May 2, 2012
NCAA Singles & Doubles Championship Selections
MALIBU, Calif. - The 2012 All-West Coast Conference teams were announced today as voted upon by the league's coaches, and several members of the Pepperdine men's tennis team were recognized. Sebastian Fanselow headlined the list, earning WCC Player of the Year honors.
Additionally, the NCAA announced the brackets for the NCAA singles and doubles championships. Fanselow and Finn Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) will compete in the singles bracket, while Tearney and partner Alex Llompart (Carolina, Puerto Rico/San Juan Educational School) will represent the Waves in doubles. By virtue of capturing the No. 8 seed, Fanselow has already secured All-American accolades for the second-straight season.
Fanselow (Essen, Germany/Kaplan College) becomes the 14th student-athlete in Pepperdine history to be honored with the league's top award. The junior currently sits at a career-best singles ranking of #9, and boasts a 16-4 record against nationally ranked opponents. Overall, Fanselow is 28-7 this season in singles and has won the last 15 consecutive matches.
In addition to being named WCC Player of the Year, Fanselow also picked up All-WCC first team honors in both singles and doubles. Fanselow has partnered with senior Jenson Turner (Woodland Hills, Calif./Campbell Hall HS) for the majority of the season. The pair has posted a record of 21-12, including a 16-8 mark in duals.
Their career win tally of 33 (dual season only), ranks tied for fifth in the Pepperdine record book.
Also voted to the All-WCC first team in both singles and doubles was Tearney The junior, who holds down the No. 2 spot in the lineup for the Waves, has gone 24-12 in singles and is currently ranked #28 by the ITA.
In doubles, Tearney and Llompart have proven themselves as one of the premier tandems in the country. The pair has reached as high as #2 on the ITA doubles poll, and is currently listed at #15. They own three wins over teams ranked in the top-five, and have tallied 13 wins overall in 2012.
Llompart, who is 19-6 and on a 14 match win streak, earned All-WCC second team recognition in singles.
Pepperdine's No. 3 doubles duo of Hugh Clarke (Brisbane, Australia/Brisbane Boys' College) and David Sofaer (Bellevue Hill, Australia/Sydney Distance Education HS) were selected to the honorable mention roster. Clarke and Sofaer have held down the third spot in the lineup with an 18-3 record, and have gone 2-0 when playing from the two spot. With a dual-season record of 20-3, the pair is poised to ink their names in the Waves' single-season records.
Finally, head coach Adam Steinberg was voted Co-Coach of the Year by his peers, along with Derek Mills of Santa Clara. This is the sixth time in Steinberg's nine seasons at Pepperdine he has been honored with the award.
The Waves host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament on May 11-12 at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. Pepperdine faces Green Bay at 2 p.m. on May 11 in the first round, and a win would pit them against either North Carolina State or Washington on May 12.
2012 All-West Coast Conference Team and Award Winners
WCC Player of the Year: Sebastian Fanselow, Pepperdine
Freshman of the Year: Ilya Osintsev, Santa Clara
Co-Coach of the Year: Adam Steinberg, Pepperdine & Derek Mills, Santa Clara
All-WCC First Team - Singles
Finn Tearney, Pepperdine
Georgy Batrakov, BYU
Kyle Dandan, Santa Clara
Nikola Bubnic, San Diego
Patrick Pohlmann, San Diego
Sebastian Fanselow, Pepperdine
All-WCC Second Team - Singles
Alex Llompart, Pepperdine
Clarke Spinosa, San Diego
John Lamble, Santa Clara
Maxime Olivan, Saint Mary's
Spencer Smith, BYU
Thai Tu, San Francisco
Honorable Mention: Alvaro Nazal, GON; Geoff Hernandez, POR; Ilya Osintsev, SCU; Michael Hu Kwo, POR; Nicholas Bjerke, LMU; Patrick Kawka, BYU; Thibaut Visy, USD; Tom Pham, SCU
All-WCC First Team - Doubles
Alex Llompart/Finn Tearney, Pepperdine
Jenson Turner/Sebastian Fanselow, Pepperdine
Nikola Bubnic/Thibaut Visy, San Diego
All-WCC Second Team - Doubles
Georgy Batrakov/Patrick Kawka, BYU
Ilya Osintsev/John Lamble, Santa Clara
Nicholas Bjerke/Sebastian Bustamante, Loyola Marymount
Honorable Mention: Alex Ferrero/Michael Hu Kwo, POR; Francis Sargeant/Spencer Smith, BYU;Hugh Clarke/David Sofaer, PEP; Kyle Dandan/Tom Pham, SCU; Scott Sullivan/Zhia Hwa Chong, GON
