GAME NOTES

MALIBU, Calif. - The ninth-ranked Pepperdine women's tennis team hits the road this week after a successful West Coast Conference weekend at home. First, the Waves will challenge Portland on Friday before trekking to Gonzaga on Saturday.

Last week, the team swept both Saint Mary's and Pacific at home. During the week, 17th-ranked Waves' doubles partnership, Luisa Stefani and Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai, bested 59th-ranked Jana McCord and Jamie Pawid of Saint Mary's to help Pepperdine to victory.

DUAL 16: Friday (April 8) No. 9 Pepperdine (13-2) at Portland (4-10, 1-2 WCC) | Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center in Portland, Ore., 10 a.m.

DUAL 17: Saturday (April 9) No. 9 Pepperdine at Gonzaga (13-2, 3-1 WCC) | Stevens Center in Spokane, Wash., 11 a.m.

COVERAGE: Any available score updates will be posted on Twitter at @WavesTennis. Gonzaga live stream and live stats can be found at this link: http://gowav.es/WTENSched. Recaps and results will be posted on PepperdineSports.com daily.

THE NO. 9 PEPPERDINE WAVES: The Waves head into the week with a nine-spot ranking in the Oracle/ITA rankings after going 13-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play so far this season. In dual singles play, Pepperdine boasts a 56-21 record against opponents for a .727 win-loss percentage. Freshman Luisa Stefani, ranked second in the singles rankings, leads the Waves with a 14-1 record in dual competition, including a 17-4 record against nationally ranked opponents throughout the 2015-16 campaign. All of her wins have been charted in the number one singles position. Next with 10 wins on the dual season is fellow freshman Dzina Milovanovic, who has gone 10-3 against opponents this spring and 2-3 against nationally ranked opposition in 2015-16. She has gone 4-0 from the number three position and 6-1 from the number four position for Pepperdine. Also this dual season, junior Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai has charted nine wins and senior Matea Cutura and sophomore Laura Gulbe have marked eight wins.

In doubles play, the Waves currently have three teams ranked in the Oracle/ITA rankings. Cutura and junior partner Christine Maddox lead the pack at the 14-spot this week and Stefani and Runglerdkriangkrai rank 17th this week. Also on the poll are Milovanovic and Gulbe who are steady at 79th in the rankings. Cutura and Maddox have a 6-3 dual record this spring, including four wins against nationally ranked opponents, and a perfect 4-0 record when playing in the number two doubles position. The duo is currently on a four-match winning streak. Stefani and Runglerdkriangkrai have gone 9-2 this season, with a 4-1 record in the number one slot and a 5-1 record in the number two slot. The pair has gone 4-2 when facing nationally ranked duos. The final ranked pair, Gulbe and Milovanovic have gone 4-2 this season, all of which have been played in the number three slot, and the team currently owns a 2-2 record when facing nationally ranked teams.

LOOKING AHEAD: Next week, the Waves will return to Malibu to challenge BYU and San Diego on April 15 and 16 in the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. Doubles play will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and 12 p.m. on Saturday.

LAST COMPETITION: The Waves took down two West Coast Conference opponents last week, first sweeping Saint Mary's College before defeating Pacific with a sweep as well. Against Saint Mary's, the Waves earned the doubles point early after then-ranked 29th (now 17th), Luisa Stefani and Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai bested 59th-ranked Jana McCord and Jamie Pawid 6-3. Michaela Capannolo and Dzina Milovanovic then bested Parminder Kaur and Kareena Manji 6-4 to close doubles. On the singles side, second-ranked Stefani put down McCord with a 6-1, 6-0 result to put the Waves up 2-0 on the day. Milovanovic and Laura Gulbe then finished out the day. Gulbe won over Pawid with a 6-2, 2-0 result after the Gaels' competitor was forced to retire due to injury and Milovanovic was good for a pair of 6-0 sets to defeat Aniek Van Rossum.

The Waves then finished the weekend with another 4-0 win, this time over Pacific. To win the doubles point, Stefani and Cutura bested Viktoriya Dzyuba and Annaroos Nederstigt with a 6-3 result and Anna Wierda and Danielle Feneridis clinched the point with a 6-3 win over Maayan Sela and Yuke Asami. In singles competition, Cutura bested Asami with a 6-0, 6-0 final mark before Christine Maddox took down Nederstigt 6-1, 6-1 to put the Waves up 3-0. Stefani then finished the job with a couple of 6-1 sets to defeat Dzyuba en route to the Waves' sweep.

THE PORTLAND PILOTS: The Waves hold a perfect 10-0 record against the Pilots all-time, dating back to 1998 when the teams first faced. Most recently from the 2014 to 2015 campaigns, the Waves have dropped the Pilots on three separate occasions with sweeps. In 2014 and the first match in 2015, the win was a 7-0 result, while in the second match in 2015, Pepperdine completed a 4-0 sweep over the opposition. This season, Portland has a 4-10 overall record and 1-3 record against WCC competition. As a singles program, the Pilots post a .437 win-loss percentage with a 31-40 overall record, while in doubles, the team has a .257 win-loss percentage on top of a 9-26 record this season.

THE GONZAGA BULLDOGS: Since the teams first faced in 1995, Pepperdine has gone 14-0 against Gonzaga, including nine consecutive sweeps from the 2004 campaign to 2015 campaign. Last season, the Waves posted a 7-0 win over the Bulldogs in Malibu. As a team, the Zags have gone 13-2 this season, including a 3-1 record among conference play. In singles, the programs boasts a .750 win-loss percentage this season with a 63-21 overall record in dual play. In doubles, the team has produced a .643 win-loss percentage after going 27-15 against opponents this season thus far.

WCC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: The Waves 17th-ranked duo freshman Luisa Stefani and junior Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai picked up their fourth West Coast Conference doubles team of the week honor this week, after leading the Waves to two conference sweeps last week. Second-ranked single Stefani also garnered her fourth West Coast Conference singles player of the week honor. In the four same weeks, she and her doubles partners have garnered doubles team of the week accolades.

To pick up the doubles accolade, Runglerdkriangkrai and Stefani began the winning ways on Friday over Saint Mary's College after besting 59th-ranked Jana McCord and Jamie Pawid with a 6-3 result to clinch the doubles point and send the Waves into singles play with an advantage that would eventually lead to a 4-0 sweep on the day. The duo did not play together on Saturday against Pacific. The pair is now 15-3 overall throughout the 2015-16 campaign, including a 9-2 record in dual play and a 4-2 record over nationally ranked opposition. Runglerdkrirangkrai and Stefani have gone 4-1 from the number one doubles position and 5-1 from the number two doubles position this season.

Then for the singles award, the freshman put down Jana McCord with a strong 6-1, 6-0 victory to clinch the Waves sweep on the day. Then, in Saturday's 4-0 win over Pacific, the freshman downed Viktoriya Dzyuba with a 6-1, 6-1 final mark to give the Waves a 3-0 advantage en route to the sweep. Stefani now boasts and impressive 14-1 record in spring dual campaigns, all of which have been earned from the number one singles position. She has gone 17-4 against nationally ranked opposition in the 2015-16 season, and 28-4 overall and is currently on a four-match winning streak.

In the first week the conference accepted player of the week nominations, she and first-time partner senior Matea Cutura earned the bragging rights. Then in the two weeks prior to the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic, Stefani and usual partner, Runglerdkriangkrai, earned doubles team of the week accolades.

FALL 2015: The Waves played tough in the fall, competing in six tournaments to start the 2015-16 campaign. Pepperdine amassed a .564 win-loss percentage in doubles play with a 22-17 overall record against opponents. Matea Cutura and Christine Maddox led the Waves with seven wins, while adding only three losses throughout the fall. The pair competed in doubles of the Oracle/ITA Masters, falling early on in the main draw, but all coming back through the back draw to finish with back draw champion status. At the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, Calif. this fall, Maddox and Cutura reached the semifinals match against No. 3 California duo Manasse and partner Denise Starr, falling after two sets. Luisa Stefani and Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai went 6-1 for the Waves in tournament play and Laura Gulbe and Dzina Milovanovic also tabbed seven wins on top of a 7-7 overall record. Gulbe and Milovanovic advanced to the doubles championship of the Battle at the Bay tournament with a match-up against San Francisco's Andrea Ka and Thyra Taume, eventually dropping the match with an 8-7 (6) final decision.

In singles competition, the team posted a .610 win-loss percentage with a 50-32 overall record in tournament play. Stefani led the Waves with a 14-3 singles output, including a solid performance in the first-ever Oracle/ITA Masters. She advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating No. 14 Vanderbilt single Astra Sharma. The freshman eventually fell in the quarterfinals to No. 4 Maegan Manasse of California. She also advanced through pre-qualifying and qualifying rounds to play in the main draw of the Riviera/ITA All-American Championship, dropping her second match of the tournament and finishing out in the back draw. Dzina Milovanovic also picked up some solid wins in the, posting a 9-2 overall record throughout tournament play. Gulbe closed up the fall season with eight wins and Cutura ended with six singles wins as well for the Waves.

FALL USTA/ITA SOUTHWEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: In the fall, the Pepperdine women's tennis team more than excelled at the USTA/ITA Southwest Regional Championships as the Waves took home both the doubles championships and runners-up trophies, as well as the singles championship trophy. Luisa Stefani put up excellent performances in both categories, earning the singles title along with the doubles title alongside partner Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai. Matea Cutura and Christine Maddox were not far behind in the doubles bracket, however, as the pair earned runners-up status after withdrawing in the championship match against Runglerdkriangkrai and Stefani due to injury.

NILSSON: Per Nilsson returned to Pepperdine in June 2014 to succeed Gualberto Escudero as head coach of the women's tennis team. He was an assistant coach for the Pepperdine men's tennis team from 2003-07 under head coach Adam Steinberg, where the Waves went 119-38 in those five seasons. Pepperdine won the NCAA team championship in 2006 with Nilsson on the sidelines. He was the head men's coach at Mississippi State, his alma mater, for seven seasons from 2008-2014. Nilsson compiled a record of 95-76 during his time at MSU.

#PURPOSE: The Pepperdine University Department of Athletics is committed to Christian values, to the academic well-being of all of our student-athletes and to competing for championships. We prepare students for success by challenging them to think differently - find your purpose, serve others and lead by example. The Competing with Purpose campaign highlights the commitment to our core values that student-athletes, coaches and staff dedicate themselves to daily. Competing with Purpose provides the foundation on which champions are built.

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 17 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also 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 No. 52 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.