Pepperdine Tennis Reaps WCC Weekly Honors
3/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine men's and women's tennis teams were awarded for their successes last week with two West Coast Conference Player of the Week award winners. Lorraine Guillermo was dubbed the singles player of the week for the second week in a row, while Guilherme Hadlich and Rakshay Thakkar earned the recognition in doubles on the men's side.
Senior Guillermo (Walnut, Calif./Rowland HS) and #18-ranked Pepperdine had defending NCAA Championship-winning UCLA on the ropes in last week's lone dual match in Malibu. The Waves nearly upset the #11 Bruins, but fell on the short side of a 4-3 decision.
Guillermo did her part, delivering impressive performances in both singles and doubles. She first paired with sophomore Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai (Bangkok, Thailand/IMG Academy) in doubles, and went up against #2 Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips. The Waves' No. 1 duo was serving for the match, up 5-3, when the doubles point had been clinched and action was suspended.
Despite going up against another top-five ranked opponent in singles, Guillermo continued to play dominantly. The senior, ranked #30, shut out #3 Robin Anderson 6-4, 6-3. The familiar foes have met four times in collegiate play, with the all-time series now locked at 2-2.
The Waves moved up two spots in today's installment of the ITA rankings, and are now up to #16. Their next match is scheduled for Wednesday, March 11, when they go up against Long Beach State at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
Sophomore Hadlich (Balneário Camboriú, Brazil/Colégio Energia) and senior Thakkar (Pune, India/St. Vincent's High School) went 2-0 in doubles last week, while also picking up their first win over a ranked opponent. The duo first dispatched Oregon's Kevin Farin and Jayson Amos, 6-3 from the No. 1 spot in the doubles lineup. Although Pepperdine ultimately dropped the doubles point, the Waves won the dual 4-3.
The next day, the Waves blanked Tulsa's #33-ranked pair of Carlos Bautista and Alejandro Espejo, 6-0. Ultimately Pepperdine fell 4-3 to the hot streaking Hurricane, who was coming off a 4-3 upset over top-ranked USC.
The Pepperdine men will spend a portion of their Spring Break in the San Diego area, first playing William & Mary on the campus of San Diego State on Thursday. The Waves move to the La Jolla area for the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship on Friday through Sunday.
2015 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S SINGLES PLAYEROF THE WEEK
March 3: Lorraine Guillermo, Pepperdine
February 23: Lorraine Guillermo, Pepperdine
February 18: Michaela Capannolo, Pepperdine
2015 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK
March 3: Dana Oppinger and Drew Spinosa, San Diego
February 23: Christine Maddox and Matea Cutura Pepperdine
February 18: None
2015 WEST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TENNIS SINGLES PLAYER OF THE WEEK
March 3: Filip Vittek, San Diego
February 23: Eroll Smith, Loyola Marymount
February 18: Filip Vittek, San Diego
2015 WEST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TENNIS DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK
March 3: Guilherme Hadlich and Rakshay Thakkar, Pepperdine
February 23: Bernardo Saraiva and Nils Skajaa, San Francisco
February 18: None
