SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – The Pepperdine men's golf team came tantalizingly close to its goal of repeating as national champions, but the Waves ended up bowing out of the NCAA Championships in the national semifinals on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Waves bested North Carolina, 3-2, in an extremely close quarterfinal match on Tuesday morning. But the host school, Arizona State, prevailed over Pepperdine 4-1 in the semifinals. These were the fifth and sixth competitive rounds the teams had played over the last five days in the desert heat at Grayhawk Golf Club.
 
Arizona State, which avenged a 3-2 loss to Pepperdine at the 2021 East Lake Cup, will face Texas for the national championship on Wednesday.
 
The two-time national champions advanced to the NCAA finals for the third consecutive time – a first in program history – and for the 12th time overall. The tie for third place is the team's third-best result ever following the 1997 and 2021 NCAA titles, and the program's fifth top-10 finish. The Waves were making their second straight and second-ever appearance in NCAA match play.
 
QUARTERFINALS VS. NORTH CAROLINA (3-2) 

• Dylan Menante (PEPP) def. Ryan Burnett (UNC), 19 holes – Neither player ever led by more than one hole. Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS) fell behind early, then took the lead on 15. He held the advantage for six holes, but Burnett eventually went up one on 8. Needing to win the final hole to continue, Menante did just that with a birdie, and then closed out the match on the 19th hole when Burnett bogeyed. Menante did something similar last year in the national quarterfinals when he won on 18 to extend his match, though that one ended in a tie.
• Joey Vrzich (PEPP) def. Peter Fountain (UNC), 2&1 – Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada) went two down after five holes, but rallied to tie the match after 10 holes. It was tied again after 13 and 14 holes, but Vrzich won on 6 and 7 to go two up, and closed out the match when he put his tee shot on 8 within inches of the cup.
• David Ford (UNC) def. Joe Highsmith (PEPP), 1 up – Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) led for much of the match and was two up with four holes to play before Ford rallied, winning on holes 6, 8 and 9 to give North Carolina its first point.
• Austin Greaser (UNC) def. William Mouw (PEPP), 2&1 – Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) went up one after three holes, but Greaser took a two-hole lead after eight. Mouw rallied to win holes 1, 2 and 3 to go up by one, but Greaser came back to win on holes 4, 5 and 6, and closed out the match to even the overall score at 2-2.
• Derek Hitchner (PEPP) def. Ryan Gerard (UNC), 2&1 -- Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School), starting from the anchor position and making his NCAA match play debut, proved to be the deciding point. He never trailed in the match, but it was tied with three holes to play. He birdied 7 to go up one, and par was enough to win on 8 and claim the match-clinching victory.

SEMIFINALS VS. ARIZONA STATE (1-4)

• Mason Andersen (ASU) def. Dylan Menante (PEPP), 19 holes – For the second time in the day, Menante went to extra holes. He had led by two with three holes remaining, but Andersen made birdies on 16 and 17. Both players birdied 18, but Andersen was able to secure the Sun Devils' first point on 19.
• David Puig (ASU) def. Joey Vrzich (PEPP), 2&1 – Vrzich only led once after the third hole. Puig took the lead for good on 6 and had a couple of two-hole leads, and won it on the 17th for Arizona State's second point.
• Preston Summerhays (ASU) def. Joe Highsmith (PEPP), 2 up – Summerhays defeated the nation's #1 player, Chris Gotterup of Oklahoma, 7&5 in the morning, and was poised for another sizeable win when he went 5 up after 10 holes. But Highsmith came roaring back, winning 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16 to tie things up. Summerhays was able to birdie 17 and 18, however, giving the Sun Devils the decisive third point immediately after the first two.
• William Mouw (PEPP) def. James Leow (ASU), 3&2 – Mouw took his first lead on the fourth hole and maintained it the rest of the way. After the Sun Devils clinched the overall match, Mouw's match was abandoned on the 16th hole and he earned Pepperdine's lone point.
• Cameron Sisk (ASU) def. Derek Hitchner (PEPP), 2&1 – Hitchner had a couple of one-hole leads on the front nine, but Sisk took the lead for good on 11, and went up by two holes on 13. The match was stopped shortly thereafter with Sisk in front.

QUOTABLE
 
Pepperdine Coach Michael Beard said: "I'm just so proud of our guys and how hard they fought. When they were down they found a way to get back. We didn't win today but it was close and sometimes the score doesn't do it justice. I can't say enough about this team. It's a unique, special group that I've been so thankful to be a part of. This group's never been defending national champs before and we were able to tackle all that and absorb some of the stuff that we had going on. To be able to come in and make such a good run here -- to make match play alone is an accomplishment, and then to win the first match, we played great today. I'm so glad I got to be a part of this whole thing with these guys and it's something we'll never forget."