College Tennis News - Challenging Week in Store for Pepperdine as the Waves Face Cal State Northridge and USC

MALIBU, Calif. - After opening the 2012 dual season with a 4-3 win over #53 San Diego State, the #26 Pepperdine women’s tennis team continues action at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on Wednesday, Feb. 1 with a 1:30 p.m. match versus Cal State Northridge. The week continues with a road contest at #16-ranked USC on Saturday, Feb. 4.

MATCH #2 - Wednesday (Feb. 1) at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center: Cal State Northridge (1-1) at #26 Pepperdine (1-0) at 1:30 p.m. Live scoring updates available at PepperdineSports.com

MATCH #3 - Saturday (Feb. 4) at Marks Stadium: #26 Pepperdine at #16 USC (3-0) at 1:30 p.m. Live video and scoring available at USCTrojans.com

LOOKING AHEAD - The challenges continue for the Waves next week, as they travel to Palo Alto, Calif. to go up against #1 Florida and #2 Stanford.

LOOKING BACK - Although Pepperdine dropped the doubles point to San Diego State last week Wednesday, the Waves roared back in singles to win the dual by a score of 4-3. Khunpak Issara, Lorraine Guillermo, Megan Moore and Ali Walters all snagged singles victories to give the Waves the edge.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE - The Matadors are 1-1 after competing in an ITA Kick-Off Weekend event last Saturday and Sunday. CSUN lost to Miami (Fla.) 7-0, before bouncing back with a 5-2 triumph over #62 UC Santa Barbara.

THE SERIES - Pepperdine is 9-0 all-time versus Cal State Northridge, but has not faced the Matdors since the 2009 season.

USC - The Trojans are ranked #16 in the Campbell’s/ITA Collegiate rankings and are 3-0 so far this season. USC advanced to the ITA National Indoor Team Championships after defeating Arizona State and Sacramento State last weekend. Several Trojans appear in the singles rankings including Sabrina Santamaria (#18), Zoe Scandalis (#19), Danielle Lao (#42) and Kaitlyn Christian (#99). In doubles, Santamaria and Christians are listed at #3.

THE SERIES - USC holds a 12-38 all-time series advantage over Pepperdine. The last time the Waves triumphed over the Trojans was during the 2001 season. Pepperdine was evenly matched with the Trojans during the 2011 fall campaign, going 3-3 in singles versus the crosstown adversaries.

RANKINGS - As a team, the Waves begin the year at #26, while Ale Granillo was honored in singles with a #72 ranking.

RESULTS AND RECAPS - Complete results for this week’s action can be found at www.PepperdineSports.com.