MALIBU Calif. — Eleven home matches at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center and 16 dual matches against NCAA Tournament teams highlight the Pepperdine men's tennis team's schedule, released Monday.

In yet another challenging non-conference schedule put together by seventh-year head coach Adam Schaechterle, Pepperdine will face 20 squads ranked in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings — eight of which were top 25 teams. Nine teams ranked in the final 2024 polls will come to Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. Additionally, the Waves will play in at least two in-state tournaments: The Pacific Coast Doubles Championships, plus the UTR Sports Collegiate Championships, held at Indian Wells, Calif.

Admission to all home matches at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center is free, and each match will be live-streamed via PlaySight. All pertinent information and updates can be found on the men's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.

Pepperdine's home opener will be Jan. 18 against UC Irvine, which made the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big West title last year. The Waves will wrap up January with a neutral-site match against tournament team UT Arlington in Dallas (1/22) before heading to Mississippi State for the ITA Kickoff Weekend (1/25-26). The Waves take on Mississippi State in the first match before facing either North Carolina State or LSU — both of whom made the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

A home match against PCH Cup rival LMU on Feb. 1 will be the first of seven West Coast Conference matches this spring, then Pepperdine hosts Texas A&M on Feb. 2 before embarking on a two-match road swing to Arizona State (2/7) and Arizona (2/9). Pepperdine then hosts in-city rival USC on Feb. 14 before taking the short trip to Westwood to face UCLA on Feb. 16. The Waves will visit defending national champions TCU (2/23), then take on Rice at the La Jolla Tennis Club (2/27) before competing at the Pacific Coast Doubles Tournament.

March features four home matches, starting with two non-conference bouts against Vanderbilt (3/9) and Middle Tennessee State (3/11) — both of whom made the NCAA Tournament. 

From there, the Waves will head to the desert to play at the UTR Sports Collegiate Championships at the BNP, which will take place in Indian Wells, Calif. from March 14-16. Other teams in the field include Arizona State, Baylor and Princeton — all NCAA Tournament teams — which gives Pepperdine another opportunity to bolster its resume. The Waves will host Columbia and reigning NCAA Singles Champion Michael Zheng (3/19), then UC Santa Barbara (3/26) before heading to Santa Clara (3/30) to end the month.

April will be all West Coast Conference action, starting at home with a WCC semifinal rematch against Pacific (4/5) before making a Pacific Northwest trip to face Gonzaga (4/12) and Portland (4/13). One final homestand against San Diego (4/18) and Saint Mary's (4/19) wraps up the regular-season schedule before the Waves head to San Diego for the WCC Championships, held at San Diego State's Aztec Tennis Center from April 25-26.

This spring, Pepperdine will aim for its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after earning an at-large bid and winning a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title last year. The squad boasts All-American Maxi Homberg, 2024 WCC Freshman of the Year and spring 2024 NCAA Singles Tournament qualifier Edward Winter, plus the nation's second-ranked recruiting class, according to the Tennis Recruiting Network.