MALIBU, California — The defending NCAA champion and #1-ranked Pepperdine men's golf team is coming off a tournament victory at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational and is now heading to the Western Intercollegiate, a tournament that the Waves won in 2021. The event, Pepperdine's last before the West Coast Conference Championships, will be televised by the Golf Channel.

EVENT INFO — The Western Intercollegiate will be held at the par-70, 6,615-yard Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California. There will be a single round of golf each day between Monday and Wednesday (April 11-13). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat. 

The Golf Channel will provide live coverage from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT on Monday and Tuesday, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. PT on Wednesday.

FIELD — In addition to Pepperdine, the 14-team field includes host San Jose State, Arizona, BYU, California, Colorado State, Hawai'i, Oregon, San Diego State, Stanford, UC Irvine, USC, Texas and Washington. The Waves are one of three top-10 teams at the event, including #7 Washington and #8 Texas.

LINEUP — For this play-six, count-five event, Pepperdine's lineup consists of junior Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS), senior Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School), junior William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS), freshman Ian Maspat (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS), senior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada) and senior Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School).

EVENT HISTORY — The Waves won the Western Intercollegiate for the first time last season in what was their 11th trip to the tournament. Their previous-best finishes were second in 1999 and 2000. Joe Highsmith was the medalist in 2021, following in the footsteps of Jason Allred in 2000. Pepperdine finished 11 shots better than Stanford last season, while Highsmith was victorious in a playoff.

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 #1 by Golfweek/Sagarin, #5 in the coaches poll and #8 by Golfstat.

Golfweek/Sagarin rankings (as of 4/7): Menante #39, Highsmith #55, Vrzich #57, Hitchner #61, Mouw #123.

Golfstat rankings (as of 4/5): Menante #34, Vrzich #63, Hitchner #78, Mouw #114, Highsmith #166.

PGA Tour University rankings (as of 4/6): Highsmith #11, Vrzich #18.

World Amateur Golf Ranking (as of 4/6): Menante #13, Highsmith #15, Vrzich #38, Hitchner #66, Mouw #86.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS — The Waves 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. Joe Highsmith won his second college title with a 19-under 197, good for the third-best score in program 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 ... Ian Maspat became the Waves' second winner of the season, as he captured the individual tournament title at The Prestige with a 6-under 210, good for a five-shot victory ... 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, while Dylan Menante won his first college tournament by a single stroke.

LOOKING AHEAD — 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 ... 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 are 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 — Joey Vrzich at #2 (70.69), Dylan Menante at #3 (70.80), William Mouw at #4 (71.17), Joe Highsmith at #5 (71.38) and Derek Hitchner at #8 (71.80) ... Highsmith is fifth in career below-par rounds (59) and tied for 10th in top-10 finishes (17) ... Menante is tied for 10th in below-par rounds (43).

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.