ITA RELEASE

MALIBU, Calif.: Coaches Per Nilsson and Mario Toledo and freshman Ashley Lahey, of the 12^th-ranked Pepperdine women's tennis team, garnered ITA Regional acclaim for their performances throughout the 2017 campaign as released by the International Tennis Association on Monday afternoon. Nilsson and Toledo earned ITA Southwest Region Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year and Lahey picked up ITA Southwest Region Player to Watch status.

This is the second-consecutive year the Waves have received the regional player to watch honor as now-sophomore Luisa Stefani tabbed both Newcomer of the Year and Player to Watch in the 2016 season.

Nilsson garnered WCC Coach of the Year for the third-straight season this year, along with his regional honor. Toledo picks up the regional honor after he and Nilsson led Pepperdine to its sixth-straight WCC regular season title and fifth-consecutive WCC Tournament crown. In the past two seasons here, the Waves have gone to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen twice and earned untarnished records in conference competition. The Waves have gone 23-4 throughout the regular season with an untarnished 9-0 output among West Coast Conference opponents. The team has also posted a 7-4 record against nationally ranked opposition. It is the second season Pepperdine has gone undefeated in conference play. All nine of the wins were with 4-0 or 5-0 sweeping results. In dual singles action, the Waves had a .743 success rate and in doubles dual action, the Waves had a .706 winning output.

Freshman Lahey, currently ranked 19^th in the singles rankings and has ranked as high as No. 13 this season. She earned WCC Freshman of the Year and All-WCC first team honors along with her regional acclaim. It is the second-straight year the Waves have garnered the honor. Lahey helped the Waves' efforts with a 28-5 overall record and a 15-2 dual record. She went 14-1 at the No. 2 position and 1-1 in the top-spot this season, while posting an 8-4 record against nationally ranked opposition. She has played in all 27 matches for the Waves and finished her singles matches in 17 of them, posting a notable win over No. 20 Melissa Lord with a three-set comeback win in the Waves' 5-2 upset win at home. Most recently, she helped the Waves to NCAA First and Second round wins with a three-set victory over UCLA's Terri Fleming to send the Waves to Athens.

This week, Pepperdine will face off with NCAA Tournament hosts and 5^th-ranked Georgia in the round of 16 on May 19 at 1 p.m. PT. Follow WavesTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more.