Wednesday, 04/11/2012

MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women’s tennis team, ranked #35 in the ITA Collegiate team rankings, hits the road one last time before postseason play starts, playing at Portland and Gonzaga this weekend.

MATCH #18 - Friday  (April 13) at Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center: #35 Pepperdine (11-6, 5-0 WCC) vs. Portland (4-12, 0-3 WCC) at 12 p.m.

MATCH #19 - Saturday (April 14) at Spokane Racquet Club:  #35 Pepperdine vs. Gonzaga (9-6, 1-3 WCC) at 11 a.m.

LOOKING BACK - Pepperdine played both Saint Mary’s and San Diego -- both undefeated in league play at the time -- at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center last week. Although the Gaels started off strong and won the doubles points, the Waves fired back in singles and won 5-2. In the follow-up effort versus the Toreros, Pepperdine recorded its fourth shutout win of the season.

LOOKING AHEAD - The Waves wrap the regular season next week, with home duals versus Long Beach State (April 20) and BYU (April 21). Senior Day will be celebrated prior to the match against the Cougars, as the Waves pay tribute to graduating players Ali Walters and Andrea Oates.

DOUBLES PROWESS - Lorraine Guillermo and Khunpak Issara own an 13-3 doubles record this dual season, and earned their first win over a ranked opponent on March 12. The Wave duo defeated UCLA’s Robin Anderson and Skylar Morton, ranked #14 in the ITA doubles rankings, 8-4.  They are currently riding a seven match win streak.

BY THE NUMBERS - Lorraine Guillermo and Ali Walters both boast a six-match win streak in singles. Khunpak Issara has won seven of the last 10.  Overall, Walters owns the best dual match record at 12-5, while Guillermo holds the best overall singles record at 20-9.

RANKINGS - As a team, the Waves are currently ranked #35, while Khunpak Issara sits at a career-best #69 in the singles rankings. Ale Granillo recently re-entered the poll at #113. Pepperdine’s #1 doubles pair, Issara and Lorraine Guillermo, have reached as high as #28 in the doubles rankings, and currently sit at #29.

THE REST OF THE WEST - The only other West Coast Conference school currently ranked by the ITA is Saint Mary’s, who is listed at #39.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE - 2012 marks the first season that all nine member schools will face each other during the regular season, prior to the conference tournament.  In past seasons, teams were not required to play other teams in the conference and seeding at the WCC Championships was based on ITA rankings and overall records. This season, regular-season standings will determine the seeding. This year’s tournament will take place on April 26-28 in San Diego, Calif. The Waves have won 22 of the last 24 league championships.

PORTLAND- The Pilots are 4-12 after suffering a 5-2 loss to BYU last week. In the WCC, the team is 0-3. Anastasia Polyakova is a team-best 9-5 in singles this season. Portland plays Weber State on Thursday before entertaining the Waves on Friday.

GONZAGA - The Bulldogs are 9-6 and 1-3 in the league. Last week Gonzaga won nonconference match-ups against Weber State and Northern Arizona. Sophie Lantta, Kylie Peek and Britta Stime have all earned a team-high eight singles wins in dual play.

WCC PLAYER OF THE MONTH - FEBRUARY - Khunpak Issara and Lorraine Guillermo went a team-best 5-2 in doubles during the month of February. On February 10 the Waves faced Florida, the defending 2011 NCAA team champions and ranked #1 at the time. Although Pepperdine suffered a 5-2 loss, Issara and Guillermo tallied a win over the Gator’s top doubles team of Allie Will (ranked #1 in singles by the ITA) and Alexandra Cercone. In the final dual of the month, the Wave tandem rallied from behind to defeat Arizona State’s Jacqueline Cako and Hannah James 7-1 in the tiebreaker to help clinch the doubles point for Pepperdine. Issara and Guillermo’s only two losses were to doubles teams ranked in the top five. Issara and Guillermo were previously awarded WCC Doubles Team of the Month in September of last fall.

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 and earn WCC Singles Player of the Month for November.

WCC PLAYERS OF THE MONTH - OCTOBER - Khunpak Issara tallied a team-high four victories during the month of October to win her first WCC 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.

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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