DEREK SADEM
Assistant Online Editor
Last week, Pepperdine traveled to the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma to participate in the NCAA team tournament, but went without its No.-1 player Andre Begemann. A week earlier, during the qualifying rounds of the NCAA Championship, Begemann learned that his mother had finally succumbed to her long battle with cancer. His father called him from Germany with the news.
Begemann was unable to participate in Friday’s NCAA match against Georgia, which the team lost, because he flew home to Germany to be with his family and attend his mother’s funeral. However, he will return to play in the singles and doubles matches that begin Wednesday and continue through Monday.
Begemann first learned about his mother’s death the night of the team’s win against Hawaii in the qualifying rounds. The team still had to beat Stanford the following day to qualify for the NCAA Championships, and Begemann did not want to leave without seeing it through to this goal. Though he spent most of the night on the phone with his family, Begemann played through the pain the following day. He knew his mother would have wanted him to stay with his team.
“I wanted to go home [then],” Begemann said. “[When she was sick,] she asked that I stay and play in the tournament. My tennis career meant so much to her.”
Begemann, two-time WCC Player of the Year, was weary of telling the rest of his team the news of his mother’s death before the Stanford match.
“[The team] knew his mom was sick and that he was having a tough time. Andre did not want me to say anything,” Steinberg said.
With Begemann getting close to only three hours of sleep, he and junior Omar Altmann struggled on the No.-1 court, falling to unranked Blake Muller and Matt Bruch 8-4.
The Cardinal came out strong and fast on all three courts. A late charge by the Waves couldn’t keep up with Stanford’s precise attack. Ultimately, sophomore Mahmoud Kamel and Lemke fell on court No.-3, 8-5 to give Stanford the double’s point.
Pepperdine went back into the locker room looking for a spark. It needed to look no further than senior leader Begemann.
“After losing the point, we realized our season could be over very shortly,” said Pepperdine head coach Adam Steinberg. ”Andre came up big on the momentum factor, and, winning his first singles set 6-0, was the turning point of the match.”
No.-11 Begemann came out of the locker room determined to get the Waves back into the match on their home court. His upset of No.-7 Alex Clayton in straight sets (6-0, 6-3) on court No.-1 gave the rest of the Waves confidence to finish off the Cardinal in their matches. Winning the first match with unmatched intensity, Begemann sat in the stands, draped in a team towel to cover his emotions. The rest of the team fed off his performance.
“It was the best match I’ve seen [Andre] play,” Steinberg said. “[Andre] never lost his focus throughout the day and stayed strong.”
No.-37 Bassam Beidas took care of business on court No.-2, giving the Waves a 3-2 on points with two more matches (on courts No.-3 and 6) left to finish. Johannes de Villiers clinched the win all the way over on court No.-6 (7-6, 3-6, 6-2) with a dominating third set.
“It was just an incredible victory for our team,” Steinberg said.
NCAA Championships, not over yet
Friday, the team did its best to persevere through Begemann’s absence.
“We are still working hard … and have a good energy,” Steinberg said. “But our top player is missing. It happens a lot [losing your top player to injury or family issues] and the team needs to step up in his absence.”
Up first in the tournament, the challenging and familiar fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. In the 2006 NCAA Tournament, the Waves defeated the then-unbeaten Bulldogs for the championship, Begemann’s singles victory sealing the win.
Georgia had only lost three matches all year and boasts five singles players and two doubles teams ranked. Pepperdine was already climbing an uphill battle.
The Bulldogs proved to be the better team Friday morning in Tulsa, beating a scrappy Waves team 4-1.
The Waves, wearing white wristbands with the initials “A.B.” on them in tribute of Begemann, had to shuffle their lineup significantly to cope with the loss. The No.-1 doubles team of Beidas and de Villiers and the No.-2 team of Kamel and Lemke lost 8-1 and 8-2 to give the Bulldogs the doubles point. Georgia took care of business on the singles end, winning easily on the No.-3, 5 and 6 courts and the team match 4-1.
For the Waves, it was a post-season that almost never was, starting the season losing five of their first six. It was a run that almost didn’t happen without its senior leader, Begemann, against Stanford.
“I’m proud of our team, we had a bad start to the year and for our guys to make the Sweet 16 was amazing,” Steinberg said.
For three of the Waves, the season continues Wednesday with the NCAA Singles and Doubles Tournament in Tulsa. Begemann will return to the team to join Beidas in the singles competition and will pair up with Altmann in doubles play.
Looking back on the Waves’ NCAA beginnings
During its season, Pepperdine won its last 12 home matches and 14 overall, good enough to have the Waves host a section of the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament.
“Hosting is a big advantage for us,” said Altmann. “It gives us momentum and time to prepare going into the tournament.”
The No.-13 Waves dominated the second-half of its season and earned the automatic West Coast Conference berth after sweeping Santa Clara, San Francisco and Saint Mary’s in the WCC Championship.
After a week of fog, the clouds opened up and provided a great backdrop for what was an exciting weekend of tennis. First things first, the Waves had a little rust to shake off.
“Coming into the NCAA tournament, we were a bit unsure after three weeks off,” said sophomore James Lemke.
It showed early on against first-round opponent Hawaii.
The Rainbow Warriors started out the day trying to play spoiler, keeping courts No.-1 and 2 competitive in doubles. The 24th-ranked doubles team, consisting of Begemann and Altmann, found itself down 4-2, while court No. 2’s Beidas and freshman Johannes de Villiers found themselves locked in a battle with either team-breaking serve.
But, Lemke and Kamel came out on court No.-3 and dominated Craig Faulk and Spence Mendoza 8-3. Their victory turned the tide for the Waves and, soon after, Begemann and Altmann battled back and won 8-5 over Sascha Heinman and Andreas Weber.
“Doubles with Andre was great,” Altmann said. “We were a little rusty, but kept fighting.”
The Waves carried their newfound momentum into the singles matches. The Waves’ No.-4, 5 and 6 singles players cruised through their respective matches and clinched the singles points and the match. Kamel finished first with a 6-0, 6-2 rout. Lemke and junior transfer Brian Brogan (Santa Clara) sped through their matches, as well, each winning 6-1, 6-0.
“Our slow start in doubles showed our rust, but we didn’t show any weakness and battled back,” Steinberg said.
05-20-2008