SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Pepperdine’s men’s tennis team was ranked second-plus in the West Coast Conference preseason polls Max Homberg And Edward Winters made the all-conference team, the league announced Tuesday.

Judging by the survey results, the race for the WCC title will be close again. Head coach Adam SchächterleSan Diego’s team had 44 points in the polls – just four points behind defending champion San Diego, which had 48 points. Pepperdine and USD shared the regular-season title last year, and the two rivals have won all but two regular-season and conference tournament championships in more than five decades of WCC men’s tennis.

The optimism in Malibu is justified. Pepperdine returns six players from last season’s NCAA tournament team and is seeking its fifth straight postseason appearance this year. The 2024-25 squad also features the second-ranked recruiting class in the country, according to the Tennis Recruiting Network. For this reason, Pepperdine made two of the WCC’s six-man all-conference preseason team; The Waves trailed only San Diego, which had three players on its roster.

As one of the best young college tennis players in his second year Edward Winters is expected to lead the Waves for the second straight year. The Australian earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Region Rookie of the Year honors last year and was the WCC’s Freshman of the Year after ranking in the top 60 of the ITA singles rankings all season. Few players were as battle-tested as Winter: The rookie faced 18 ranked opponents and earned six wins over ranked opponents – all while playing at the top of the lineup.

Pepperdine’s newest All-American, Max Hombergrounds out the Waves’ preseason team honors. The junior from Freising, Germany, had a productive fall season in which he earned ITA All-American honors, reached the round of 16 of the NCAA singles tournament and finished the fall ranked No. 36 in the national polls. Homberg has been a well-known star in the WCC since his freshman year, when he helped lead the Waves to a 4-0 victory over San Diego in the 2022 conference championship game.

Homberg, Winter and the Waves begin the doubleheader on Saturday, January 18th at home against UC Irvine. All relevant information can be found on the men’s tennis team schedule page on Pepperdinewaves.com.

2025 WCC Men’s Tennis Preseason Poll

1. San Diego – 48 points (6 first place finishers)
2. Pepperdine – 44 (2)
3. Pacific – 36
4. Santa Clara – 28
5. Portland -25
6. LMU – 21
7. Gonzaga-12
8. St. Mary’s – 10



2025 WCC Men’s Tennis Preseason Team

Savriyan Danilov, San Diego
Max HombergPepperdine
Stian Klaassen, San Diego
Tiago Silva, Pacific
Oliver Tarvet, San Diego
Edward WintersPepperdine