March 12, 2005

Berkeley, Calif. - The 19th-ranked Pepperdine men's tennis team improved to 9-2 with a win over No. 22 TCU in Berkeley Saturday. The Waves took a 4-0 decision behind the doubles win and singles victories by Pedro Rico, Richard Johnson and Ivor Lovrak.

The No. 13 team of Fabrizio Sestini and Rafael Abreu defeated No. 16 Scott Doerner and Rico, 8-5, but the Waves took doubles wins on courts two and three for the lead.

Head coach Adam Steinberg says that the No. 3 team of Johnson and Kevin Borzenski are a key to Pepperdine's recent wins. "They deserve a lot of the credit for our success right now. They played really, really well today."

Steinberg adds that on the whole the victory was a big win for the team, especially after losing to the Horned Frogs last year. "I'm proud of the guys, they are really coming together right now."

Lovrak put the Waves ahead 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph at five singles over Jacob Martin. Johnson was Pepperdine's next winner, beating Freitas by scores of 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 4 spot. 17th-ranked Rico put the match in the books with a 6-3, 7-6(6) victory at two singles over Jacopo Tezza.

Singles matches one, three and six were suspended in the third sets once Pepperdine clinched its ninth win of the season.

The Waves will look for their 10th win Sunday as they take on the host Bears of Cal at 1:00 p.m.