Pepperdine University
Virginia Tech
#21 Waves Top #25 Virginia Tech, 4-3
1/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 28, 2011
DURHAM, N.C. - The #21 Pepperdine men's tennis team issued #25 Virginia Tech its first loss of the season today, 4-3, at the Durham, N.C. regional of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Waves improve to 3-0 on the season, and face #14 Duke tomorrow at 3 p.m. (PT) in the championship match.
Pepperdine cruised through doubles, nearly sweeping all three matches. Hugh Clarke (Brisbane, Australia) and Finn Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand) overpowered Luka Somen and Corado Tocci 8-2, before Alex Llompart (Carolina, Puerto Rico) and Alfredo Moreno (Queretaro, Mexico) clinched the double point with an 8-5 victory.
Jenson Turner (Woodland Hills, Calif./Campbell Hall HS) and Sebastian Fanselow (Essen, Germany) were winning 7-4 when play was suspended.
Pepperdine extended its lead following a straight-set win courtesy of Llompart in the No. 3 singles position. The junior is now 11-3 this season.
The Hokies fired back with wins at No. 4 and No. 5 to tie the match at two. The Waves regained the lead after Tearney topped Patrick Daciek 6-3, 7-6.
With Pepperdine holding a 3-2 advantage, the match came down to the No. 1 and No. 6 contests which both went to a third set. Moreno gritted out a 6-3 win in the deciding set to clinch the win for the Waves.
Pepperdine is set to face #14 Duke in tomorrow's final, scheduled for 3 p.m. (PT). The Blue Devils shut out Michigan earlier today, 4-0. Live video and scoring updates will be available and can be accessed through the Pepperdine men's tennis schedule page. The winner of the match advances to the ITA National Indoor Team Championships on Feb. 18-20 in Seattle, Wash.
Players Mentioned
