In keeping with the nationwide trend, the Pepperdine University men’s and women’s tennis teams have found players from around the world to fill their rosters.
By Ward Lauren / Special to The Malibu Times
The Pepperdine University men’s and women’s tennis teams are enjoying stellar seasons, with the men ranked second in the country at 18-1 and the women ranked eighth with a 13-2 record. And the teams are winning with rosters filled with players from around the world.
Of the 10 men on this year’s men’s squad, only three are Americans. There are two players from Germany and one each from Australia, Croatia, Egypt, England and Spain.
Sixty percent of the women’s team is composed of international players: two from Germany and one each from France, Romania, Serbia/Montenegro and Turkey.
The coaching staffs, too, have a decided international flavor. Women’s head coach Gualberto Escudero is from Bolivia and his assistant, Cintia Tortorella, hails from Argentina. Men’s head coach Adam Steinberg and volunteer assistant Nick Carless are American, but assistant coach Per Nilsson is Swedish.
In recent years, collegiate tennis has become more of an international game as nations throughout the world send their best to the United States to compete at the top amateur level. And the American universities are in stiff competition to get the best foreign players to come to their schools.
Getting students to come to Pepperdine to play tennis is not that much of a problem for a number of reasons, as interviews with several of the team members revealed. The stunning scenic location of the Malibu campus was a universal factor in their choices, but the quality of the school’s academics, as well as that of the tennis program, also played significant roles.
Bianca Dulgheru of Bucharest, Romania, a double major in international business and Spanish, chose Pepperdine over Arizona and Clemson because of all its resources. “The awesome campus was one thing, of course, but also the tennis team, the athletics centers and the competitive academic program,” she said.
“A friend of mine back home told me about Pepperdine,” said Pedro Rico from Alicante, Spain. “I knew they had a great team but I hadn’t seen the campus myself. So I looked at Tulane, Virginia Commonwealth and the University of Georgia, and then I saw Pepperdine!” Majoring in intercultural communications, he said he might stay and try to find a job in California after graduation.
Eva Dickes came to Pepperdine from Baumholder, Germany after weighing the option of attending Fresno State on a scholarship. The first thing that caught her eye at Pepperdine was the massive amount of stairs, she said. An economics major, she is applying to graduate school at Pepperdine to work for an MBA degree.
“I like both places, here and Germany,” she said. “Obviously the weather is a lot better here, and the people are friendlier overall. Where I can get the best job will decide where I stay after graduation.”
Senior Scott Doerner said he hopes to play professional tennis after graduation. A former Australian national grass court and clay court under-16 champion, he visited UCLA and Fresno State before choosing Pepperdine. “It was the scholarship and everything else here-the whole package,” he said. “Living here is fantastic. I’d do it again if I had the chance.”
Natalie Braverman, senior from Newport Beach, is the Waves’ top-ranked player on the women’s team. She had the choice of playing for Arizona, UCLA, UCSD and William and Mary but took Pepperdine “because of the combination of great academics, athletics, and amazing location.” At first she felt a little intimidated being with players of so many different nationalities, but now enjoys it.
“You get to hear different viewpoints,” Braverman said. “It makes you feel much more connected to the world.”