Wednesday, 02/08/2012

MALIBU, Calif. - The #27-ranked Pepperdine women’s tennis team takes on 2011 NCAA champion and current #1 Florida on Friday, Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. before playing 2011 NCAA runner-up champion and #2-ranked Stanford on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 12 p.m. Both duals will play out on the courts of the Taube Tennis Center in Palo Alto, Calif.

MATCH #4 - Friday (Feb. 10) at the Taube Tennis Center: #27 Pepperdine (2-1) vs.  #1 Florida (4-0) at 10 a.m.

MATCH #5 - Saturday  (Feb. 11) at Taube Tennis Center: #27 Pepperdine at #2 Stanford (2-0) at 12 p.m. Live video and scoring available at http://www.streamingtennis.com/Cardinal/livescoreboard1.html

LOOKING AHEAD - Next week, the Waves travel to UC Irvine for a 1:30 p.m. match versus the Anteaters. The following week, Pepperdine returns to Malibu to host Boise State (Feb. 24) and Arizona State (Feb. 26).

LOOKING BACK - The Waves went 1-1 last week, blanking Cal State Northridge at home before dropping a 7-0 decision to #16 USC at Marks Stadium.

FLORIDA - The Gators enter the 2012 season as the defending NCAA champions after upending Stanford, 4-3, in the team final last spring.  Florida boasts five student-athletes in the singles rankings including Allie Will (#3), Joanna Mather (#4), Lauren Embree (#35), Sofie Oyen (#34) and Alex Cercone (#41). In doubles, Will and Oyen are listed at #10, while Mather and Embree are ranked #15. The Waves are 0-6 all-time versus the Gators, but have not met since the 1998 season.

STANFORD - The Cardinal went 28-1 last season, with its only loss coming in the NCAA team final to Florida. Stanford is 2-0 in the early portions of the 2012 season. The last time the Waves met with the Cardinal squad was during the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, when Stanford won 4-0. Mallory Burdette leads Stanford as the #1-ranked singles and doubles player (along with partner Nicole Gibbs) amongst Division I tennis players. Gibbs also appears in  the singles rankings at #5, while Ellen Tsay is ranked #31.

RANKINGS - As a team, the Waves are currently ranked #27, while Ale Granillo was honored in singles with a #72 ranking.  The highest Pepperdine has seen ranked in 2012 was #26.

RESULTS AND RECAPS - Complete results for this week’s action can be found at www.PepperdineSports.com at the conclusion of each day’s match.

SOCIAL MEDIA - Fans can follow the Waves on Twitter @PepperdineWaves and “like” us on Facebook by searching for Pepperdine Athletics.

WCC PLAYERS OF THE MONTH - NOVEMBER - Freshman Lorraine Guillermo went a perfect 3-0 at the Mission Hills Desert Classic to finish her rookie fall season with a team-best 9-3 record in singles. Guillermo opened the tournament with a thrilling three-set triumph versus Alison Ramos of USC. In the follow up match, she took a 3-0 lead before Washington’s Capucine Gregoire was forced to retire. In her final match of the weekend, and ultimately the fall, she logged a 6-4, 6-1 win against Gregoire’s teammate, Samantha Smith. Guillermo brings a five-match win streak into the dual season.

WCC PLAYERS OF THE MONTH - OCTOBER - Khunpak Issara tallied a team-high four victories during the month of October. She opened with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 shutout versus San Diego State’s Kristin Buth at the USTA/ITA Div. I Women’s Southwest Regional Championships. She followed that up with a gritty three-set triumph against a UC Irvine student-athlete to advance to the Round of 16. The following weekend, she competed at the Jack Kramer Club Invitational. There, she defeated competitors from Mississippi State and USC before falling to the bracket’s top seed and #25-ranked Anna Bartsenstein of Miami. It was Issara’s first Singles Player of the Month award.

WCC PLAYERS OF THE MONTH - SEPTEMBER - The Waves swept the first installment of the WCC Player of the Month awards, winning in both singles and doubles. Ale Granillo was named Singles Player of the Month after a 5-0 start and winning the singles bracket at the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational. Khunpak Issara and Lorraine Guillermo won Doubles Team of the Month honors after reaching the semifinals of the same event.

USTA/ITA REGIONAL RECAP - The Waves picked up a total of six singles wins in San Diego at the Southwest Regional. Ale Granillo and Khunpak Issara reached the round of 16 in singles, while Lorraine Guillermo nearly upset #3 seeded Pamela Montez of UCLA but was edged 7-5, 7-6. The unseeded Granillo eliminated the #5 seed (and #45 ranked) Kaitlyn Christian in a three set battle.

ROSTER - Pepperdine returns eight letterwinners from last year’s 15-8 team, including 2011 all-conference team members in Arianna Colffer, Khunpak Issara, Ale Granillo, Andrea Oates and Marie Zalameda. Joining the team is Walnut, Calif. native Lorraine Guillermo, who ranked in the top-10 on the Class of 2011 National Recruiting list.

GUALBERTO ESCUDERO - Now in his 35th season at the helm of the program, Gualberto Escudero enters the 2011-12 season with a career record of 604-308 (.667).   He took over as head coach in 1977-78 after a decorated career as a student-athlete at Pepperdine.  On the court, he was a finalist at the 1969 WCAC singles tournament and won the doubles title with John Lovelace.  Pepperdine won conference titles in 1969 and 1970 and finished second the next two seasons. His transition from player to coach was a successful one as Escudero has tutored 29 All-Americans, and was honored as WCC Coach of the Year on three occasions.

2011 RECAP - The Wave reclaimed the West Coast Conference title in 2011, defeating Loyola Marymount and Saint Mary’s en route the championship match versus San Diego. The team made its 24th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and finished the season with 15 dual match victories.  Anamika Bhargava earned All-WCC first team distinction in both singles and doubles, becoming the first Pepperdine player in program history and just the second in the conference to do so all four seasons of her collegiate career. Other all-conference honorees in 2011 include Arianna Colffer (singles, first team), Khunpak Issara (singles, second team; doubles, first team), Andrea Oates (singles, honorable mention), Marie Zalameda (doubles, first team) and Ale Granillo (doubles, first team).

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.

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