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Eight Pepperdine Athletic Teams Advanced to NCAA Championships Post-season Play 

Pepperdine University benefited from yet another strong effort by its sports program during the 2006-07 school year as eight Waves athletic teams advanced to NCAA Championships post-season play. 

Pepperdine athletics teams compiled an overall record of 169-109-3 during the recently concluded 2006-07 school year, a .607 winning percentage. The Waves have won at least 60 percent of their athletics contests in 25 of the last 31 seasons, and surpassed the 70 percent mark on six occasions.

Pepperdine had six teams finish the year ranked in the Top 25 nationally, led by men's volleyball which concluded its season ranked No. 2 nationally. Additionally, Pepperdine finished 69th in the final United States Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings and was third among Division I-AAA schools after finishing first the previous two years.

"The remarkable accomplishments by our various athletics teams this year are a direct result of the hard work put forth on a daily basis by our coaches and student-athletes," said Dr. John Watson, the University's director of athletics. "Despite increasing financial pressures and higher academic demands, our athletics program remains a model of consistency and our teams continue to compete at the highest level with tremendous success."

Since the mid-1970s when the University moved to its Malibu campus, Pepperdine athletics teams have compiled a cumulative overall record of 5,581-2,595-28, a winning percentage of .682. During that 31-year time span dating back to the start of the 1976-77 school year, Pepperdine teams have won 124 conference championships and 175 teams have advanced to post-season play. Additionally, a total of 160 teams have earned a national Top 20 ranking in their sport's respective final national polls.

During the 2006-07 school year, Pepperdine teams captured West Coast Conference (WCC) championships in four sports: men's golf, women's golf, men's tennis, and women's tennis. Men's volleyball won the regular-season Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title before losing in the conference tournament's championship match.

The baseball, women's golf, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's volleyball teams competed at the NCAA Championships. The women's golf team turned in its fifth straight Top 10 showing when it finished seventh at the NCAA Championships in Orlando, Florida. The men's and women's tennis teams advanced to the second round of championship play.

The women's cross country and men's golf teams competed at their respective NCAA West Regional Championships.

Women's golf coach Laurie Gibbs was named the WCC's "Coach of the Year" while Marv Dunphy was tabbed the MPSF's "Coach of the Year" in men's volleyball.

A total of four Pepperdine student-athletes qualified for post-season NCAA competition in the sports of men's and women's tennis. Andre Begemann, (singles), Bianca Dulgheru (doubles), and Sylvia Kosakowski (singles and doubles) competed in post-season play. Senior Alison McLeod (women's swimming) also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 100 fly.

Additionally, nine student-athletes earned All-American honors: Jayvie Agojo (women's golf), Andre Begemann (men's tennis), Paul Carroll (men's volleyball), Misun Cho (women's golf), Bianca Dulgheru (women's tennis doubles), Barry Enright (baseball), Sylvia Kosakowski (women's tennis doubles), Eileen Vargas (women's golf), and Jonathan Winder (men's volleyball). Winder also was tabbed the "National Player of the Year."

Begemann, Cho, and Winder won their respective sport's "Player of the Year" award while Cho was also selected "Freshman of the Year" and Kekai Crabbe (women's volleyball) was selected WCC "Defender of the Year."

Finally, Richard Johnson (men's tennis) won the WCC Postgraduate Scholarship Award and was selected the conference's "Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year."