28 | June 27, 2019 | Malibu surfside news sports malibusurfsidenews.com Athlete of the Week Pepperdine Athletics Women’s volleyball team gears up for competitive season 10 Questions with Buckley Ventress Ventress is a recent Malibu High School graduate who played boys basketball. When and why did you start playing basketball? I started playing basketball in the ninth grade. My friend was on the team and it looked like he was having a bunch of fun. He recommended I joined the team and it worked out. What do you like most about the sport? I really enjoy the competition and just playing with my friends, the teamwork, playing together for one goal. What is your favorite sports moment? My junior season. I’m with the junior varsity team, and we’re down to a team and they took a timeout to sing happy birthday to this guy in the stands, which was super disrespectful. Then the next year we played them again and they were beating us pretty bad by 15 points and one of my teammates got really hurt before halftime and we all got super fired up and in the next half I got 11 steals and 17 points and we won that game. What is one thing people don’t know about you? People don’t really know that I’m hardworking. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? I would want to be able to fly. What would you do if you won the lottery? I would help people in need and distribute to charities and take some for myself and my family. Surfside News File Photo What is your favorite area restaurant? I really like Benihana. I usually get the fried rice and filet mignon. If you could play any other sport, which would you play? I would play football. It seems like a good way to get out some anger. What is one thing on your bucket list? I want to travel the world and see places people don’t usually see — a good cultural experience. If you could be any animal, which would you be? Probably a shark. They’re like the predators, the top dogs and I love the ocean. Interview by Assistant Editor Michal Dwojak Pepperdine women’s volleyball coach Scott Wong and his staff released the 2019 schedule on June 10, with big competition in store and two home tournaments on the docket. “The 2019 schedule is a great blend of conference opponents in addition to a challenging non-conference schedule,” Wong says in the press release. “We will be tested in many ways during non-conference play and will be prepared to compete in the WCC, which is one of the toughest conferences in the country.” Of the 29 scheduled matches, 16 will be played in Firestone Fieldhouse, including the 22nd annual Pepperdine Asics Classic from Sept. 13-14 and the Pepperdine Tournament on Sept. 5-6. All home matches will be available to watch online for free as WaveCasts will air on TheW.tv. Pepperdine will play 12 matches against eight teams that made the NCAA Championships last season, including five teams that advanced to at least the second round. Five WCC teams made the tournament last year including Pepperdine, with four reaching at least the second round. BYU reached the semifinal before falling to eventual champion and top-ranked Stanford. San Diego reached the third round before falling to Wisconsin, who the Waves had played the previous round. LMU and Pepperdine were the other two teams in the league to reach the second round, while Saint Mary’s bowed out in the first round. The other squads that the Waves will face this season that made the tournament were Utah and Pitt (second-round finishes) and Illinois State and Cal Poly (first-round appearances). Pepperdine will open the season in Denton, Texas, with the North Texas Challenge on Aug. 30-31, going up against tournament-host North Texas for the seasonopener before facing Tulsa and Illinois State. Then, the Waves will host the two home tournaments, welcoming Cal Baptist, Fairfield and Texas A&M for the first Pepperdine Tournament. The Pepperdine Asics Classic has been in existence since 1998. In the previous 21 tournaments, the Waves have amassed 48 wins, with only 14 losses including last season’s undefeated 3-0 output. This season, Pepperdine will welcome Pitt, Cal Poly and Utah to Malibu for the tournament. After the Classic, the team will host UC Irvine at home on Sept. 18 before making a short trip to UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 20 to close out the non-conference season. Directly after the final two non-conference matches, the Waves will open West Coast Conference action with San Francisco and Santa Clara at home on Sept. 26 and 28, respectively. Other home WCC matches will be Portland (Oct. 3), Gonzaga (Oct. 5), San Diego (Oct. 24), BYU (Oct. 26), LMU (Nov. 8), Saint Mary’s (Nov. 14) and Pacific (Nov. 16). MEN’S WATER POLO Waves to host tournaments, more in 2019 Two home tournaments, including the 2019 Golden Coast Conference Tournament, highlight this year’s schedule for the Pepperdine men’s water polo team. “I think that we have a solid schedule this year,” coach Terry Schroeder said in a press release. “We have a really nice balance between young players and older players.” Schroeder is to begin his 27th season in charge. For the first time since 2016, the Waves will not head East to start the year, instead starting with the Triton Invite in La Jolla. After four straight tournaments, the Waves take on UCLA on Sept. 21 for the first home game of the year. The annual Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Invite will be held on the campus of UCLA at the end of September. The tournament brings together the top 16 water polo teams from around the nation. Pepperdine begins GCC play on Oct. 18 when the team heads to UC Irvine. The Waves then take on USC at home on Oct. 19. Information from Pepperdine University and www.pepperdinewaves. com. Compiled by Assistant Editor Michal Dwojak, m.dwojak@22ndcentury media.com.
malibusurfsidenews.com classifieds Malibu surfside news | June 27, 2019 | 29 Attention all business & professional services! ARE YOU LOOKING TO ADVERTISE? WHY WAIT TO PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIED AD? • Cleaning Services • Handyman • Landscaping • Home Improvement • Painting • Plumbing • Roofing • And More! No business too small, reach your local residents in your local newspaper. CALL CLASSIFIEDS TODAY! 708-326-9170 MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS
Change language