No. 15 Waves Edge No. 12 Illinois, 4-3

Malibu, Calif. Â Sophomore Mahmoud Kamel clinched his second consecutive match for Pepperdine’s men’s tennis team, as the No. 15 Waves edged No. 12 Illinois, 4-3, Wednesday afternoon, at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

“I knew my match could clinch it, but I didn’t feel as much pressure today because Omar was up 5-2 on the court next to me,” said Kamel.

Pepperdine (7-6) won the doubles point over Illinois (9-5). No. 23 ranked Omar Altmann (Cairo, Egypt) and Andre Begemann (Blomberg, Germany) defeated No. 32 ranked Ruben Gonzales and Brandon Davis, 8-5, in the No. 1 doubles, while James Lemke (Melbourne, Australia) and Mahmoud Kamel (Paris, France) defeated Ryan Rowe and Marc Spicijaric, 8-5, in No. 3 doubles.

 No. 20 Bassam Beidas defeated No. 80 Gonzales, 6-4, 6-3, in No. 2 singles to finish first and give the Waves a 2-0 advantage over the Fighting Illini. No.10 Begemann upset No. 9 Rowe 7-5, 7-5, in No. 1 singles to finish second.

A loss in No. 6 singles gave Illinois a point, 3-1, while three matches remained on the court. Kamel defeated Waylon Chin in the third set to clinch the match for the Waves, 4-1. Illinois won No. 4 and No. 6 singles.

"It helps to be at home. I think the team is playing with more passion and heart,” said head coach Adam Steinberg. “We fell to No. 43 in the rankings and we’ve fought our way back up to No. 15 this week. I’m really proud of this team.”

Next up, the Waves host Princeton on Friday, March 21, at 11 a.m., at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

Tennis Match Results

Illinois vs Pepperdine

 

Mar 19, 2008 at

Pepperdine 4, Illinois 3

 

Singles competition

1. #10 Andre Begemann (PEP) def. #9 Ryan Rowe (UI) 7-5, 7-5

2. #20 Bassam Beidas (PEP) def. #80 Ruben Gonzales (UI) 6-4 (6-4), 6-3 (6-3)

3. #76 Billy Heiser (UI) def. #123 Omar Altmann (PEP) 6-4, 0-6, 7-5

4. Marc Spicijaric (UI) def. James Lemke (PEP) 3-6, 6-4 (7-5), 10-6

5. Mahmoud Kamel (PEP) def. Waylon Chin (UI) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2

6. Abe Souza (UI) def. Alejandro Moreno (PEP) 1-6, 6-1, 6-4

 

Doubles competition

1. #20 Andre Begemann/Omar Altmann (PEP) def. #18 Brandon Davis/Ruben Gonzales (UI) 8-5

2. #22 Ryan Rowe/Billy Heiser (UI) def. Johannes de Villiers/Bassam Beidas (PEP) 8-5

3. Mahmoud Kamel/James Lemke (PEP) def. Marc Spicijaric/Connor Roth (UI) 8-5

Match Notes:

Illinois 9-5

Pepperdine 7-6

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,1,6,5,4,3

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