March 1, 2012
Match Notes
MALIBU, Calif. - The #24 Pepperdine women’s tennis team, coming off a pair of home wins last week, gears up for a challenging road test this Saturday, March 3 when the Waves tangle with #7 California.
MATCH #9 - Saturday (March 3) at Hellman Tennis Complex: #24 Pepperdine (5-3) vs. #7 California (6-3) at 12 p.m.
COVERAGE - Live video coverage can be watched online at: http://www.calbears.com/sports/w-tennis/live.html. Score updates can be followed on Twitter (@PepperdineWaves).
LOOKING AHEAD - The Waves return home next week when they welcome Florida State to the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7. The following week, Pepperdine plays at UCLA, currently sitting at #1 on the ITA Collegiate Team Rankings, on Monday, March 12.
LOOKING BACK - The Waves blanked Boise State 7-0 last week, before stunning #21 Arizona State with a 5-2 loss. The Waves won the doubles points with two matches that went to the tiebreaker. Pepperdine steam rolled its way through singles, claiming the “W” in four of the six contests.
NOTABLES - Freshman Lorraine Guillermo is 7-3 in her last 10 matches dating back to the fall ... Guillermo and Khunpak Issara hold down the #1 spot in the doubles line up with a 6-2 record and recently entered the ITA collegiate doubles rankings at #57 ... The pair defeated Allie Will and Alexandra Cercone -- the top doubles pair from then-#1 Florida on Feb. 10.
CALIFORNIA - The Golden Bears are currently ranked #7 in the ITA behind a 6-3 overall record ... After winning the first six matches, Cal has dropped the last three straight ... Last week, the Golden Bears suffered a pair of narrow 4-3 road losses, first to UCLA then to USC ... Cal boasts six players in the singles rankings including Jana Juricova (#3), Zsofi Susanyi (#15), Tayler Davis (#44), Annie Goransson (#93), Anett Schutting (#101) and Cecilia Estlander (#109) ... In doubles, Schutting and Goransson are ranked #27 while Juricova and Susanyi are listed at #33.
RANKINGS - As a team, the Waves are currently ranked a season-best #24, while Ale Granillo was honored in singles with a #95 ranking. Pepperdine’s #1 doubles pair, Khunpak Issara and Lorraine Guillermo, recently entered the doubles rankings at #57.
TOP TIER TEAMS - The Waves are playing some of the NCAA’s top-ranked talent in preparation for conference and postseason action. Already, they’ve gone toe-to-toe with two top-10 teams (#1 Florida and #2 USC), and two additional top-25 teams (#16 USC and #21 Arizona State).
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.
|
|
 |
