MALIBU, Calif. - The #12 Pepperdine men’s tennis team puts its three-match win streak on the line this week, hosting #21 Michigan on Wednesday, March 6 at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. The Waves then face #2 USC, the four-time defending NCAA Champions, on Friday, March 8 on the road.

 

MATCH 12 - Wednesday (March 6) at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center: #12 Pepperdine (9-2, 0-0 WCC) vs. #21 Michigan (4-4, 0-0 Big 10) at 1 p.m.

 

MATCH 13 - Friday (Feb. 26) at Marks Stadium: #12 Pepperdine at #2 USC (13-2, 0-0 Pac 12) at 3 p.m.

 

COVERAGE - Live score updates for the Waves’ home matches can be followed at here. Live coverage will also be available for the Waves vs. Trojans match on Friday here.

 

COME ONE COME ALL - Admission to all regular-season men’s and women’s tennis matches at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center is FREE.

 

LOOKING AHEAD - The Waves open next week with a home dual vs. Ohio State on Tuesday, March 12 before traveling to Berkeley, Calif. to face Cal on Saturday, March 16.

 

LOOKING BACK - Pepperdine won three consecutive matches last week, beginning with a 5-2 triumph over Florida State at the IMG Academy ... It was the first-ever collegiate match contested at IMG ... The Waves made a stop in Texas and beat TCU 5-2 before ending the road swing in San Diego ... After topping San Diego State 4-0, Pepperdine traveled to nearby La Jolla for the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship ... Four Wave pairs competed and four alums were also in attendance including Hugh Clarke, Scott Doerner, Jenson Turner and Kelly Jones ... Francis Alcantara and Finn Tearney suffered an early loss in the main draw but strung together six-straight wins to take the back draw trophy.

 

KELLY JONES - Last week, the ITA announced it will be inducting Pepperdine alum Kelly Jones, who competed for the Waves from 1983-86, into the ITA Collegiate Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame in a ceremony on May 22. The two-time NCAA Doubles Champion in 1984 and 1985 was a five-time ITA All-American while at Pepperdine and went on to have a successful pro career on the ATP Tour. Jones becomes the fourth Wave to be inducted into the ITA Hall of Fame joining Brad Gilbert, Robbie Weiss and Simon Aspelin.

 

LOOKING FURTHER BACK - Finn Tearney and Francis Alcantara were named the ITA National Indoor Championship All-Tournament team for their efforts from the No. 1 doubles spot in the lineup. The duo went 2-0 including a win over #2-ranked Duke pair Henrique Cunha and Raphael Hemmeler.

 

MICHIGAN - The Wolverines are 4-4 in 2013 after suffering three-straight losses to #9 Duke, Notre Dame and #19 Tulsa ... Ranked players include Evan King (#16) and Vlad Stefan (#67) ... In doubles, King and Shaun Bernstein are ranked #14 ... King ranks in at #30 when he teams up with Alex Buzzi in doubles.

 

USC - The Trojans, who have won the last four-straight NCAA team championship titles, are 13-2 in 2013 ... Their only losses were against Virginia and UCLA ... Ranked singles players for USC include Emilio Gomez (#4), Ray Sarmiento (#14), Roberto Quiroz (#27), Eric Johnson (#51), Yannick Hanfmann (#64), Max De Vroome (#88), Michael Grant (#110) and Jonny Wang (#119) ... Sarmiento and Hanfmann are ranked #31 in doubles.

 

RANKINGS - The Waves are currently ranked #12 in the team rankings, and have reached as high as #5 ... Sebastian Fanselow is currently ranked #7 in singles after reaching as high as #4 ... Alex Sarkissian entered the rankings on Feb. 12 at #89 and has since moved up to #73 ... Finn Tearney made his first rankings appearance of 2013 at #105 and is up to #83 .... Francis Alcantara broke into the rankings on Feb. 26 at #87 ... Tearney and Alcantara also broke into the doubles rankings on Feb. 26 at #27 For complete ITA team, singles and doubles rankings, visit: http://www.itatennis.com/AwardsAndRankings/Rankings.htm

 

TOP FIVE - The Waves were awarded with a #5 ITA team ranking on Feb. 5. It was the first time Pepperdine has earned top-five status since the 2006 season, when they spent the majority of the season in the top-five, won the NCAA Championship and concluded the year at #1. Although the Waves reached the semifinals of the 2012 NCAA Championship, they were ranked #6 in the final ITA poll.

 

THE LINEUP - Finn Tearney and Francis Alcantara have been holding down the No. 1 doubles spot, followed by Sebastian Fanselow and Alex Sarkissian and No. 2 ... Mousheg Hovhannisyan has teamed up mostly with David Sofaer at No. 3 ... In singles Fanselow, Sarkissian and Tearney play at the top of the lineup, followed by Alcantara, Hovhannisyan and Sofaer ... Kento Tanaka-Tamaki has also made his way into the doubles and singles rotation.

 

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

 

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 ... Mousheg Hovhannisyan and David Sofaer were awarded January Doubles Team of the Month honors after opening the season with back-to-back victories.

 

NATIONAL INDOOR RECAP - Sebastian Fanselow, who did not compete for the majority of the fall season, made his return to the court at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship in Flushing, N.Y. in November ... After defeating two top-10 ranked opponents in straight sets, Fanselow was pitted against #8-ranked and top seeded Alex Domijan in the semifinals ... After splitting the first two sets, the duo fought all the way to a 6-6 tie in the third ... Fanselow held serve and proceed to break Domijan’s serve at love to secure the match 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Fanselow later fell to Domijan’s teammate, Jamere Jenkins, in the finals but not before he was named the USTA/ITA Sportsmanship Award recipient.

 

Adam Steinberg - Now in his 11th season as head coach of the Waves, Adam Steinberg boasts career record of 285-151 including a 155-72 mark at Pepperdine. Since setting foot on the Malibu campus in 2003, Steinberg has captured six WCC conference championships, six 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 six times. Prior to coming to Pepperdine, Steinberg served as the head coach at Alabama and St. John’s for five seasons apiece.

 

2012 MEN’S DUAL RECAP - The Waves finished the 2012 season with a 27-7 record and concluded the season ranked #6 in the Campbell’s/ITA Collegiate Rankings. The men’s squad won a program-record 24 dual matches in a row and reached the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament after upsetting Georgia 4-3 in the quarterfinals. The previous win-streak record was held by the 1985 team that strung together 20 wins, finishing the season 30-7 and ranked #6 in the country.

 

2012 AWARDS RECAP - Sebastian Fanselow was named the Pepperdine Athletics Male Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season, while Daniel Moss was voted Wave of the Year. Fanselow was also named WCC Player of the Year. Fanselow and Finn Tearney made the All-WCC singles first team roster, while Alex Llompart was a second team honoree. In doubles, the duos of Tearney/Llompart and Jenson Turner/Fanselow were voted to the All-WCC first team, and David Sofaer/Hugh Clarke picked up on an honorable mention. Sofaer earned WCC All-Academic team recognition. Adam Steinberg was recognized as the WCC Co-Coach of the Year. On Monday, the ITA released its regional awards winners. Steinberg was named Southwest Coach of the Year. Fanselow was dubbed the Player to Watch in the Southwest region and later recognized as the national award winner. He also picked up All-American accolades in singles for the second-straight year.

 

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