MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine men’s tennis team plays host to the USTA/ITA Division I Men’s Southwest Regional Championship on Oct. 20-24. Competition will be held at both the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center and the Crest Tennis Courts.
Twelve other teams in addition to the Waves will be in attendance, including Cal Poly, Fresno State, Hawaii, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, USC, San Diego and San Diego State.
One round of doubles and two rounds of singles will open action on Thursday morning, followed by one round of both singles and doubles and the opening round of consolation play on Friday. On Saturday, two more rounds of singles and doubles will play out in addition to the continuation of consolation play. Sunday’s schedule includes the singles and doubles semifinals, and the consolation finals, while the event concludes on Monday with the finals of both the singles and doubles.
The winners of both the singles and doubles bracket will earn a spot at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on Nov. 3-6 in Flushing, N.Y. Last season, Sebastian Fanselow was crowned the Southwest Regional singles champion and earned the bid to the national event.
THE SEEDS - Sebastian Fanselow enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed, followed by Finn Tearney at No. 3. Mousheg Hovhannisyan was dubbed the No. 10 seed, while Jenson Turner and Hugh Clarke were seeded with a group of individuals at No. 17. All four received a first-round bye.
In doubles, Fanselow and Turner are the No. 2 seed, while Clarke and Tearney are the No. 3 seed in the 45-team bracket.
SEASON DEBUTS - Making their 2011-12 debuts are senior Daniel Moss and freshman Kento Tanaka-Tamaki. They’ll compete in both the singles and doubles competition. Moss is teaming up with David Sofaer, Tanaka-Tamaki will partner with Mousheg Hovhannisyan in doubles.
COVERAGE - Updates will be made throughout the tournament on Twitter @PeppTennis, while updated brackets and results can be found on the Tournament Central Page.
TWITTER - Fans can follow the Waves on Twitter @PeppTennis or @PepperdineWaves and “like” us on Facebook by searching for Pepperdine Athletics.
LOOKING BACK - Hugh Clarke and David Sofaer won the doubles title at the Battle in the Bay Classic on Oct. 16. Clarke was the runner up champion in the singles main draw, while Sofaer finished second in the consolation singles bracket.
ITA ALL-AMERICAN RECAP - Four members of the Pepperdine men’s tennis team, including Mousheg Hovhannisyan, Jenson Turner, Finn Tearney and Sebastian Fanselow gained entry to the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. Hovhannisyan tallied three-straight wins in qualifying to earn a spot in the singles main draw. Fanselow reached the consolation singles final but suffered a loss, narrowly missing out on the automatic bid to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship in Flushing, N.Y. next month.
UP NEXT - The Waves compete at the Southern California Intercollegiate on Nov. 3-6 in Los Angeles, before wrapping up the fall season in Sarasota, Fla. for the Lakewood Ranch Clay Court Intercollegiate Classic.
RANKINGS - In singles, four members of the Pepperdine squad earned a spot on the Campbell’s/ITA Collegiate Rankings, including Sebastian Fanselow (#10), Finn Tearney (#19), Jenson Turner (#98) and Mousheg Hovhannisyan (#111). In doubles Fanselow and Turner are listed at #11, while Tearney and Hugh Clarke are ranked #14.
WHO’S BACK — The Waves have seven letterwinners back from the 2010-11 squad including All-American Sebastian Fanselow. All-WCC singles selections Alex Llompart and Finn Tearney are also back, although Llompart is taking the fall off and will not join the team until January. Other players back include Hugh Clarke, Mousheg Hovhannisyan, Jenson Turner and Daniel Moss.
WHO’S NEW — The Waves welcome Hawai’i native Kento Tanaka-Tamaki to the roster this season. Tanaka-Tamaki had a standout prep school career at St. Anthony Junior-Senior High School. He was a four-year varsity member with a career singles record of 50-5, and was named the Maui Interscholastic League Player of the Year on three occasions. As a senior, he was the state runner-up champion on the singles court.
ADAM STEINBERG — Now in his 10th season as head coach of the Waves, Adam Steinberg enters the 2011 season with a career record of 324-145 (.691) including a 180-61 (.747) mark at Pepperdine. Since setting foot on the Malibu campus in 2003, Steinberg has captured eight WCC conference championships, eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, and an NCAA Championship crown in 2006. He has tutored 15 Waves to All-American status, and has been named WCC Coach of the Year five times. Prior to coming to Pepperdine, Steinberg served as the head coach at Alabama and St. John’s for five seasons apiece.
2011 RECAP — The Waves finished the 2011 dual season with a 18-5 record and concluded the season ranked #15 in the Campbell’s/ITA Collegiate Rankings. Pepperdine defeated two top-10 ranked teams including #4 Duke and #7 Texas A&M. Sebastian Fanselow, Finn Tearney and Alex Llompart were all named to the All-WCC first team in singles, while Fanselow and Jenson Turner were awarded all-conference honors in doubles after piecing together an 18-1 dual season record as a pair. At the 2011 NCAA Singles Championships, Fanselow advanced to the round of 16 to earn All-American distinction.
TENNIS HISTORY — The Pepperdine men’s tennis program is synonymous with the word excellence, as the Waves are a perennial national power. The Waves have advanced to postseason play 35 times in 38 seasons, including an NCAA championship in 2006. Within the WCC, Pepperdine has dominated the competition, winning 41 conference championships since 1958.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men’s sports - one of just 16 schools to have accomplished this feat - and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest enrollment and is the only school not in a major conference. Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation’s most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #55 overall on U.S. News and World Report’s list of America’s best colleges. The 2011-12 school year marks Pepperdine’s 75th anniversary.
