Malibu Sports Spotlight: Sebastian Fanselow, Pepperdine Male Athlete of the Year

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Sebastian Fanselow

Pepperdine University’s men’s tennis player Sebastian Fanselow has been invited to participate in the 2011 NCAA Singles Championships at the Taube Tennis Center on the campus of Stanford University from May 25-30. He will join teammate Finn Tearney at the prestigious event.

Fanselow, a sophomore from Essen, Germany, was recently selected to the All-West Coast Conference first team in singles and doubles, one of only three athletes to garner that recognition in the conference.

His first two years at Pepperdine have been filled with honors and accomplishments. Last season, Fanselow was named the 2010 WCC Freshman of the Year. This year he led Pepperdine to an overall record of 18-5 and a No. 6 national ranking, including 13 wins over ranked teams. Fanselow finished 25-10 in singles matches and 22-3 in doubles play.

He was named the Blue and Gray National Tennis Classic MVP and the ITA Southwest Regional Champion. His efforts earned him the distinction as the 2011 Pepperdine Male Athlete of the Year.

Fanselow, ranked No. 28 in the country in singles competition, will represent the West Coast Conference as the automatic bid in singles play at the NCAA Championships.

A total of 64 players will converge upon Palo Alto to determine the singles champion. The 16 finalists will be named All-American, the highest honor in collegiate athletics.

The Malibu Times had the opportunity to speak to Fanselow as he prepares for the NCAA Championships.

What have you thought of your performance thus far this season?

It’s been a pretty big step for me. Last year I started off at No. 4 singles and moved up to No. 2. This year I played at No. 2 and a couple times at No. 1 singles. That’s a huge step going from No. 2 to No. 1. I was disappointed with some of the losses, but I was pretty satisfied with the improvement that I made. I’m really happy with the season overall.

Talk about the season and how it went for the team.

I thought we started off slow because we had a lot of freshmen to bring along, but the further we went we got much better. We had a couple of really big upsets, beating Duke and Texas A&M. By the end of the season, we were a Top 10 team and playing some of the best tennis that we have played for the last couple of years.

What made this year’s team successful?

The team chemistry was a big part of our success. It was important because it brought everyone together. We all supported each other and it was a key factor that brought us to where we ended up being.

What are your expectations for the NCAA Championships?

Well, we have another week to practice, get fit and get ready to definitely go as far as possible. I need to work on my serve a lot and my volley too. Try to get fitter, quicker and just stronger. I would love to reach the All-American status by going as far as I can.

What are your plans for the summer?

I’m going back to Germany at the beginning of June. I will play in a few tournaments back there and practice a lot this summer with my brother, who played at Old Dominion. Then I will be back here in August and be ready to get back to work.