MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine men's tennis program begins its 38
th overall NCAA Tournament appearance in South Carolina, where the Waves will face Washington on Friday morning in the first round.
MATCH 25: Pepperdine (17-7) vs. Washington (18-11) | Friday, May 6 | 7 a.m. PT | Carolina Tennis Center | Columbia, S.C.
If Pepperdine wins …
MATCH 26: Pepperdine (17-7) vs. #10 South Carolina (21-6)/South Carolina State (12-9) | Saturday, May 7 | 10 a.m. PT | Carolina Tennis Center | Columbia, S.C.
SERIES HISTORY: Pepperdine holds a 13-5 all-time lead over Washington. This is the third straight season the teams have met. The only neutral-site contest took place in 2005. In the second round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, Pepperdine hosted the Huskies and won 4-0.
Pepperdine has met South Carolina five times, having won the first four meetings but dropping the last contest, 4-3, which took place in 1999 at the ITA National Indoor Championships in Seattle.
Saturday would mark Pepperdine's first meeting against South Carolina State.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: This weekend marks the 38
th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance for the Waves. Pepperdine won the 2006 National Championship with a 4-2 decision over previously unbeaten Georgia at the Taube Tennis Center in Palo Alto, Calif. Since the tournament went to a dual-match format, Pepperdine has posted a record of 60-37. Pepperdine has won at least one tournament match in each of the past 21 appearances dating back to 1994. The last trip to the Eastern Time Zone for the Waves in the NCAA Tournament came in 2015, where Pepperdine competed at Wake Forest, defeating Florida in the first round before falling to the host Demon Decons in round two.
COVERAGE: The Tournament Central page, which includes a link to live stats, is available on PepperdineWaves.com. All matches can be streamed live on the TennisONE app on a smartphone. Scores will be updated periodically on Twitter at @PeppTennis.
LOOKING AHEAD: The winner of the four-team Columbia regional will take on the victor of the Charlottesville, Virginia, regional in next weekend's Super Regional. This weekend, the #7 national seed Virginia hosts Penn, VCU and Fairleigh Dickinson.
WAVES IN THE RANKINGS: As a team, Pepperdine is ranked 26
th in the ITA computer ratings and 20
th in the Tennis Channel/USTA college poll.
SCOUTING THE WAVES: Pepperdine dropped a heartbreaker in the West Coast Conference final on Saturday, falling 4-3 to San Diego. To make it to the championship, Pepperdine rallied to post a 4-1 win over #74 Portland in the semifinals on Friday. #24
Daniel De Jonge and #67
Tim Zeitvogel were selected to the NCAA Singles Championship in Champaign, Ill., from May 23-28. The two are joined in the ITA rankings by #84
Pietro Fellin, #93
Andrew Rogers and #72 De Jonge/
Eero Vasa. The final individual ITA rankings of the season will be released on June 2.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Washington played its way into the NCAA Tournament after a run through the Pac-12 Tournament, advancing to the final as an eight seed. The Huskies defeated #9 Oregon, #1 Arizona and #5 UCLA before falling to #2 USC in the final. UW boasts one of the nation's top singles players in Clement Chidekh, ranked seventh by the ITA. Jack Davis and Ewen Lumsden are ranked 23
rd by the ITA in doubles.
South Carolina finished second in the regular season in the rugged Southeastern Conference before bowing out in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament against Auburn. The Gamecocks have earned 12 ranked wins this season, most notably taking down Tennessee twice -- once while the Vols were #2 and once when they were the top team in the country. Daniel Rodrigues is currently the #1 singles player in the country, holding a 21-3 dual record this season. Toby Samuel (#82), Rodrigues/Connor Thomson (#18) and Beau Pelletier/Rodrigues (#57) are other Gamecocks in the rankings.
South Carolina State won its 17
th MEAC title, and 14
th in the last 18 years, last Saturday to clinch its spot in the NCAA Tournament. No Bulldogs are ranked by the ITA in singles or doubles.
FOLLOW: Follow @PeppTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.