SPORTSCOPE : Wave Baseball Team Opens Season Tuesday

The defending West Coast Conference champion Pepperdine baseball team will open its season at 2 p.m. Tuesday when it plays host to Westmont.

In preseason polls, the Waves are ranked fourth by Baseball America and seventh by Collegiate Baseball. Last year Pepperdine advanced to the NCAA tournament and finished 41-17-1 overall and 25-10 in the WCC.

Wave Coach Andy Lopez has 20 lettermen returning, including seven starters and the seven pitchers.

Three Wave juniors have been named preseason All-Americans. First baseman Dan Melendez was selected by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. Second baseman Steve Rodriguez was picked by Collegiate Baseball and pitcher Derek Wallace was named by Baseball America.

In 1991, Melendez batted .354 with six home runs and 60 runs batted in and Rodriguez batted .419 with seven home runs, 32 stolen bases and 49 RBIs. Wallace was 4-0 with two saves and a 2.58 earned-run average.

Former Fairfax High standout Sean Higgins was signed to a second 10-day contract by the Orlando Magic on Monday.

Higgins averaged 6.8 points in five games.

Under NBA rules, the Magic will either have to sign Higgins for the remainder of the season when this pact expires Jan. 30 or allow him to become a free agent. NBA rules limit a player to two 10-day contracts with the same team.

The top-ranked UCLA men’s tennis team will begin dual-match play when it plays host to UC Santa Barbara at 1:30 p.m. Friday.

On Saturday at noon, the Bruins will play host to Nevada Las Vegas.

The No. 7 Pepperdine men’s tennis team is competing in the adidas Invitational, which ends Sunday at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells. The Waves will start their dual-match schedule by playing host to No. 25 South Florida at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Ralphs-Strauss courts on campus.

The No. 4 UCLA women’s tennis team (2-0) will play host to UC Irvine at 1 p.m. Friday and to Pepperdine at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Bruins began the dual-match season last week by defeating Loyola Marymount, 9-0, and Utah, 8-1.

The No. 11 Pepperdine women’s tennis team (1-0 as the week began) will play host to Loyola Marymount at 1:30 p.m. Friday and play at UCLA at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Waves won their opener against Utah, 9-0.

The Santa Monica High girls’ basketball team (8-8) will play host to Peninsula High (17-0), the nation’s top-ranked team according to USA Today, at 3 p.m. Friday.

The No. 2 UCLA men’s volleyball team (1-1) will compete Friday and Saturday at the UC Santa Barbara tournament. Last week the Bruins lost their seventh consecutive match to No. 1 Cal State Long Beach in four games in the Kilgour Cup.

The No. 5 Pepperdine men’s volleyball team (5-0 overall, 1-0 in the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn.) will play host to Brigham Young at 7 tonight.

Last week the Waves won the initial First Volley Tournament, defeating Loyola Marymount and San Diego State, each in three games, and No. 3 Stanford in four. Outside hitter Tom Sorenson had a season-high 28 kills against Stanford and leads Pepperdine with 97 kills and 13 service aces.

The UCLA women’s basketball team (9-5 overall, 2-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference) will play at USC (8-5, 2-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The Bruins’ five-game winning streak was snapped on the road last week in losses to California, 74-71, and Stanford, 95-92. UCLA’s Rehema Stevens tied a career high with 39 points against Stanford and scored a team-high 26 against Cal.

The Pepperdine women’s basketball team (9-6 overall, 1-1 in the West Coast Conference) will host the University of San Francisco (9-6, 1-1) at 5:15 p.m. Friday and St. Mary’s (12-3, 1-1) at 5:15 p.m. Saturday.

The Waves began conference play on the road by defeating Gonzaga, 73-60, and by losing to Portland, 76-71. Shannon Frowiss leads the Bruins with averages of 13.5 points and 6.9 rebounds.