 16-team bracket will be comprised of the 16 winners of the regional championships. The 2002 season was the last time that Pepperdine advaced out of its regional. The Waves served as hosts in the first two rounds on that occasion as well.
#9 Pepperdine (21-2): The Waves captured their 15th consecutive WCC Championship in their last outing with a 4-2 deafeat of San Diego. Over their two week layoff the Waves had been honored with a host of accolades. In addition to being named as a host institution for this weekend's opening rounds, Scott Doerner and Pedro Rico were selected to participate in the NCCA singles tournament and their doubles team will compete as well. Most recently Pepperdine's Per Nilsson was honored as the ITA's "Assistant Coach of the Year." Pepperdine has not lost a match at home this year, holding a 15-0 record at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center in 2005.
UC Irvine (14-8): Saturday's match-up with the unranked Anteaters will be the second time the teams have squared off this season. February 9 saw the Waves take a 5-2 decision at home. In the loss Peter Surapol beat Ivor Lovrak at No. 4 and Mustafa Ulukan defeated Kevin Borzenski at No. 6 for UCI's points. More recently Irvine captured its 12th Big West Men's Tennis Championship by defeating Pacific in the title match by a 4-3 count.
#22 Stanford (13-10): The Cardinal pack a potent one, two punch at the top of its lineup. Sam Warburg is the nation's top-ranked singles player and was recently named the PAC-10's "Player of the Year." No. 15 KC Corkery backs up Warburg at No. 2 in the lineup. Stanford suffered a loss to the Waves in April when Pepperdine won in Palo Alto, 4-3.
#39 San Diego (16-6): USD suffered a 4-2 loss to Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference championship match in their last outing two weeks ago. The Toreros boast wins over eight ranked teams this year, including a 5-2 victory over No. 12 Washington. Leading the way for USD is the nation's tenth-ranked player in Pierrick Ysern. Ysern is 15-4 in dual matches this season.
