MALIBU, California – The defending NCAA runner-up Pepperdine women's tennis program released its full 2021-22 schedule on Thursday.
 
The Waves will compete against nine NCAA Tournament teams from 2021, including three teams Pepperdine beat in the tournament: Stanford (second round), Michigan (third round) and UCLA (national quarterfinals). All in all, Pepperdine will play six schools that won an NCAA Tournament match last season.
 
The home slate is highlighted by matches against California, Columbia, San Diego, Stanford, Princeton, UCLA and USC.
 
Pepperdine has been selected as one of 16 hosts for the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the end of January, hosting Columbia, Colorado and Notre Dame at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. The winner of that event moves on to the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championships at the University of Wisconsin in February.
 
"We are looking forward to competing against great competition and seeing if we are making progress," head coach Per Nilsson said.
 
The Waves ended the 2021 season falling to Texas 4-3 in the national championship. They finished with a 25-4 record. Nilsson brings back five players from the national runner-up squad and welcomes three newcomers: one freshman and two transfers.
 
Home matches: January 22 vs. Cal, January 29-30 vs. Columbia/Colorado/Notre Dame (ITA Kickoff Weekend), February 5 vs. UCLA, March 5 vs. San Diego, March 6 vs. Stanford, March 11 vs. Princeton, March 12 vs. BYU, March 19 vs. USC, March 26 vs. LMU, April 2 vs. Saint Mary's.
 
Road matches: February 25 at Michigan, February 27 at Ohio State, March 23 at UCSB, March 28 at San Francisco, March 29 at Cal, April 6 at UCLA, April 8 at Gonzaga, April 9 at Portland, April 16 at Oklahoma State, April 17 at Oklahoma, April 29-30 at WCC Championships.