LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Gualberto Escudero, one of the winningest coaches in the history of college women's tennis, was inducted into the West Coast Conference's Hall of Honor on Saturday morning.
 
The 2019 Hall of Honor Brunch and Induction Ceremony took place at the Orleans Hotel in the midst of the WCC Basketball Championships, where both Pepperdine men's and women's basketball teams have reached the quarterfinals.
 
In a prerecorded video that introduced Gualberto, former Pepperdine men's volleyball coach and seven-time Olympian Marv Dunphy reminisced on the pairs near 50 years of comradery in the ranks of coaching at Pepperdine.  He spoke about Gualberto's excellent ability to focus on a student-athlete's individual growth and development off the court, along with his aptitude for leading his players to excellent finishes on the court.
 
While on stage at the Hall of Honor ceremony, Escudero recollected, thinking back to his time at Hollywood High, where he drew the attention of Pepperdine tennis coach John McClung, who was also a history professor on campus.  McClung had to call the young player three times before sttting up a tryout for Escudero against Pepperdine's No. 2 singles player.  After each player won a set, "the coach said, 'I'll give you a scholarship,' and I owe everything to him," said Escudero.
 
Escudero moved to the United States from Bolivia when he was 10 years old. After graduating from Hollywood High School, he was a standout player for the Waves from 1969 to 1972.
 
Escudero first arrived at Pepperdine's old South Los Angeles campus as a freshman in the fall of 1968, and he never left.  For 37 seasons, he fashioned one of the most prolific coaching careers in NCAA women's tennis history.  From his first season in 1978 to his final season in 2014, he amassed a career record of 651-334 (.661).  It's believed that his win total ranked second all-time among women's tennis coaches at that point.  He led the Waves to the NCAA postseason on 31 occasions, including each of his final 27 seasons.
 
He was a finalist in the 1969 WCAC singles tournament while winning the doubles title with John Lovelace, and helped the Waves win two conference team titles. He earned a degree in physical education from Pepperdine in 1972.
 
After graduating, Escudero stayed on campus by teaching tennis courses for both the University and with the Crest Associates, and serving as an assistant coach with both the men's and women's teams. And even after his retirement from college coaching, he's remained on campus stringing racquets and offering lessons.
 
This year's other inductees are Tiffany Lott-Hogan (BYU track), Adam Morrison (Gonzaga basketball), Tara (Erdmann) Welling (LMU cross country/track), Jayne McHugh (Pacific volleyball), Stephanie Lopez Cox (Portland soccer), Trevor Newquist (Saint Mary's soccer), Ali Cox (San Diego rowing), Orlando Smart (San Francisco basketball) and Caren Horstmeyer (Santa Clara basketball).
 
Pepperdine's previous 10 inductees were Doug Christie, Gail Hopkins, Wayne Wright, Dana Jones, Katherine Hull, Mike Scott, Dane Suttle, Maureen Formico-Caloiaro, William "Bird" Averitt and Randy Wolf.
 
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