April 3, 2012
Match Notes
MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women’s tennis team, ranked #35 in the ITA Collegiate team rankings, hosts #38 Saint Mary’s on Thursday, April 5, before facing #71 San Diego on Friday, April 6. The Waves, Gaels and Toreros are all undefeated in West Coast Conference play, and are the odds on favorites to place in the top-three at the league championship later this month.
MATCH #16 - Thursday (April 5) at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center: #35 Pepperdine (9-6, 3-0 WCC) vs. #38 Saint Mary’s (11-5, 4-0 WCC) at 1:30 p.m.
MATCH #17 - Friday (April 6) at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center: #35 Pepperdine vs. San Diego (6-7, 3-0 WCC) at 1:30 p.m.
FREE PIZZA - Free pizza will be served to the first 100 students during the Pepperdine vs. San Diego match on Friday afternoon. Doubles begins at 1:30 p.m. with singles to follow.
COVERAGE - Live scoring for both matches can be followed at http://www.pepperdinesports.com/livestats/w-tennis/xlive.htm. Score updates can also be followed on Twitter (@PepperdineWaves).
LOOKING BACK - Pepperdine won a pair of road WCC matches last weekend in dominant fashion. The Waves first defeated Santa Clara 6-1, before taking down San Francisco 6-0.
DOUBLES PROWESS - Lorraine Guillermo and Khunpak Issara own an 11-3 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 five match win streak.
BY THE NUMBERS - Lorraine Guillermo and Ali Walters both boast a four-match win streak in singles. Khunpak Issara has won three of the last four, while Walters earned the “W” in eight of the last 11 matches. Overall, Walters owns the best dual match record at 10-5, while Guillermo holds the best overall singles record at 18-9.
RANKINGS - As a team, the Waves are currently ranked #35, while Khunpak Issara sits at a career-best #91 in the singles rankings. Pepperdine’s #1 doubles pair, Issara and Lorraine Guillermo, recently entered the doubles rankings at #57 and have since jumped to #28.
THE REST OF THE WEST - Other schools in the West Coast Conference that are currently ranked include Saint Mary’s (#38) and San Diego (#71).
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.
SAINT MARY’S - The Gaels are 11-5 and 4-0 in the WCC. SMC will first play Loyola Marymount on Wednesday before paying a visit to Malibu. Jenny Jullien is ranked #82 in singles and boasts a 13-2 record. She is currently on a 10-match win streak. Catherine Isip holds down the No. 1 spot in the lineup with an 8-8 record. SMC is 5-5 against ranked opponents this season.
SAN DIEGO - The Toreros are 6-7 this season but have won five or their last six matches. USD opened the WCC season with victories over BYU, Portland and Gonzaga. Anna Depenau is ranked #102 and holds down the No. 3 singles spot with a perfect 8-0 record. In doubles, Depenau and Maja Sujica are a perfect 12-0 in dual matches.
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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