SportsScope : Highly Rated Waves and Bruins Netters Collide Friday

The Pepperdine men’s tennis team, which opened its dual-match season with a 9-0 win over U.S. International, will play host to UCLA, which hasn’t lost a set in running its record to 3-0, at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Malibu. UCLA leads the series, 23-7.

The Bruins and Waves are tied for third in the nation (behind USC and Southern Methodist) in the rankings of the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Assn.

UCLA sophomores Dan Nahirny, an All-American in doubles last year, and Tim Trigueiro are battling for the team’s top singles spot. Nahirny is 2-0 as No. 1 and Trigueiro is 1-0 at that spot.

Pepperdine’s top singles player, junior Robby Weiss, is recovering from injuries and will miss the UCLA match. Weiss is not expected to return until at least mid-February.

Wave freshman Andrew Sznaidjer, a Toronto native, is coming off an upset victory last weekend over USC’s Rick Leach, who was ranked second nationally in preseason rankings of the ITCA. Sznaidjer (pronounced Schneider) downed Leach, 6-3, 6-4, in the Adidas Invitational at the Grand Champions Hotel in Indian Wells.

Pepperdine will play host to Georgia Tech at 1:30 p.m. Monday and to San Diego State at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The UCLA baseball team, defending Pac-10 Conference champion, will test its high rankings in national polls when the Bruins meet a team of ex-Bruins in professional baseball at 1 p.m. Sunday at Jackie Robinson Stadium at the Veterans Administration in West Los Angeles. Admission is free.

UCLA Coach Gary Adams has seven starters from last year as well as the entire starting pitching rotation. The Bruins, 39-23 overall last season and 21-9 in the Pac-10, are ranked second in the nation by Collegiate Baseball and the ESPN poll and third by Baseball America.

Preseason All-Americans who lead the Bruins are junior pitcher Alex Sanchez, senior second baseman Torey Lovullo and sophomore catcher Billy Haselman.

Last season Sanchez was 16-3 with a 4.06 earned-run record, Lovullo hit .317 with 9 home runs and 44 runs batted in, and Haselman led the team in batting with a .400 average. Sanchez and Lovullo, who was drafted by the Kansas City Royals but decided to return for his senior season, were named conference players of the year last season.

The alumni team includes Dodger pitchers Tim Leary and Matt Young, pitcher Dave Schmidt of the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox first baseman Pat Dodson and outfielder Ron Roenicke and pitcher Dave Rucker, both of the Philadelphia Phillies.

UCLA will entertain U.S. International in its season opener at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Robinson Stadium.

The Pepperdine baseball team, ranked eighth nationally by Baseball America and 15th by Collegiate Baseball, will open its season Monday afternoon at UC Santa Barbara.

Wave Coach Dave Gorrie has 14 lettermen from the team that was 38-21-2 overall last year and tied Loyola Marymount for the West Coast Athletic Conference championship when each finished 19-5.

Gorrie said his team “has the ingredients to have an outstanding season. Our roster is comprised of a good mixture of youth and experience and our overall team depth is the best I’ve had at Pepperdine.”

Among Waves named to the preseason All-WCAC team by Baseball America are designated hitter Ruben Gonzalez, shortstop Paul Faries, outfielders Steve Erickson and Rick Hirtensteiner and pitchers Tony Lewis and Doug Simons. But the publication did not list all-conference junior outfielder Steve Kirkpatrick, a career .336 hitter.

Junior pitcher Pat Dubar, who has had surgery for a double hernia, is expected to miss early games.

The No. 2 Pepperdine men’s volleyball team, 2-0 after defeating the University of Calgary last week, will defend its championship this weekend in the National Preview Tournament at Colorado State University.

Coach Rod Wilde’s Waves will open Saturday against Ball State of Indiana. The other first-round match features Penn State against UC Santa Barbara. Consolation and championship matches are on Sunday.

Senior outside hitter Matt Rigg, who has been fighting shoulder and knee injuries, returned to action against Calgary and registered seven kills and had a .455 hitting average in two games.

The UCLA women’s and men’s gymnastic teams will compete against Cal State Fullerton at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Fullerton’s Titan Gym.

Last week the No. 6 Bruin women set three John Wooden Center records in defeating Cal and UC Santa Barbara. UCLA’s score of 186.8 was the center’s highest total, and other records were by sophomore Tanya Service, who won the all-around with a 37.8, and freshman Birgit Schier, who took first in the bars with a 9.7.

The team score was second-best in the nation this season.

The Bruin men, 2-0 in dual meets, scored a season-best 279.15 to Cal’s 269.2 on Jan. 17 and topped UC Santa Barbara in its opener, 276.95 to 248.65.

Against Santa Barbara, sophomore All-American Curtis Holdsworth won the all-around with a 57.0 and four individual events: floor exercise (9.55), pommel horse (9.65), rings (9.65) and vault (9.5).

In the Cal meet, senior Luc Tuerlings won the all-around (56.05), vault (9.55) and high bar (9.4), and Bear freshman Eric Sundstrom set a Wooden Center record with a 9.8 in floor exercise.