STAKES RISING AS USC FACES PEPPERDINE.

Byline: RIZZA YAP University Beat

There'll be no lack of motivation for the USC and Pepperdine men's tennis teams when they match up in Saturday's first round of the NCAA team championships.

The Waves (26-5) are looking to avenge a 4-3 March 26 loss to USC, which interrupted a would-be 15-game winning streak to date. The Trojans (17-6), meanwhile, want to make a powerful comeback to the national championships, which they missed last season after losing a regional final to Fresno State.

Peter Smith coached that 1997 Bulldogs team. This year, he is heading the Pepperdine program.

``It's an easy match to get fired up for since we have a friendly rivalry going,'' Smith said. ``I really like their coach (Dick Leach), and the players are really nice.

``But we really want to beat them.''

Both teams also feature individual qualifiers to the NCAAs. The Waves' Michael Jessup will compete in singles, while Kelly Gullett and Robert Lindstedt will advance to the 32-team doubles event. For USC, 1997 singles and doubles runner-up George Bastl returns for another chance at a title. In doubles, he will again team up with partner Kyle Spencer, an alternate in the singles competition.

USC earned an automatic berth to the NCAA tourney, while Pepperdine advanced by winning last weekend's Region VII Championships held at Nevada-Las Vegas. Pepperdine survived the regional tournament - with a 4-3 victory against UNLV, 4-1 against New Mexico - but the weekend saw two players sidelined with injury and illness.

Hide Sakamoto suffered a throat infection his first day in Las Vegas, was taken to the hospital, given antibiotics and spent most of the week in his room. (He returned to practice on Tuesday.) Then Anthony Ross pulled a groin in his first doubles match against UNLV. He has yet to return to the court and, Smith said, has only a 25 percent chance of competing at the NCAAs.

That means John Lundquist may have to step in again. Normally the No. 8 player, Lundquist assumed the No. 6 role last week when Sakamoto and Ross were unable to compete. A first-season member of the Pepperdine travel team, the senior secured the Waves' win against UNLV with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win in the round's final match. His performance still leaves Smith in awe.

``He was so, so clutch,'' Smith said. ``As soon as Anthony got hurt, I knew it was a bad injury immediately. John and I exchanged looks in the crowd, and he went straight to the practice courts and started hitting. It was one of the greatest clutch performances I've ever witnessed from a team member.''

Rivalry settled: On the women's side, Pepperdine and USC already have met, with the Waves (22-5) defeating the Women of Troy (13-11) 5-1 in last week's West Region final. Pepperdine will face undefeated and top-seeded Florida today in the first round of the women's NCAA team championships. The winner of that match will advance to the quarterfinals Friday against the Texas-UCLA winner.

Meeting again: The USC men and UCLA women are looking to defend their 1997 team titles this weekend as Stanford hosts the Pacific-10 Conference Championships in track and field.

Last year the Trojans won their first conference crown in 20 years, when Jerome Davis anchored a come-from-behind victory in the final event, the 1,600-meter relay. UCLA, which won the previous five championships, came in second. Meanwhile, the UCLA women last season won their fifth conference title in the '90s, followed by second-place USC.

Nice shot: Cal State Northridge dominated the shot put in last weekend's Big Sky Conference championships as both the men's and women's teams claimed the top three spots in the event. For the women, senior Beth Burton threw 54-8 -3/4 to win the title, followed by 51-1 -3/4 by Christina Tolson and 50-3 -1/2 by Cheree Hicks. On the men's side, Billy Bush took first place with a Big Sky-record throw of 62-4 -1/2. Jason Hammond took second with 58-0 -1/4, and Brian Tade registered a 55-5 -1/2 mark for third place.

As a team, the Matadors men finished in fifth place, while the women came 14 points shy of defending their conference title, settling for second place behind Weber State.

Double, double: The USC diving program swept this season's top Pacific-10 Conference honors as Justin Dumais and Dorte Lindner earned Diver of the Year awards and their mentor, Jeff Shaffer, was named Coach of the Year for both men's and women's diving. A conference sweep last occurred in 1995, when Stanford dominated both sides of the sport.

KEY MATCHES THIS WEEK

Women's Tennis: NCAA Championships at Notre Dame, first round today; UCLA vs. Texas, 10 a.m.; Pepperdine vs. Florida, 1 p.m.

Men's Tennis: NCAA Championships at Georgia, first round Saturday; UCLA vs. Texas 8 a.m.; USC vs. Pepperdine 11 a.m.

Track and Field: Pac-10 Championships at Stanford, Saturday 1 p.m. and Sunday 11:15 a.m.

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BOX: KEY MATCHES THIS WEEK (see text)