Thursday, April 29
Henderson, Nev.
Pepperdine University
at
WCC Championships
Joey Vrzich
Photo by: Jeff Golden
Men's Golf Goes for 21st WCC Title This Weekend
4/27/2021 10:47:00 AM | Men's Golf
MALIBU, California — The #5 Pepperdine men's golf team, coming off a win at the Western Intercollegiate, heads into postseason play with this weekend's West Coast Conference Championships. The Waves, who will be the favorite to win their 21st title, have already set a program record with four tournament wins this season.
EVENT INFO — The WCC Championships will be held for the first time at Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada. There will be 18 holes each day between Thursday and Saturday (April 29-May 1). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.
FIELD — Nine WCC schools sponsor men's golf. In addition to Pepperdine, the field includes BYU, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara.
The Waves are the highest-ranked team in the field, followed by San Francisco at #22. Seven of the nine are ranked in the Golfweek/Sagarin top 100.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves' lineup consists of sophomore Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS), junior Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School), senior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS), sophomore William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) and senior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada).
With the 2020 WCC Championships having been canceled, only two Waves in the lineup have previous WCC experience. Feagler was the medalist in 2018 and also finished tied for 15th in 2017 and 36th in 2019. Highsmith tied for eighth in 2019. Vrzich competed at a pair of Mountain West Conference Championships before transferring.
RANKINGS — The Waves are ranked #5 by Golfweek/Sagarin, #7 by Golfstat and #8 in the most recent Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll (April 16).
Of the Waves in the lineup, Dylan Menante is #16 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #25 by Golfstat, Joey Vrzich is #25 by both Golfweek and Golfweek/Sagarin, Joe Highsmith is #40 by Golfstat and #42 by Golfweek/Sagarin, William Mouw is #118 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #125 by Golfstat and Clay Feagler is #124 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #180 by Golfstat.
Among others, RJ Manke is #38 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #86 by Golfstat, Joshua McCarthy is #40 by Golfweek/Sagarin and Derek Hitchner is #91 by Golfweek/Sagarin.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY — Pepperdine has won the WCC title 20 times, more than any other school (San Francisco is second with 11). The Waves have finished first or second at 26 of the last 33 tournaments. Pepperdine won the last two titles in 2018 and 2019. The Waves also had the medalist in 2018 (Clay Feagler) and 2019 (RJ Manke) and have had 13 in all.
HONORS — William Mouw was on the first Haskins Award watch list of the season, and Dylan Menante made the updated list in November and March ... Mouw has been named to the team that will represent the U.S. in the Walker Cup in May.
EAST LAKE — The exclusive East Lake Cup, held in Atlanta, Ga. (Oct. 26-28) brought together the four highest-ranked teams in the nation from when the season ended in mid-March. After a round of stroke play, the Waves brought home the trophy by beating Texas Tech 3-2 in the semfinals and Oklahoma 4-1 in the championship. Joe Highsmith, Derek Hitchner and Dylan Menante each went 2-0 in match play.
WESTERN — Joe Highsmith and the Waves swept the titles at the Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo Golf Club (April 12-14). Pepperdine beat Stanford by 11 shots. Highsmith had a 5-under 205 and won a playoff for his first college title.
MORE HIGHLIGHTS — Pepperdine has won four tournaments for the first time in program history ... Joshua McCarthy won two WCC-only fall events, the Pasadera Collegiate Invitational and the Rustic Collegiate Classic. It's the eighth time in program history (and the fourth year in a row) that a Wave has won twice in one season ... With one more medalist, the Waves will tie the school record of four individual champs in one season (1991-92) ... Dylan Menante has three second-place finishes among five top-10 results and went 2-0 in match play at the East Lake Cup ... Pepperdine's own Southwestern Invitational was televised by the Golf Channel for the first time.
RECORDS WATCH — Five current Waves rank among Pepperdine's top 10 on the all-time scoring list — Joe Highsmith at #2 (71.42), Clay Feagler at #4 (71.79), Joshua McCarthy at #5 (71.91), Derek Hitchner at #6 (72.08) and RJ Manke at #10 (72.63) ... Feagler has three career wins, one off the school record ... McCarthy and Feagler have played in 160 and 154 career rounds, respectively, and are approaching Michael Beard's school record of 162 ... McCarthy is tied for third in below-par rounds (64), fourth in top-20 finishes (33) and tied for sixth in top-10 finishes (19) ... Feagler is tied for third in below-par rounds (64), tied for eighth in top-10 finishes (18) and eighth in top-20 finishes (27) ... Highsmith is 10th in below-par rounds (41).
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.
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EVENT INFO — The WCC Championships will be held for the first time at Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada. There will be 18 holes each day between Thursday and Saturday (April 29-May 1). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.
FIELD — Nine WCC schools sponsor men's golf. In addition to Pepperdine, the field includes BYU, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara.
The Waves are the highest-ranked team in the field, followed by San Francisco at #22. Seven of the nine are ranked in the Golfweek/Sagarin top 100.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves' lineup consists of sophomore Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS), junior Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School), senior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS), sophomore William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) and senior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada).
With the 2020 WCC Championships having been canceled, only two Waves in the lineup have previous WCC experience. Feagler was the medalist in 2018 and also finished tied for 15th in 2017 and 36th in 2019. Highsmith tied for eighth in 2019. Vrzich competed at a pair of Mountain West Conference Championships before transferring.
RANKINGS — The Waves are ranked #5 by Golfweek/Sagarin, #7 by Golfstat and #8 in the most recent Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll (April 16).
Of the Waves in the lineup, Dylan Menante is #16 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #25 by Golfstat, Joey Vrzich is #25 by both Golfweek and Golfweek/Sagarin, Joe Highsmith is #40 by Golfstat and #42 by Golfweek/Sagarin, William Mouw is #118 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #125 by Golfstat and Clay Feagler is #124 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #180 by Golfstat.
Among others, RJ Manke is #38 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #86 by Golfstat, Joshua McCarthy is #40 by Golfweek/Sagarin and Derek Hitchner is #91 by Golfweek/Sagarin.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY — Pepperdine has won the WCC title 20 times, more than any other school (San Francisco is second with 11). The Waves have finished first or second at 26 of the last 33 tournaments. Pepperdine won the last two titles in 2018 and 2019. The Waves also had the medalist in 2018 (Clay Feagler) and 2019 (RJ Manke) and have had 13 in all.
HONORS — William Mouw was on the first Haskins Award watch list of the season, and Dylan Menante made the updated list in November and March ... Mouw has been named to the team that will represent the U.S. in the Walker Cup in May.
EAST LAKE — The exclusive East Lake Cup, held in Atlanta, Ga. (Oct. 26-28) brought together the four highest-ranked teams in the nation from when the season ended in mid-March. After a round of stroke play, the Waves brought home the trophy by beating Texas Tech 3-2 in the semfinals and Oklahoma 4-1 in the championship. Joe Highsmith, Derek Hitchner and Dylan Menante each went 2-0 in match play.
WESTERN — Joe Highsmith and the Waves swept the titles at the Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo Golf Club (April 12-14). Pepperdine beat Stanford by 11 shots. Highsmith had a 5-under 205 and won a playoff for his first college title.
MORE HIGHLIGHTS — Pepperdine has won four tournaments for the first time in program history ... Joshua McCarthy won two WCC-only fall events, the Pasadera Collegiate Invitational and the Rustic Collegiate Classic. It's the eighth time in program history (and the fourth year in a row) that a Wave has won twice in one season ... With one more medalist, the Waves will tie the school record of four individual champs in one season (1991-92) ... Dylan Menante has three second-place finishes among five top-10 results and went 2-0 in match play at the East Lake Cup ... Pepperdine's own Southwestern Invitational was televised by the Golf Channel for the first time.
RECORDS WATCH — Five current Waves rank among Pepperdine's top 10 on the all-time scoring list — Joe Highsmith at #2 (71.42), Clay Feagler at #4 (71.79), Joshua McCarthy at #5 (71.91), Derek Hitchner at #6 (72.08) and RJ Manke at #10 (72.63) ... Feagler has three career wins, one off the school record ... McCarthy and Feagler have played in 160 and 154 career rounds, respectively, and are approaching Michael Beard's school record of 162 ... McCarthy is tied for third in below-par rounds (64), fourth in top-20 finishes (33) and tied for sixth in top-10 finishes (19) ... Feagler is tied for third in below-par rounds (64), tied for eighth in top-10 finishes (18) and eighth in top-20 finishes (27) ... Highsmith is 10th in below-par rounds (41).
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.
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