Pepperdine Hosts Princeton, Texas Christian
3/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
UPCOMING — The No. 15 Pepperdine men’s tennis team (7-6) host two nationally ranked teams this weekend.
MATCH #14 PEPPERDINE VS. PRINCETON — Friday (March 21) at 11 a.m., at the at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center, in Malibu, Calif.
MATCH #15 PEPPERDINE VS. TEXAS CHRISTIAN — Saturday (March 22) at 1 p.m., at the Ralphs-Strauss Tennis Center, in Malibu, Calif.
ABOUT PRINCETON — The Waves lead the series with No. 64 Princeton, 13-0.
The Tigers (6-3) are coached by Pepperdine alumn and three-time All-American Glen Michibata (83’). Michibata is in his seventh season as the Princeton Head Coach.
Princeton is led by Junior Peter Capkovic and Sophomore George Carpeni.
ABOUT TEXAS CHRISTIAN — Pepperdine leads the all-time series against No. 27 Texas Christian 15-2.
The Horned Toads (11-4) are led by No. 21 Cosmin Cotet, No. 115 Adrian Simon and No. 122 Zach Nichols. Junior Griegler Brink (No. 4 singles) was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week (March 13) and is currently on a 14 game winning streak
Texas Christian is coached by Dave Borelli (USC 74’) who is in his second season with the Horned Toads.
BAYLOR RECAP — Omar Altmann clinched the victory for Pepperdine men’s tennis team over Baylor (4-3) with a win in No. 3 singles, Wednesday afternoon, in Malibu, Calif.
With three matches still on the courts, Pepperdine needed only one win to clinch the team victory. Players from both teams lined up on opposite sides of the courts cheering in unison as their teammates fought for victories. All three Wave’s were up at one point, yet it was Altmann who ultimately prevailed with a 6-7 (3), 6-0, 6-4, win over the Bear’s Matt Brown.
ILLINOIS RECAP — Sophomore Mahmoud Kamel clinched his second consecutive match for Pepperdine’s men’s tennis team, as the No. 15 Waves edged No. 12 Illinois, 4-3, Wednesday afternoon, at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
‘It helps to be at home. I think the team is playing with more passion and heart," said head coach Adam Steinberg. "We fell to No. 43 in the rankings and we’ve fought our way back up to No. 15 this week. I’m really proud of this team."
WAVES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS — The Pepperdine men’s tennis team is ranked No. 15 in the nation, according to the ITA rankings, released in March 2008.
Individually, three Waves made the top 100 collegiate singles player rankings. Senior Andre Begemann (Blomberg, Germany) is No. 10. Sophomore Bassam Beidas (Cairo, Egypt) is ranked No. 20. and junior Omar Altmann is ranked No. 123.
OMAR ALTMANN — No. 123 junior Omar Altmann and teammate James Lemke claimed the championship title of the doubles division at the 51st Southern California Intercollegiate Championships this fall.
Altmann advanced to the finals of the 51st Southern California Intercollegiate Championships, before being defeated by teammate, Lemke. Altmann finished the fall season with a 5-4 singles record and a 4-1 doubles record.
BASSAM BEIDAS — No. 20 Sophomore Bassam Beidas was named 2007 WCC Freshman of the Year. Beidas qualified for the ITA Indoor Championships after winning the consolation round of the ITA Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championship. He advanced to the quarterfinals of ITA Indoor Championships after defeating nationally ranked Erling Tveit (Miss.).
Beidas finished the season with a 7-3 singles record and a 3-1 doubles record.
ANDRE BEGEMANN — No. 10 Senior Andre Begemann was tabbed a 2007 All-American. Begemann claimed the ITA Division I Regional Singles Title this Fall, after the tournament was forced to relocate from Malibu to USC and UCLA due to wildfires. Begemann finished the fall season with a 7-3 singles record and 4-1 doubles record, with partner Omar Altmann.
ALTMAN/BEGEMANN — The doubles team of Andre Begemann and Omar Altmann moved up in the ITA doubles rankings from No. 44 to No.23 this week (March 18). The Waves No.1 doubles team is 12-4 for the 2007-08 season and is currently on a three-game winning streak
JAMES LEMKE — James Lemke won the singles title at the 51st Southern California Intercollegiate Championships after defeating teammate Omar Altmann, this fall. Lemke and Altmann paired up to claim the double title at the same tournament.
Lemke finished the fall season with a 10-1 singles record and a 7-3 doubles record.
COACH ADAM STEINBERG — Coach Adam Steinberg begins his sixth season as the head coach for the Pepperdine men’s tennis team. As head of the program, he has led the Waves to an overall record of 96-25, with five consecutive conference championships and postseason appearances.
Steinberg led the Waves to its first National Tiltle and the University’s ninth overall after upsetting Georgia, 4-2, in the final match.
ASSISTANT COACH NICK CARLESS — Coach Carless was a volunteer assistant coach for Pepperdine men’s tennis team that won the NCAA championship in 2006.
Carless spent last year coaching at Northwestern as an assistant coach.
THE RALPHS STRAUS CENTER — The Ralphs Strauss Center is home to the Pepperdine men’s tennis team. The center consists of a nine court, fully lighted facility with seating for approximately 2,000 spectators.
In 1995, the Center served as the host site for the 1995 and 2000 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships.
The Center is known for its beautiful spectator patio that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
WAVES IN THE PRO’S — Pepperdine alum Brad Gilbert, a 1982 All-American, won 20 major tournaments as a professional and was ranked as high a No. 4 in the world in 1990. Gilbert went on to coach Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick to Grand Slam titles and is currently coaching Britains Andy Murray.
Glen Michibata was a three-time All-American for Pepperdine. He played professional tennis for ten years rising to No. 48 in the world in 1986. He is currently in his eighth year as Princeton’s head men’s tennis coach.
Robbie Weiss won the only NCAA singles title for Pepperdine in 1988. Weiss went on to play professionally and earn a top 100 ranking.
Winning two NCAA doubles titles for the Waves, Kelly Jones teamed up with Jerome Jones in 1984 and again in 1985 with Carlos Dilaura. As a professional, Jones was ranked No. 1 in the World with Rick Leach in 1992 and was a finalist in three Grand Slam events in doubles, including Wimbledon, the U.S. and the Australian Open.
Four-time All-American Simon Aspelin has won six career titles in doubles and is currently ranked No. 19 in the world. Aspelin won the 2007 U.S. Open double title with Julian Knowle in 2007. The win gave Aspelin a career-high No. 13 ranking.
