MALIBU, California — The defending NCAA champion Pepperdine men's golf team will attempt to go back-to-back as the Waves return to Arizona for the NCAA Championships this week. Four of the five Waves who won the 2021 NCAA title are still in the lineup.

EVENT INFO — The NCAA Championships will be held at the par-70, 7,289-yard Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, between May 27-June 1. Live scoring will be available via Golfstat and Golf Channel will provide live TV coverage on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 

All 30 teams will compete in the first three rounds (Friday through Sunday). The field will be cut to 15 teams for the fourth and final round of stroke play (Monday). The top eight teams will move on to match play, with the quarterfinals and semifinals on Tuesday and the national championship match on Wednesday.

Pepperdine, the #6 seed, will be paired with host Arizona State and North Carolina for the first two rounds. On Friday, they'll start on the first tee beginning at 11:52 a.m. On Saturday, they'll begin on the 10th tee starting at 6:32 a.m.

FIELD — In order of seeding, the 30 teams that have advanced to the NCAA finals are Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, North Carolina, Pepperdine, Texas, Texas Tech, Florida, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, Stanford, Arkansas, Georgia, Wake Forest, Auburn, Florida State, Ole Miss, Kansas, Arizona, Oregon, East Tennessee State, South Florida, Ohio State, North Florida, Liberty, BYU, Georgia Southern, Utah and College of Charleston.

LINEUP — Pepperdine's lineup consists of junior Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS), junior William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS), senior Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School), senior Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School) 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.

Highsmith will become just the fifth Wave to compete in at least three NCAA finals. He tied for 24th in 2019 and came in as a substitute in 2021. Last season, Mouw (T-13th), Menante (T-17th) and Vrzich (T-22nd) played in their first NCAA Championships. Hitchner will make his debut this week.

NCAA HISTORY — Pepperdine has made it to the NCAA finals for the 12th time. It's the first time the Waves have qualified for three straight NCAA Championships (Pepperdine came in 11th in 2019, while the 2020 tournament was canceled due to COVID-19). This is the fourth time that Pepperdine has qualified under head coach Michael Beard, all of which have come in the last five tournaments.

The Waves won their first national championship in 1997 at Conway Farms in Lake Forest, Illinois, and then won again last season at Grayhawk Golf Club. Those are two of the program's four top-10 finishes at nationals.

Pepperdine's best individual finishes are second (Michael Putnam in 2005 after he lost in a playoff), tied for third (Jason Gore in 1997), fourth (Putnam in 2004), fifth (Michael Walton in 1997) and tied for eighth (Beard in 2002).

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 #4 by Golfweek/Sagarin, #5 in the coaches poll and #6 by Golfstat.

Golfweek/Sagarin rankings (as of 5/19): Menante #39, Highsmith #49, Hitchner #51, Vrzich #68, Mouw #86.

Golfstat rankings (as of 5/20): Menante #28, Hitchner #68, Vrzich #74, Mouw #79, Highsmith #103.

PGA Tour University rankings (as of 5/20): Highsmith #9, Vrzich #15.

World Amateur Golf Ranking (as of 5/18): Menante #12, Highsmith #20, Vrzich #45, Hitchner #73, Mouw #87.

RECORDS WATCH — Five current Waves rank among Pepperdine's top eight on the all-time scoring list — Dylan Menante at #2 (70.89), Joey Vrzich at #3 (70.95), William Mouw at #4 (71.14), Joe Highsmith at #5 (71.40) and Derek Hitchner at #8 (71.77) ... Highsmith is fifth in career below-par rounds (62), ninth in top-20 finishes (26) and tied for ninth in top-10 finishes (18) ... Mouw is ninth in career below-par rounds (48) and Menante is 10th (45) ... Hitchner has a team-best 19 below-par rounds this season, tied for fifth on the Waves' single-season list.

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.

INDIVIDUAL WINS — Three Pepperdine individuals have posted five victories this season ... 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. He then became the third Wave to win an NCAA Regional, beating the field in Bryan, Texas, by one shot last week ... Dylan Menante won twice in a row this spring. 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 ... 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.

NCAA BRYAN REGIONAL — The Waves posted their best-ever finish at an NCAA Regional by placing second in Bryan, Texas. Halfway through the final round it looked like Pepperdine might finish fourth or fifth, but all five Waves played the last nine holes at par or better and the Waves jumped host Texas A&M and Georgia. Pepperdine finished five shots back of Arizona and 22 better than the cut line and sixth place. Joe Highsmith won the individual title with a 6-under 210, becoming the third Wave ever to win an NCAA Regional (following his head coach Michael Beard in 2000 and Josh Anderson in 2012). William Mouw was one shot back and tied for second, while Derek Hitchner tied for 10th.

MORE 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' third team victory of the season came at the WCC Championships, where they beat BYU and Loyola Marymount by five shots for their fourth consecutive league crown and their league-best 22nd overall ... Pepperdine's last six tournaments have resulted in two wins, three second-place finishes and one third-place result.

ALL-WCC — Dylan Menante repeated as WCC Player of the Year. He's the first Wave, and only the third WCC player, to repeat since coaches began voting on the award in 2008 ... Michael Beard won his sixth consecutive WCC Coach of the Year award (he's the only WCC men's golf coach ever to earn more than two in a row, and he and Gonzaga's Mark Few are the only WCC coaches to win six in a row in any sport) ... The Waves' lineup took five of the 10 All-WCC first team slots, with Menante joined by Joe Highsmith, Derek Hitchner, William Mouw and Joey Vrzich.

OTHER 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.

ROSTER — It's a smaller squad than years past, with only six Waves on the roster. But four of them are returning All-Americans who were in the lineup for the national championship. The breakdown is three seniors, two juniors and one freshman. Joey Vrzich utilized a COVID-19 redshirt year to play a fifth season of college golf.

SUMMER 2021 HIGHLIGHTS — Dylan Menante was part of the Arnold Palmer Cup-winning U.S. team in June ... Joe Highsmith played in the U.S. Open after winning a qualifier ... All five returning Waves played in the U.S. Amateur, with Highsmith making the round of 32 ... Menante won the Northeast Amateur, while Derek Hitchner won the Minnesota Amateur and Trans-Mississippi Championship (and was named the Minnesota Golf Association Player of the Year).

2021 NCAA CHAMPIONS — Despite finishing the COVID-19-shortened 2019-20 season as the nation's #1 team, many people wrote off the Waves last season after the graduation of National Player of the Year Sahith Theegala. But the Waves maintained their elite status, winning a program-record six tournaments, including the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club. The Waves finished third in stroke play to advance to match play for the first time, where they beat the top three ranked teams in the country in Florida State, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. A total of six Waves earned All-American honors, led by Joey Vrzich (second team) and WCC Player of the Year Dylan Menante (third team). Pepperdine also won the WCC title for the 21st time with a record score of 49-under.

PEPPERDINE GOLF — Thanks to its victories at the 1997 and 2021 NCAA Championships, Pepperdine has clinched a spot among the sport's elite. The Waves are making their 12th appearance at the NCAA finals since 1993, and have achieved NCAA Regional berths in 26 of the last 30 tries. In the West Coast Conference, the Waves have won a league-best 22 championships since 1987 and have finished either first or second in 28 of the last 35 tournaments. Pepperdine has had 17 student-athletes earn All-American honors a total of 25 times. Sahith Theegala was the unanimous national player of the year in 2020, and the Waves have had two Byron Nelson Award winners (Jason Allred in 2002 and Michael Putnam in 2005). Theegala became the seventh Wave to play on the PGA Tour in 2021-22. Andrew Putnam is the other alum currently competing on the PGA Tour.

BEARD — Former Pepperdine All-American Michael Beard is in his 10th season as the Waves' head coach. He earned the Dave Williams Award as the Division I National Coach of the Year in 2020 after leading the Waves to the #1 ranking before the pandemic cancelled the season, then led Pepperdine to the NCAA title in 2021. He became the first WCC men's golf coach ever to earn WCC Coach of the Year honors three consecutive years (2016-18) and he extended that streak to six straight in 2022 (he and Gonzaga's Mark Few are the only WCC coaches to win six straight Coach of the Year awards). Beard competed for the Waves between 1999-2002 and was a GCAA All-American honorable mention selection in both 2000 and 2002. He was the medalist at the 2000 NCAA West Regional and the 2002 WCC Championships and was a four-time All-WCC first teamer. After playing professionally for several years, he served as an assistant coach at Pepperdine for one season and helped the Waves to make the 2011 NCAA Championships. Beard returned to Pepperdine in December 2012 after spending the previous season-and-a-half as an assistant at Arizona State. 

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.