MALIBU, California — The defending NCAA champion and #2-ranked Pepperdine men's golf team heads to the West Coast Conference Championships this week, with the Waves looking to win their fourth straight title and their league-best 22nd overall. Dylan Menante has won the last two tournaments, the first Wave to go back-to-back in more than 28 years.

EVENT INFO — The WCC Championships will be held at the par-72, 7,193-yard Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada. There will be a single round of golf each day between Thursday and Saturday (April 28-30). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat. 

FIELD — In addition to Pepperdine, eight other schools sponsor men's golf: BYU, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, San Diego, San Francisco, Saint Mary's and Santa Clara. USF is second with 11 WCC titles. After Pepperdine, the next-highest ranked team (by Golfweek/Sagarin) in the field is BYU at #50. Five of the schools are in the top 100.

LINEUP — Pepperdine's lineup consists of junior Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS), senior Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School), senior Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School), junior William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) and senior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada). Freshman Ian Maspat (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS) will travel as a potential substitute.

Four of the five were in the lineup for last year's WCC title, won by the Waves by 24 shots with a record score of 49-under. Menante and teammate Clay Feagler tied atop the individual leaderboard, and Feagler prevailed in a playoff.

EVENT HISTORY — Pepperdine's 21 WCC titles have all come since 1987. The Waves have finished either first or second at six straight championships and 27 of the last 33 overall. Pepperdine has also produced the last three medalists, and 14 in all.

RANKINGS — The Waves were picked as the nation's #1 team in the preseason in the Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll, and in Golf Channel's season preview. The Waves are currently #2 by Golfweek/Sagarin, #5 in the coaches poll and #6 by Golfstat.

Golfweek/Sagarin rankings (as of 4/25): Menante #25, Highsmith #50, Hitchner #51, Vrzich #63, Mouw #104.

Golfstat rankings (as of 4/19): Menante #22, Hitchner #67, Vrzich #68, Mouw #101, Highsmith #143.

PGA Tour University rankings (as of 4/20): Highsmith #9, Vrzich #17.

World Amateur Golf Ranking (as of 4/20): Menante #8, Highsmith #18, Vrzich #45, Hitchner #62, Mouw #91.

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS — Pepperdine won the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in October by four shots with a score of 42-under, the fifth-best score in team history.  ... The Waves competed at the prestigious East Lake Cup for the second straight year. They won the single round of stroke play, lost to Oklahoma in the opening round of match play (a rematch of the 2020 East Lake Cup final and the 2021 national championship, both won by the Waves), but defeated Arizona State for third place ... Pepperdine began the spring by shooting 17-under at its own Southwestern Invitational, a score that would be good enough to win in almost any year, but Arizona State had a record 30-under and the Waves finished second ... After two strong showings against top competition at the Southern Highlands Collegiate (second place) and the NIT (third place), the Waves broke through and won the Valspar Collegiate Invitational against another exceptional field, beating Florida State by 14 shots ... The Waves enter the postseason with four straight top-three finishes and are coming off a second-place effort at the Western Intercollegiate.

INDIVIDUAL WINS — Three Pepperdine individuals have posted four victories this season ... Dylan Menante has won the last two times out. His first college win came at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational (by one), followed by the Western Intercollegiate (by three). He became the first Wave to win consecutive tournaments since Kevin Marsh in the fall of 1993 ... Joe Highsmith won his second college title with a 19-under 197, good for the third-best score in program history, at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in October ... Ian Maspat captured a title at a separate tournament for individuals at The Prestige with a 6-under 210, good for a five-shot victory.

LOOKING AHEAD — Dylan Menante has been named to the U.S. Arnold Palmer Cup team for the second straight year. They'll play at the Golf Club de Geneve in Switzerland from July 1-3 ... Menante's win at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational gave him an exemption into the PGA Tour's 3M Open in Minnesota from July 21-24 ...  Joey Vrzich's immediate post-college plans are set as he finished third at a PGA Tour Canada Q-School event in Arizona, giving him exempt status for the first half of the 2022 season ... Derek Hitchner is planning on utilizing a COVID-19 redshirt season to return for 2022-23.

2021-22 HONORS — Joe Highsmith was named to the Ben Hogan Award watch list in early February ... Dylan Menante and William Mouw were named to the Haskins Award preseason watch list ... Menante was named the WCC's Player of the Month for March ... The Waves took up five of the 10 spots on the preseason All-WCC team with Highsmith, Menante, Mouw, Derek Hitchner and Joey Vrzich ... The Waves were the unanimous favorite to win the WCC title again in the preseason vote of the coaches.

RECORDS WATCH — Five current Waves rank among Pepperdine's top eight on the all-time scoring list — Dylan Menante at #2 (70.76), Joey Vrzich at #3 (70.85), William Mouw at #4 (71.20), Joe Highsmith at #5 (71.42) and Derek Hitchner at #8 (71.79) ... Highsmith is fifth in career below-par rounds (59) and tied for 10th in top-10 finishes (17) ... Menante is tied for ninth in below-par rounds (44).

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 10 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 26 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.