MALIBU, California — The Pepperdine men's golf team, which ended the spring ranked #1 in the country and has begun the new season with two strong showings, next plays in the prestigious and exclusive East Lake Cup.

The event, which will be televised by the Golf Channel, ordinarily takes the top four teams from the previous NCAA Championships. Instead, this year's field features the top four teams in the Golfstat rankings from when the season was canceled in mid-March: Pepperdine, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas.

EVENT INFO — The East Lake Cup will be held at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Monday's first day of competition (Oct. 26) will feature a round of stroke play to crown an individual champion and set match-play pairings. Tuesday and Wednesday (Oct. 27-28) will consist of match play. 

Live scoring will be available via Golfstat. Golf Channel will have live coverage from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. PT each day.

A women's tournament featuring Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Texas will be taking place at the same time.

The East Lake Cup, which began in 2015, benefits the East Lake Foundation, "a charitable organization dedicated to helping families build better lives and children reach their highest potential through its holistic approach to community revitalization incorporating mixed-income housing, cradle-to-college education and community wellness."

PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves' lineup consists of sophomore William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS), sophomore Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS), senior RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School), junior Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School) and junior Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School).

RANKINGS — After two tournaments, Golfweek/Sagarin has the Waves ranked at #2 and seven Waves are in the top 60 as individuals: Dylan Menante #3, Joe Highsmith #14, William Mouw #21, Joey Vrzich #27, RJ Manke #34, Joshua McCarthy #41 and Derek Hitchner #59.

The Waves ended the spring ranked #1 in the Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll and in the Golfstat computer rankings, and #2 by Golfweek/Sagarin. The Waves had nine players in the Golfweek/Sagarin top 200, eight of whom are returners.

ROSTER — Nine of the 10 Waves who saw action for the nation's #1 team last season have returned, including two of last year's three seniors in Clay Feagler and Joshua McCarthy. Five players who competed at the 2019 NCAA Championships (and an 11th-place finish) are still part of the program. The Waves have back an All-American first team honoree (William Mouw), two WCC medalists (Feagler and RJ Manke), two three-time All-WCC honorees (Feagler and McCarthy) and four who have been all-region honorees (Feagler, McCarthy, Mouw and Joe Highsmith). The 10-man roster breakdown is five seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and one freshman. Mouw has been named to the preseason Haskins Award watch list.

PASADERA — The Waves easily came out on top as five WCC schools gathered for the season-opening Pasadera Collegiate Invitational, held at the Club at Pasadera in Monterey, Calif., on October 5-6. The Waves had the second-best score in program history at 46-under and won by 28 strokes. All 10 Waves finished among the top 18, including each of the top four and seven of the top nine. Joshua McCarthy and Dylan Menante tied with a 14-under 196, and McCarthy won his first college title via a playoff.

MARIDOE — The Waves finished second at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational in Carrollton, Texas, last week (Oct. 18-20). Dylan Menante recorded his second consecutive second-place finish. The Waves earned head-to-head wins against the three schools they will be competing against at the East Lake Cup.

RECORDS WATCH — Four current Waves rank among Pepperdine's top 10 on the all-time scoring list — Joe Highsmith at #3 (71.66), Clay Feagler at #4 (71.90), Joshua McCarthy at #5 (71.97) and RJ Manke at #10 (72.85) ... Feagler has three career wins, one off the school record ... McCarthy has played in 148 career rounds and could break Michael Beard's school record of 162.

NON-PEPPERDINE RESULTS — The Waves still made their mark despite the issues of this summer. Pepperdine had seven golfers at the U.S. Amateur and three of them made it to match play (both figures tied the most by any school). William Mouw went the farthest, reaching the round of 16. Joey Vrzich won the California Amateur, while Caden Fioroni made the final of the SCGA Amateur.

2019-20 RECAP — Though the season was cancelled in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Waves had one of the greatest seasons in program history. In addition to the team ending the season at #1, Sahith Theegala was the nation's #1 player and swept the three National Player of the Year awards, while Michael Beard was National Coach of the Year. The Waves won three tournaments and set a school record with a 280.1 scoring average. Theegala and William Mouw gave Pepperdine two All-American first teamers for the first time in program history.

PEPPERDINE GOLF — Thanks to its victory at the 1997 NCAA Championships, Pepperdine will always be known on a national level for its outstanding men's golf program. At the most recent NCAA Championships in 2019, the Waves made their 10th appearance since 1993 and finished in 11th place. Pepperdine has achieved NCAA Regional berths in 24 of the last 28 tries. In the West Coast Conference, the Waves have won a league-best 20 championships since 1987 and have finished either first or second in 26 of the last 33 tournaments.

BEARD — Former Pepperdine All-American Michael Beard is in his ninth season as the Waves' head coach. He earned the Dave Williams Award as the Division I National Coach of the Year in 2000 after leading the Waves to the #1 ranking before the pandemic cancelled the season. Beard returned to Pepperdine in December 2012 after spending the previous season-and-a-half as an assistant at Arizona State. He became the first WCC men's golf coach ever to earn WCC Coach of the Year honors three consecutive years (2016-18) and he extended that streak to four in 2019. His Waves won the 2015, 2018 and 2019 WCC titles and advanced to the NCAA Championships in 2017 and 2019. Beard competed for the Waves between 1999-2002 and was a GCAA All-American honorable mention selection in both 2000 and 2002. He was the medalist at the 2000 NCAA West Regional and the 2002 WCC Championships and was a four-time All-WCC first teamer. He has still played in more rounds (162) than anyone else in Pepperdine's history. After playing professionally for several years, he served as an assistant coach at Pepperdine for one season and helped the Waves to make the 2011 NCAA Championships.

ONLINE — The squad is on Twitter (@PeppGolf), Facebook (/PeppGolf) and Instagram (peppgolf). You can also follow @CoachMBeard and @blainewoodruff on Twitter.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — 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 18 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, California, 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 #49 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.