MALIBU, Calif. — A neutral-site dual match against #61 Rice and an appearance in the Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship awaits the #23 Pepperdine men's tennis team, which heads south to La Jolla, Calif. this week.

The Waves will play the Owls on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 11 a.m. before competing in the 136th annual Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship, which runs from Feb. 27 through March 2. No matches will be livestreamed or have live scoring updates. All pertinent information can be found on the men's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.

MATCH 12: #25 Pepperdine (6-5) vs. #61 Rice (7-3) | Thursday, Feb. 27 | 11 a.m. PT | La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club | La Jolla, Calif.

SCOUTING THE WAVES

With the regular season's midway point around the corner, head coach Adam Schaechterle's squad checks in at #23 in the latest edition of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. The Waves, who have played nine NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, will take on another in #61 Rice before entering the final month of non-conference play.

Coming off its fourth match against a top-10 opponent of the season, the Waves head to La Jolla to not only get back in the win column but also gain plenty of doubles experience before the season ramps up in March.

Although the Waves were swept by #2 TCU on Sunday, one bright spot was the play of #53 Maxi Homberg, who was up 6-1, 4-3 on the nation's No. 2 singles player before the match was called. Homberg and #76 Edward Winter continue to be Pepperdine's nationally ranked singles players, while Homberg and senior captain Linus Carlsson Halldin rank #67 in the doubles polls.

In doubles, the Waves have won the doubles point in seven out of their 11 matches — all with new pairings from a year ago. Freshmen Aleksa Pisaric and Lasse Poertner boast a seven-match win streak and a team-leading 8-1 record at the third doubles position, where they've clinched the doubles point on numerous occasions. 

This year Pepperdine and 15 collegiate teams will compete in the 136th iteration of one of the most prestigious doubles tournaments on the West Coast. Past winners of this tournament include some of the greatest players in tennis, such as Arthur Ashe, Jack Kramer, Stan Smith, Bob Lutz, Dennis Ralston, John McEnroe and Ted Schroeder, among others.

Last year two Pepperdine teams made the finals of the Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship, which was an improvement over sending one team to the semifinals in 2023. This year, three Waves teams earned preliminary seeds: 3-seed Carlsson Halldin and Homberg; plus 9-16-seeds Pisaric and Poertner, plus Pepperdine alum George Davis and current redshirt freshman Robin Boeckli.

ACROSS THE NET

While Pepperdine and Rice don't share an extensive history, the Owls understand some of the challenges of being a competitive team outside the Power-4 conferences. The Owls scheduled tough this season, choosing to play at then-No. 1 Texas in the ITA Kickoff Weekend before playing three Power-4 teams in a row. After earning an at-large bid last year, head coach Efe Ustundag is aiming for the program's first back-to-back postseason appearances since 2016-17.

So far, the Owls' nonconference resume includes two wins over Power-4 opponents: a 4-3 win over LSU — which Pepperdine beat 4-1 — and a 4-2 home win over Texas Tech that brought the Owls into the national rankings. Rice shut out FAU in its American Athletic Conference opener last weekend and will play Pepperdine on one week of rest.

Led by NCAA Doubles Championship qualifiers #61 Kabeer Kapasi and Arthus de la Bassetiere, the Owls have won the doubles point in seven of their 10 matches. While Rice's lone nationally ranked doubles team is just 3-4 this spring, the pairing of Petro Kuzmenok and Santiago Navarro has picked up the slack by winning its last three matches.

Rice is an experienced team with seven upperclassmen, just four underclassmen, and seven players total returning from last season. One of those returners is senior Arthus de la Bassetiere: a former Gonzaga Bulldog who made his Rice debut last year at the third spot in the singles ladder. In his first year as Rice's top singles player, de la Bassetiere was tested early in the season against some of the nation's best players, which explains his 3-5 record in dual-match play.

The Owls have five players with three-match win streaks heading into this week: number-two singles player Petro Kuzmenok and lower-lineup players Eduardo Morais, Santiago Navarro and Emir Sendogan. The fifth player, Tommy Czaplinski, is a familiar face for the Waves: Czaplinski transferred from WCC foe Pacific in the offseason. Rice's roster has been interchangeable: The Owls have used nine different lineups in 10 matches so far.

Historically, Pepperdine is a perfect 3-0 against Rice, but the teams haven't played each other since 2010. This will be the first neutral-site match between the two squads.

WHAT'S NEXT

Pepperdine resumes dual match play on Sunday, March 9 to host #34 Vanderbilt. First serve is at 11 a.m. PT.