Pepperdine Rides Wave to NCAA Championships

Top-seeded Pepperdine fended off upstart New Mexico, 5-1, to win the NCAA Region VII men’s tennis championship at Nevada Las Vegas on Saturday and advance to the NCAA Championships beginning next Saturday in Athens, Ga.

The sixth-seeded Lobos (12-13) upset the second- and third-seeded teams in the regional, but the No. 9-ranked Waves (26-5) won two marathon doubles matches and three of four singles matches, clinching the victory on Brad Sceney’s 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Nicolas Dubey.

The three remaining matches were halted after Sceney’s clinching victory.

Sceney set a Pepperdine record with the 84th singles victory of his career.

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Semi-tough: Top-seeded Pepperdine defeated Nevada Las Vegas, 5-2, in the West Regional semifinals of the NCAA women’s tennis championship at UNLV, and will face USC today in the final.

The No. 12-ranked Waves (21-5) won four of six singles matches and clinched the victory when Angela Lawrence and Zsofia Csapodefeated Gee Gee Garvin and Veronica Goude, 8-3.

The remaining two doubles matches were halted.

GOLF

Devils, Angel win: Arizona State, which includes two-time City Section champion Darren Angel from Granada Hills High, tied for first place with New Mexico at 858 in the NCAA West Regional held Saturday at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz.

UCLA, which includes Jason Semelsberger from Hart, and Brandon DiTillio and Ross Fulgentis of Westlake, finished seventh at 876.

The top nine teams advance to the NCAA Championships May 27-30 in Albuquerque.