MALIBU, California – The #22 Pepperdine men's tennis program returns to Malibu for a pair of matches this weekend against its West Coast Conference foes from the Pacific Northwest.
MATCH 17: #22 Pepperdine (11-5, 3-0 WCC) vs. Portland (6-8, 2-2 WCC) | Saturday, April 9 | 1 p.m. | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif.
MATCH 18: #22 Pepperdine (11-5, 3-0 WCC) vs. #55 Gonzaga (14-3, 3-1 WCC, at LMU on Sat.) | Sunday, April 10 | 1 p.m. | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif.
SERIES HISTORY: Pepperdine is 11-3 all-time against Portland, having won the last two meetings – both in Portland. The Waves are 4-1 against the Pilots in Malibu.
Pepperdine has found similar success against the Zags, winning 16 of 17 all-time meetings. The Waves are a perfect 4-0 at home against Gonzaga.
COVERAGE: Links to live video and stats are available on PepperdineWaves.com. Scores will be updated periodically on Twitter at @PeppTennis.
WAVES IN THE RANKINGS: As a team, Pepperdine is ranked 22
nd in the ITA computer ratings and 16
th in the Tennis Channel/USTA college poll.
SCOUTING THE WAVES: Pepperdine kept its undefeated WCC record intact last weekend, defeating Pacific 4-1 on Friday before shutting out Saint Mary's 4-0 on Saturday. Pepperdine has recorded shutouts in two of its last three matches and returns to the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center where it is 6-1 this season. The Waves are represented in the ITA rankings by
Daniel De Jonge (#15),
Tim Zeitvogel (#48),
Andrew Rogers (#86) and
Pietro Fellin (#87).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Portland has split the first four matches of conference play, falling to BYU and San Diego before rebounding to defeat Santa Clara and San Francisco. The Pilots also dropped matches to USC and Oregon, common opponents of the Waves. Eleftherios Neos and Sema Pankin are ranked 24
th by the ITA in doubles. Pankin was named the WCC Singles Player of the Week by the league office on Tuesday, while the doubles pair of Nicklas Oberg and Issa Yoshida was honored as the Doubles Team of the Week.
Gonzaga has been one of the league's surprises this season, winning the last seven matches and already eclipsing each of the last two season's win totals. After dropping the WCC opener to San Diego, the Zags have defeated BYU, San Francisco and Santa Clara by a combined score of 12-1. Arthus Bassetiere is a perfect 9-0 this dual season, while Tom Hann is 12-2 and Matthew Hollingworth is 9-3. The Zags are 57-17 as a team in singles.
FOLLOW: Follow @PeppTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
