Men’s Basketball
Yakhouba Diawara, Pepperdine University 2005 graduate, played basketball on the French National Team this year in London. The French had a 4-2 record in the 2012 Olympics and placed ninth overall in scoring.
During his time at Pepperdine, Diawara averaged 18.9 points per game in 2004. That same year, he was named to the 2004 All-West Coast Conference first team. After graduating, he played two years with the Denver Nuggets and was then traded to the Miami Heat, where he spent another two years. Diawara will continue his basketball career with the Italian team Pallacanestro Varese, which he joined in 2012.
Women’s Basketball
Pepperdine 2010 graduate and native Canadian Miranda Ayim became the first athlete from Pepperdine to compete on the women’s basketball team. Ayim helped the team finish with a 3-3 record in the Olympics after losing to the United States in the quarterfinals. While at Pepperdine, Miranda was named to the All-West Coast Conference first team three years in a row. Ayim currently holds the school record for the most blocked shots in a season. Though a WNBA team did not draft her after graduation, Ayim was signed by Alanya Belediye, a Turkish team, in 2010. After playing for a year in Turkey, Ayim was picked up by the Tulsa, Shock.
Women’s Soccer
This year’s Olympics marked history for the South African soccer team. Junior Roxanne Barker joined the team in its debut appearance in London. Barker contributed to her team’s performance as they placed tenth after loosing to Canada (0-3) and Sweden (1-4) in the preliminary round. As a Wave, Barker has started in 60 games in the past three years and was named second-team all West Coast Conference in 2011. She will continue to play soccer for the Waves as goalkeeper in addition to her studies in biology.
Men’s Tennis
Pepperdine alum of 1998 Robert Lindstedt and his partner Johan Brunstrom represented Sweden in the London Olympics. They defeated Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki of Serbia in the first round of men’s doubles in tennis. The second round was not as successful for the duo as they lost to Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig of Croatia. Lindstedt also competed with Sofia Avridsson in the mixed doubles competition but lost to Roberta Vinci and Daniele Bracciali of Italy in the first round. During his sports career at Pepperdine, Lindstedt and his partner Kelly Gullett were runners up at the 1998 NCAA Tennis National Championship. After graduating in 1998, Lindstedt went on to win two doubles titles in 2007 in Mumbai and Tokyo tournaments. He is ranked 10th in the world in doubles.
Women’s Track & Field
The most famous of all the Pepperdine athletes in the Olympics this year was junior art major Sarah Attar from Saudi Arabia. Attar became one of the first female athletes to ever compete for her country and the first female athlete from Saudi Arabia to compete in track. She finished last in the sixth heat this year in London.
Men’s Volleyball
The London Olympics marked Pepperdine alum of 2005 Sean Rooney’s second appearance at the Olympic games. The former Olympic champion lost his title in London after losing to Italy in the quarterfinals. The outside hitter made his first appearance as a part of U.S. National team at the Olympics in Beijing. He helped the US defeat Brazil in 2008 for the gold medal. During his time at Pepperdine, Rooney led the team to the 2005 NCAA Championship. In the final match against UCLA, the Waves defeated the Bruins with a 3-2 win. This was the first time UCLA lost at home during the NCAA tournament in 35 years. After graduating in 2005 with a degree in business administration, Rooney was selected to play for the US National Team. Under the leadership of head coach Alan Knipe, the team finished with a record of 26-15, which secured them a spot among the top 10 teams in the world.
Men’s Water Polo
Pepperdine 2006 graduate Jesse Smith joined the US Water Polo team in his third appearance in the Olympic games along with Merrill Moses, a 1998 Pepperdine graduate. Both former Waves competed in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing where the US won a silver medal. In 2012, the US team lost 8-2 against Croatia in the first round. Moses led the U.S. team in total minutes of play with 232 in the goalkeeping position. Since graduating, Moses has been recruited to play for several teams including Sibernik, Croatia and Nervi, Italy. The Sibernik team received third place in the Croatian league in 2008. Moses helped keep the Nervi team in the first division for the second consecutive year during the 2010-2011 season. Jesse Smith led the Waves water polo team with 55 goals in 2003 and was named All American first-team in 2002 and 2004. Smith joined Ethnikos Pireus water polo team in Greece for the 2005-2006 season. Smith now plays for the Italian national team in Savona, which earned a gold medal in the 2011 World Aquatics Championship.
