Finding love on the tennis courts may be difficult, but scoring a date with a Pepperdine athlete may not be far away.
We’re at the beginning of a new semester, and sports in the spring are just getting heated up. With this combination, it sounds like a good time to meet someone new, either by checking out our single athletes on this page or meeting a fellow Waves fan at any of the many upcoming games.
Support Pepperdine teams or the athletes by going to the upcoming games, matches and meets hosted at home or encourage the teams by showing them your love even when they’re playing away from Pepperdine.
Read below to find all of the crucial information on nine single Pepperdine athletes. Everything ranging from favorite colors to most embarrassing moments is included.
Moush Hovhannisyan
Senior, Psych
Men’s Tennis
Likes: As a philosophy minor, Hovhannisyan enjoys reading and painting, and his ideal vacation would be Venice, Italy.
Favorite color: Red and black.
Ideal girl: “Down to earth, not materialistic, into art … we should have complementary interests, open to anything … or like Elyse from ‘The Adjustment Bureau’!”
Tennis: “I’ve been playing tennis since I was 6, so about 15 years … I might hope to go pro one day.”
If you had to date someone on your team: “I think if a girl were to choose someone to date on the tennis team, probably Finn (Tearney) because he has the looks.”
If your girlfriend were mad at you: “I’d say sorry, it’s really hard for the guy to be right … guys should always be very polite to girls.
How would you approach a girl: “Ask her nicely if she wants to hang out.”
Parker Kalmbach
Junior, Advertising
Men’s Volleyball
A middle on the men’s volleyball team, Kalmbach has been playing volleyball for seven years but sustained a back injury freshman year, which forced him to sit out the season last year. He started playing again over the summer and has been doing well.
Personality: Active, outgoing, open and spontaneous.
Likes: Yoga, cooking, concerts and music in general.
Ideal girl: “Active, open-minded, easy to talk to, sarcastic… We have to get along and have stuff in common.”
If you had to date someone on your team: “Ryan Plueger … for sure, even though he has a girlfriend.”
If your girlfriend were mad at you: “She probably wouldn’t get mad at me in the first place.”
Scariest moment: “Well, some guys lit me on fire at a concert once … actually, probably last year when I found out about my back injury, and I didn’t know if I could play volleyball.”
Kathy Messing
Sophomore, Advertising
Women’s Volleyball
Hailing from Woodlands, Texas, Messing’s idea of a perfect first date is “something very casual where I can be relaxed and maybe do something outside.” Her favorite flowers are sunflowers, and her favorite color is green.
Personality: Easy-going, spontaneous.
Likes: Cooking, adrenaline-related activities.
Celebrity crush: Channing Tatum.
Ideal vacation destination: “Somewhere that’s different from anywhere I’ve ever been before.”
Most embarrassing moment: “In the Tokyo airport, I couldn’t figure out how to flush the toilet, and I pressed the wrong button for the bidet, and the toilet started spraying at the door, and when I opened the door it started spraying this woman, and no one could figure out how to turn it off.”
Favorite song: “‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night’— or all country music, really.”
Stasia Demick
Freshman, Creative Writing
Track
What Stasia Demick’s mom would say about her: Smart, dedicated to her track, her friends and academics … but she should probably walk the dog more often.
Personality: Loyal, honest, very dedicated and outgoing, likes to have fun.
Likes: Eating fro-yo, long walks on the beach, listening to music … her favorite song is “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver and favorite movies are “Bridesmaids” and “Pitch Perfect.”
Ideal guy: Good sense of humor, sings like Chris Brown, fast runner and nice.
Celebrity crush: Chris Brown.
Perfect first date: “Go to Jamba Juice; he takes me to see the Olympics and then fro-yo afterward.”
If you had to date someone on the team: Katie Engel, “because she’s super good at cross country and 90s rap.”
Tara Panu
Senior, Intl. Management
Tennis
Panu loves the outdoors, being active — like hiking or biking, basketball and really enjoys traveling.
Personality: Outgoing, approachable, caring, loves being around people, adventurous.
Ideal guy: “Guys who can make me laugh but also challenge me intellectually and in other aspects of life … someone who is active and passionate about what they do.”
Favorite color: Baby yellow.
Favorite flowers: Jasmine.
Perfect first date: “I’ve seriously had the worst first dates ever … I really don’t know what the perfect date is … something out of the box, to take the pressure off; something creative.”
Most embarrassing moment: “Ke$ha was at the Malibu Inn and I was going to the bathroom and I full-on pushed the door and hit her in the face.
Jett Raines
Freshman, Computer Science
Basketball
An interesting fact about Raines: He was a drummer in a band in high school. To relax, he enjoys listening to music, eating and making popcorn.
Playing basketball since: 4 or 5 … so about 15 years.
Ideal girl: “Blake Lively or Lights! … she should be smart, humble … and isn’t afraid to be straight-up.”
If you had to date someone on your team: “Austin Mills, because he’s cute.”
If your girlfriend were mad at you: “I would act goofy around her to break her out of a straight face.”
Most embarrassing moment: “In 4th grade I was on a field trip to a museum, and the whole grade was outside, and the bird only pooped on me.”
Scariest moment as a kid: “When I couldn’t find my mom in the grocery store.”
Sarah Burris
Senior, Psych
Swim
Burris’ idea of a perfect first date is for the guy to pick her up: go to dinner, and then bowling. She enjoys going to the beach and other outdoor activities.
Personality: Easy-going and carefree.
What would your mom say about you: “She would say I’m hard-working and active.”
Favorite color: Blue.
Favorite flower: Sunflower.
Ideal guy: Good sense of humor, trustworthy, driven, up for trying new things.
Celebrity crush: Captain America.
Song: “Push” by Matchbox 20.
If you had to date someone on your team: “Ally Bernard … we’re basically dating now anyway.”
If you were mad at your boyfriend: “Apologize; I’m not one for showy things.”
Aaron Brown
Sophomore, Business
Baseball
Brown describes his personality as sarcastic, humorous, driven and inspired. If he weren’t playing baseball, he would probably be a football player, and in his free time he enjoys going to the beach, surfing, snowboarding, playing ping pong and music — listening, playing and writing.
Ideal girl: Athletic, sweet, Christian, spontaneous, humble, servant-hearted.
If your girlfriend were mad at you: “I would propose a sincere apology over a very nice, romantic dinner with a bouquet of roses, and I would write her a song.”
If you had to date someone on your team: “We’ve got a lot of great guys on our team … but probably Drew Hacker; I’ve known him the longest, and he and I have a lot in common.”
Mom would say: “She’d say I can never sit still.”
Favorite movie: “The Grinch” and “300.”
Matt West
Sophomore, Sports Admin
Volleyball
West enjoys hanging out with friends, going to the HAWC and listening to music. To impress a girl on a first date, he would: “call Ryan Plueger and ask him if I could borrow his private jet … fly to Catalina, have a seafood dinner, take a walk on the beach and then take a hike up somewhere to get a clear view of the stars and then fly back.”
If not volleyball: Basketball or a pitcher.
Favorite movie: “The Dark Knight Rises”
Ideal girl: Has to be tall and athletic, mellow and laid-back, willing to try new things.
Most tried and tested pickup line: “‘Can you grab my arm?’ ‘Why?’ ‘So I can tell my friends I was touched by an angel’ — from Leo on the volleyball team … It hasn’t worked for either of us and we’ve tried it seven times.”
Scariest moment as a kid: “I got in a one-on-one with a chicken when I was three, and I’ve had a phobia of birds until now.”
