MALIBU, Calif. - For the second-straight season, the #12 Pepperdine men’s tennis team has advanced to the final rounds of the NCAA Tournament, this year held on the campus of the University of Illinois. While the first and second rounds are hosted by 16 different programs across the nation, the final four rounds of the team tournament, as well as the entirety of the singles and doubles championships, will play out at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Urbana, Ill. on May 16-27. The Waves face #32 Memphis in the round of 16 on Thursday morning, May 16.

 

ROUND OF 16 - Thursday (May 16) at Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex: #12 Pepperdine (26-5) vs. #32 Memphis (16-7) at 7 a.m. (PT)/9 a.m. (CT)

 

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL - The NCAA Tournament Central is your one stop shop for the championships ... Links to live stats and video can be found there, as well as a complete tournament schedule, brackets and more!

 

FOLLOW US! - Follow the Pepperdine men’s tennis team on Twitter @PeppTennis for live match updates, pictures, team happenings and links to scores and recaps.

 

THE BRACKET - If the Waves make it past Memphis, they are set to face either #2 Georgia or #14 Oklahoma in the quarterfinals ... The Waves upset the Bulldogs last season in the quarterfinals, 4-3 ... Pepperdine met with the Sooners earlier this season in Malibu and won by a score of 4-3.

 

MEMPHIS - The Tigers are 16-7 on the season ... Joe Salisbury and David O’Hare are ranked #64 in the doubles rankings ... Memphis swept the doubles point vs. #7-ranked Ole Miss before posting wins from the No. 4-6 positions in the singles lineup to win 4-2 and punch its ticket to the Round of 16 ... It was the first time the Tigers had defeated Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. since 1982 ... This is the first meeting between the Waves and Memphis is program history.

 

FRIENDS OF JACLYN FOUNDATION - The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation is a charity that strives to help children with brain tumors and their families. The foundation’s Adopt-A-Child program pairs a child battling a brain tumor with a college sports team who takes the child into their athletic program as member of the team. The child attends practices, games and other activities with his or her newly found brothers and sisters. Pepperdine has taken Sully and his family under its wing all season, formally “adopted” him in a ceremony May 9. Watch Sully’s story here or below:

 

 

 

LOOKING BACK - Pepperdine hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament last week on the courts of the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center ... The Waves first blanked UC Santa Barbara before shutting out #20 LSU in round two ... The Waves are now 12-2 all-time when playing NCAA Tournament matches at home.

 

WCC AWARDS - The Waves were once again well represented in the All-West Coast Conference awards ... Sebastian Fanselow was named Player of the Year of the second season in a row while Adam Steinberg was honored as WCC Coach of the Year ... Fanselow and Finn Tearney made the singles first team list, while Alex Sarkissian was a second team selection ... In doubles, Francis Alcantara-Fanselow snagged a spot on the first team, while the Tearney-Sarkissian pair was recognized on the second team.

 

RANKINGS - The Waves are currently ranked #12 in the team rankings, and have reached as high as #5 ... Sebastian Fanselow is currently ranked #11 in singles after reaching as high as #4 ... Francis Alcantara broke into the rankings on Feb. 26, reached as high as #53 and currently sits at #102 ... Alex Sarkissian earned a season-best ranking of #60 on April 23 and right now stands at #62 ... Finn Tearney made his first rankings appearance of 2013 at #105, reached as high as #77 and currently sits at #107 ... Tearney and Alcantara also broke into the doubles rankings on Feb. 26 at #27 and currently rank #43.

 

SINGLES AND DOUBLES - At least three Waves will be present for the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships ... Sebastian Fanselow will represent Pepperdine in the singles bracket as a 9-16 seed ... Alex Sarkissian could join him and is #4 on the alternate list ... Finn Tearney and Francis Alcantara earned a spot in the 32-team doubles bracket.

 

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY - Pepperdine is officially making its 33rd appearance at the championships ... The Waves are officially 53-31 all-time at the tournament, including a 12-2 record when playing in Malibu ... Pepperdine won the national title in 2006 ... Last year, the Waves upset second-seeded Georgia in the quarterfinals, 4-3, in front of 3,100+ hometown fans ... Pepperdine succumbed to Virginia in a rain-hindered semifinal, 4-1.

 

THE LINEUP - The doubles lineup has seen several changes over that past few weeks ... Five different pairs have seen action at No. 1, most recently Sebastian Fanselow and Francis Alcantara ... Finn Tearney and Alex Sarkissian have taken up residence in the No. 2 spot in the lineup ... David Sofaer and Mousheg Hovhannisyan have held down the No. 3 spot in the doubles lineup for the majority of the season ... In singles Fanselow has held down the top spot, while Sarkissian, Tearney and Alcantara, rotate between the 2-4 spots ... Hovhannisyan and Sofaer typically play at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively ... Kento Tanaka-Tamaki and Damian Gryzelko have also made their way into the doubles and singles rotation.

 

WCC PLAYER OF THE MONTH - Sebastian Fanselow was the West Coast Conference singles player of the month for November, after his run at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship, and again in February ... Mousheg Hovhannisyan and David Sofaer were awarded January Doubles Team of the Month honors after opening the season with back-to-back victories ... Finn Tearney and Francis Alcantara were announced as February’s WCC Doubles Team of the Month after being honored as All-Tournament performers at the ITA National Indoor Team Championship ... April’s WCC Doubles Team of the Month was awarded to Tearney and Alex Sarkissian.

 

Adam Steinberg - Now in his 11th season as head coach of the Waves, Adam Steinberg boasts career record of 302-154 including a 172-75 mark at Pepperdine. Since setting foot on the Malibu campus in 2003, Steinberg has captured seven WCC conference championships, seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament, and an NCAA Championship crown in 2006. He has tutored 16 Waves to All-American status, and has been named WCC Coach of the Year seven times. Prior to coming to Pepperdine, Steinberg served as the head coach at Alabama and St. John’s for five seasons apiece.

 

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 #54 overall on U.S. News and World Report’s list of America’s best colleges.