MALIBU, Calif. – The 21^st-ranked Pepperdine men's tennis team is set to officially begin the 2021 dual season in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The winner of the event earns an automatic bid to the ITA National Indoors in February.
 
MATCH #1: #4 Michigan vs #15 Baylor | Saturday, January 23 | 8 a.m. PT
 
MATCH #2: #21 Pepperdine vs #11 Texas A&M | Saturday, January 23 | 12 p.m. PT
 
CONSOLATION: Loser of matches 1 & 2 | Sunday, January 24 | 8 a.m. PT
 
CHAMPIONSHIP: Winner of matches 1 & 2 | Sunday, January 24 | 12 p.m. PT
 
COVERAGE: All matches will be live streamed online via Cracked Racquets. Links can be found on PepperdineWaves.com and on Twitter at @PeppTennis.
 
QUOTABLE: We built this program on improvement and development and this weekend is an incredible opportunity for us to continue growing," head coach Adam Schaechterle said.
 
"The other three programs in our pod are excellent at every level, and all three are national championship contenders."
 
"We will either step up to the challenge and gain a new level of confidence, or we will learn where we need more growth.  That's what it's all about. College athletics doesn't get better than the opportunities we have this weekend."
 
SINGLED-OUT SUMMARIA
Junior Corrado Summaria clocked in at #90 in ITA singles, moving up 11 spots from his #101 ranking at the end of last season. Summaria defeated the likes of then-#63 Derkas from Fresno State as well as then-#16 Habib of Texas A&M. His highest ranking last season came at #38 after the two big-time wins in the 2019 Oracle/ITA Masters.
 
DOUBLES TROUBLE
Two Pepp doubles tandems earned spots on the ITA's doubles rankings as Daniel DeJonge and Adrian Oetzbach were ranked #34 and Tim Zeitvogel and Summaria came in at #58. Both teams went undefeated as pairs last season.
 
TOUGH GUY
Incoming freshman Guy Den Ouden made enough noise this summer to be placed on the ITA's Top Ten Newcomers list at #10. Den Ouden stormed into the semifinals of the 2020 French Open Juniors Championship after defeating perilous foes that included the fourth-ranked junior in the world in straight sets.
 
UP NEXT
Between ITA events, the Waves head to the desert to take on the likes of Arizona State and Arizona on Friday, February 5 and Sunday, February 7 respectively.
 
Following an automatic or at-large bid from the ITA Kickoff, the Waves would head to Champaign, Illinois for the 2021 ITA National Team Indoors from February 12-14.