Tennis Teams Seek WCC Titles in San Diego
4/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Pepperdine men have been awarded the top seed and will open against eighth-seeded Gonzaga at 8 a.m. on Friday (April 23). The Pepperdine women are the #2 seed and will face seventh-seeded Portland at 11:30 a.m. on Friday.
Play continues on Saturday and Sunday at USD's Barnes Tennis Center.
The Pepperdine men (13-10) should be a heavy favorite to win their 41st WCC title overall and 20th straight. They are ranked #22 in the country by the ITA, while the next-best WCC team is Santa Clara (the #2 seed) at #55. The Waves head into the Championships having won seven of their last eight matches. Pepperdine played only Loyola Marymount and Saint Mary's in the regular season and beat both by 7-0 scores.
The Pepperdine women and Saint Mary's were voted the co-favorites to win the WCC title at the start of the season by the coaches. The #38 Gaels earned the top seed over the #44 Waves, but Pepperdine hopes for redemption if both schools are able to advance to Sunday's final. The Gaels posted a 4-3 victory on April 3 in Malibu. Since that loss, Pepperdine (10-12) has won four straight matches. The Waves hold victories over conference opponents Loyola Marymount, San Diego and San Francisco. Pepperdine has won 21 WCC titles all-time, including the last seven.
In the latest ITA rankings, senior Bassam Beidas (Cairo, Egypt) is #30 in singles and freshman Sebastian Fanselow (Essen, Germany) is #65. The #1 doubles team of Beidas and sophomore Alex Llompart (Carolina, Puerto Rico) is ranked #24.
On the women's side, freshman Arianna Colffer (Corona, Calif.) is ranked #98 in singles and the #1 doubles team of junior Anamika Bhargava (Collierville, Tenn.) and freshman Marie Zalameda (Los Angeles, Calif.) is 77th.
