SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Seeking its first West Coast Conference tournament title since 2013, the #37 Pepperdine men's tennis team begins postseason play against the Santa Clara Broncos at the Aztec Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif. tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. PT.
The Waves, who won a share of the regular-season title with top-seeded San Diego, were the conference runners-up to the Toreros last season. Like last year, the two teams appear to be on a collision course, as both teams only lost once in conference play this year.
MATCH 25: #37 Pepperdine (16-8, 8-1 WCC) vs. Santa Clara (16-9, 6-3 WCC) | Friday, April 28 | 1:30 p.m. PT | Aztec Tennis Center | San Diego, Calif.
COVERAGE
All West Coast Conference Championship matches will be live-streamed for free on Track Tennis. Links to live stats and live video can be found on the men's tennis team's schedule page at pepperdinewaves.com.
SERIES HISTORY
Pepperdine has a 26-1 all-time record against Santa Clara, including a perfect 3-0 record versus the Broncos in the WCC Tournament. The Waves have won the last five matches against Santa Clara.
SCOUTING THE WAVES
Led by a pair of seniors in Daniel De Jonge (Vlissingen, Netherlands) and Tim Zeitvogel (Baden-Baden, Germany) Waves have a mix of experienced veterans and promising underclassmen. De Jonge, who is #64 in the latest ITA national singles rankings, was the first Wave since 2014 to earn WCC Player of the Year honors earlier this week. He and doubles partner Zeitvogel — another All-WCC First Team selection — are #54 in the nation in doubles and first-team all-conference doubles award winners.
Senior Eero Vasa (Turku, Finland) and his doubles partner Maxi Homberg (Freising, Germany) also earned All-WCC Doubles Honorable Mention honors. Vasa also earned second-team all-conference honors in doubles, while Homberg was an honorable mention selection in singles.
As a team, Pepperdine carries a three-match win streak into the WCC Tournament. During the final week of the regular season, the Waves handled San Francisco with a 4-0 sweep, then clinched a share of the regular-season title with a 4-1 win at Santa Clara.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Less than a week ago, Pepperdine and Santa Clara squared off in the Bay Area during the regular-season finale. After conceding a close doubles point to the Broncos, the Waves outlasted the hosts in singles play with four quick wins. In the match, sophomore Robert Shelton (Lancaster, Pa.) clinched for the Waves on court six with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 victory.
Individually, Santa Clara is led by All-WCC Second Team selection Christian Lerby and honorable mention selection Arthur Neuhaus — the latter of whom was the only Bronco ahead in his singles match during the team's last meeting. No Broncos singles players or doubles teams are nationally ranked.
Earlier in the tournament, the Broncos fell behind 3-2 to the upset-minded Saint Mary's Gaels, yet Lerby and Guillaume Dalmasso prevailed in three sets on courts one and two, respectively to win the match 4-3.
UP NEXT: Should the Waves advance to the championship game, it will take place on Saturday, April 29 at 2 p.m.
FOLLOW: Follow @PeppTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
