Feb. 6, 2014
Match Notes 
MALIBU, Calif. - After opening the 2014 dual season on the road, the #44 Pepperdine women's tennis team plays at home for the first time this Saturday, Feb. 8 vs. #48 San Diego State. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.
WAVES' SOCIAL CIRCLE - Stay informed with up-to-the-minute coverage by following the women's tennis team on Twitter @PeppWTEN ... Like us on Facebook by searching for Pepperdine Women's Tennis ... Tag us in Instragram photos at PepperdineWaves.
COVERAGE - Recaps will be posted at PepperdineSports.com ... Any available updates during the match can be followed on Twitter @PeppWTEN.
OPPONENT NOTES - San Diego State is 3-1 on the season, and plays UC Irvine before making its way to Malibu ... The Aztecs own wins over Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside and UC Davis ... No. 1 singles player Laura Antonana Iriarte boasts a 4-0 record in dual play, while Tiffany Nguyen and Kennedy Davis have also gone undefeated during the early portions of the seaon.
LOOKING BACK - The Waves fell 5-2 to top-10 USC to open the season, but rebounded with a solid 6-1 triumph over #38 UC Irvine on the road. Lorraine Guillermo leads the Waves from the No. 1 singles spot with a 2-0 record.
RANKINGS - Pepperdine boasts five student-athletes in the singles rankings to go along with two ranked doubles pairs ... Leading the way is Lorraine Guillermo at #19 followed by Matea Cutura (#79), Ale Granillo (#93), Michaela Capannolo (#112) and Yuki Chiang (#117). In doubles, Granillo and Guillermo are listed at #39 followed by Capannolo and Chiang at #40.
LOOKING AHEAD - Pepperdine hosts a pair of matches next weekend at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center, starting with a Valentines Day clash against UNLV at 1:30 p.m. The Waves entertain Arizona State on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 12 p.m.
2014 ROSTER - After battling a few growing pains in 2013, the 2014 squad boasts much more experience and depth ... 2012 All-American Lorraine Guillermo resumes her role as the No. 1 singles player, while transfer Matea Cutura has started the year at No. 2 ... Cutura played No. 1 last season for DePaul and was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year ... Ale Granillo, Pepperdine's lone senior, has been leading from the No. 3 position, while sophomores Michaela Capannolo and Danielle Feneridis have also returned to the lineup ... Four freshmen are also vying for spots in the lineup led by Yuki Chiang, whose successful fall translated into a #117 singles ranking ... Other rookies include Apichaya "Jean" Runglerdkriangkrai, Pattaraporn "PT" Salirathavibhaga and January addition Christine Maddox.
WCC PRESEASON POLL - The Waves landed at No. 2 in the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll, edged out by Saint Mary's by just two points. Pepperdine picked up four first-place votes in a poll of the league's coaches for a total of 76 points. The Gaels, currently the highest ranked team in the WCC, took the remaining six first-place bids and 78 points. Pepperdine was the only team to place two players on the all-conference preseason team in Lorraine Guillermo and Ale Granillo.
2013 RECAP - With a young squad, the Waves opened the 2013 season 0-9 before making a tremendous surge forward to end the season on a high note. Pepperdine won 12 of the next 14 duals including a 4-0 upset win over Saint Mary's in the WCC Tournament finals. Pepperdine finished the season with a 12-12 record after making its 30th appearance at the NCAA Tournament.
DID YOU KNOW ... That head coach Gualberto Escudero ranks second among all women's tennis coaches -- active and inactive -- with 633 career wins? Escudero, now in his 37th year at the helm, is just one of three coaches to have reached the 600 wins milestone. Lin Loring, who has been a head coach at both Indiana and UC Santa Barbara for a combined 40 seasons, ranks #1 with over 800 wins, while Georgia's head coach Jeff Wallace hit the 600-win mark in 2013 after 28 seasons.
Gualberto Escudero - Now in his 37th season at the helm of the program, Gualberto Escudero enters the 2013-14 campaign with a career record of 632-329 (.657). He took over as head coach in 1977-78 after a decorated career as a student-athlete at Pepperdine. On the court, he was a finalist at the 1969 WCAC singles tournament and won the doubles title with John Lovelace. Pepperdine won conference titles in 1969 and 1970 and finished second the next two seasons. His transition from player to coach was a successful one as Escudero has tutored 31 All-Americans, and was honored as WCC Coach of the Year on four occasions. Escudero was inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Oct. 20.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE - Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports - one of just 16 schools to have accomplished this feat - and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment and is the only school not affiliated with a BCS-level conference. The Waves have earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #57 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
