Pepperdine University
USC
#2 USC Hands Waves 5-2 Loss
2/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 11, 2011
Los Angeles, Calif. - Despite winning the doubles point to begin the dual, the #20 Pepperdine men's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to #2 USC on Friday afternoon at Marks Stadium. The loss drops Pepperdine's record to 5-2, while USC improves to a perfect 7-0 on the season.
The doubles tandem of Sebastian Fanselow (Essen, Germany/Kaplan College Prep School) and Jenson Turner (Woodland Hills, Calif./Campbell Hall HS) recorded the first win of the day, overpowering Jaak Poldma and JT Sundling, 8-3, in the No. 3 slot.
In the No. 2 match, Alex Llompart (Carolina, Puerto Rico/San Juan Educational School) and Alejandro Moreno (Queretaro, Mexico/John F. Kennedy School) defeated Daniel Nguyen and Emilio Gomez, 8-6, on court two to secure the doubles point for the Waves.
In the No. 1 doubles spot, the #35-ranked Hugh Clarke (Brisbane, Australia/Brisbane Boys College) and Finn Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) looked to sweep the doubles matches for Pepperdine, but Steve Johnson and Ray Sarmiento prevailed 9-7. Although the outcome of the match did not affect the team score, the win gave USC a spark of momentum to carry over into singles.
The Trojans tied the score after Daniel Nguyen, who touts a singles ranking of #18, topped #40 Llompart in straight sets. Clarke also suffered a two set defeat in the No. 6 match.
In the top contest, #6-ranked Johnson bested Tearney to give USC a 3-1 lead.
The Waves jumped back into the action as Mousheg Hovhannisyan (North Hollywood, Calif./Continental Academy) took down #84 Peter Lucassen in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 from the No. 5 position. Pepperdine cut the US lead to 3-2 but would get no closer.
A well and closely fought match on court two saw Fanselow going game-for-game with Jaak Poldma. After Poldma, ranked #94 in the Campbell/ITA collegiate rankings, took a 6-4 first set, he edged Fanselow in a tiebreaker to win the second frame 7-6.
The final match to finish saw Moreno pitted against Sarmiento. The pair had each one a set before Sarmiento claimed the match victory with a 6-3 third set win.
The Waves look to rebound from the loss with home match with #35 Boise State at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
#2 USC 5, #20 Pepperdine 2
Singles
1. #6 Steve Johnson (USC) def. #112 Finn Tearney (PEP) 6-1, 6-4
2. #94 Jaak Poldma (USC) def. #14 Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
3. #18 Daniel Nguyen (USC) def. #40 Alex Llompart (PEP) 6-2, 6-2
4. #91 Ray Sarmiento (USC) def. Alfredo Moreno (PEP) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
5. Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) def. #84 Peter Lucassen (USC) 6-4, 6-3
6. Emilio Gomez (USC) def. Hugh Clarke (PEP) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
1. Steve Johnson/Ray Sarmiento (USC) def. #35 Hugh Clarke/Finn Tearney (PEP) 9-7
2. Alex Llompart/Alfredo Moreno (PEP) def. Daniel Nguyen/Emilio Gomez (USC) 8-6
3. Jenson Turner/Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) def. #51 Jaak Poldma/JT Sundling (USC) 8-5
Match Notes:
Pepperdine 5-2; National ranking #20
USC 7-0; National ranking #2
Players Mentioned
