March 25, 2005
Malibu, Calif. - The electric atmosphere at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center generated just the edge No. 13 Pepperdine needed to pull off the upset of No. 2 Illinois. The Waves' doubles point and the clinching singles victory by senior Alexis Rafidison led the way to a 5-2 victory as the Waves move to 13-2, while Illinois is handed its second loss of the season.
Fans came out in droves to support the Waves, who remain undefeated on their home courts, and just as head coach Adam Steinberg anticipated, his players responded to the unwavering support of the Pepperdine community. "The crowd definitely had a hand in the win. It was an awesome atmosphere," he said.
The Pepperdine faithful were given lots to cheer about early when Jonas Berg and Ivor Lovrak won No. 2 doubles 8-6. Illinois' Ryler Deheart and GD Jones evened the point by defeating Scott Doerner and Pedro Rico 8-3. Kevin Borzenski and Richard Johnson were up a break at 5-4 and went on to take another for the 8-4 win and Pepperdine's first point.
The Waves looked to be on track, needing a split of the singles Pepperdine took half of the six match's first sets. Courts four, five and six took early leads including Lovrak's 6-0 first set. At the same time the top half of Illinois' lineup dominated on the first three courts, where Kevin Anderson shut out Rico 6-0.
The Fighting Illini tied the match score at one when Tyler Deheart bested Jonas Berg 6-4, 6-1. The Waves reclaimed the lead as Lovrak finished off Chris Martin with a 7-6 second set, while Rico bounced back winning his second set in a tiebreaker to force a third set with Anderson.
In the fourth position Johnson put the Waves just one win away from the upset with his 6-3, 6-4 win over Monte Tucker. Up 3-1 with Doerner and Rico heading into third sets, attention turned to court six where Rafidison led Ruben Gonzales. Up a set and on serve at 2-2, Rafidison broke serve to go up 3-2. At 5-4 Rafidison had six match points, but Gonzales held his serve to preserve the match. The next game saw Rafidison take advantage of his serve and seize his seventh match point and clinch the win for the Waves.
"This win means everything to our program right now, seeing how far we've come in the last three years," says Steinberg. "It's a reward for these guys, and they deserve it."
Illinois took their second point when Jones beat Doerner 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 in the number one spot, but they wouldn't get more than two. Following his inauspicious start, Rico's third set was a battle of attrition. In the end Rico put an exclamation mark on the win with his 7-2 win in the tiebreaker.
"We beat a great team today," Steinberg says. The Waves have been fighting to make a statement like this all season, and after 4-3 losses to No. 9 USC and No. 1 Baylor the Waves may very well be over the hump. "Our goal has been to win a national championship. That's what we decided at our first meeting in September and a win like this shows the guys it's possible."
Pepperdine will be in search of their ninth consecutive win tomorrow when they host Texas A&M at 2:00 p.m. Says Steinberg of the No. 21 Aggies, "Texas A&M is a tough, great team. We can't have any letdown, especially emotionally."
Pepperdine 5, Illinois 2
Doubles-
1. Jones/Deheart (Ill) def.Doerner/Rico (Pep) 8-3 (L)
2. Berg/Lovrak (Pep)def. Anderson/Dabir (Ill) 8-6 (W)
3. Borzenski/Johnson (Pep)def. Martin/Davis (Ill)8-4 (W)
Singles-
1. Scott Doerner vs. GD Jones 4-6; 6-1; 2-6 (L)
2. Pedro Rico def. Kevin Anderson 0-6; 7-6; 7-6 (W)
3. Ryler Deheart def. Jonas Berg 6-4; 6-1 (L)
4. Richard Johnson def. Monte Tucker 6-3; 6-4 (W)
5. Ivor Lovrak def. Christ Martin 6-0; 7-6 (W)
6. Alexis Rafidison vs.Ruben Gonzales6-4;6-4 (W)
Order of Finish: D2, D1, D3*, S3, S5, S4, S6*, S1, S2
