Pepperdine University
USC
Waves Suffer Home Loss to Top-Ranked USC
2/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 10, 2012
MALIBU, Calif. - After dropping the doubles point in a tiebreaker finish, the #12 Pepperdine men's tennis team was unable to recover and lost a 6-1 decision to #1 USC on the courts of the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
The battle for the doubles point lasted nearly an hour and half. Hugh Clarke (Brisbane, Australia/Brisbane Boys' College) and David Sofaer (Bellevue Hill, Australia/Sydney Distance Education HS) put away a commanding 8-2 win over Emilio Gomez and Roberto Quiroz, while the Trojans answered with an 8-3 victory on court two.
The final match, which would effectively decide what team was awarded the doubles point, featured Finn Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) and Alex Llompart (Carolina, Puerto Rico/San Juan Educational School) against Steve Johnson and Yannick Hanfmann.
The Trojan tandem built a 5-2 lead and appeared to be in control of the match, but Tearney and Llompart broke serve to come back within one game at 6-5. With Tearney on serve, the Wave duo held to tie the match at 6-all.
Neither team was able to earn distinct advantage and went to a tiebreaker to determine the winner. Johnson - who was the 2011 ITA Player of the Year - and Hanfmann gritted out a 7-1 victory to give the Trojans the opening advantage heading into singles.
The Trojans (7-0) were able to ride the momentum and went on to win five of the six singles contests. Jenson Turner (Woodland Hill, Calif./Campbell Hall HS) nearly put a point on the board for the Waves, but was edged 6-4, 6-4.
Tearney tallied the only singles victory for Pepperdine this afternoon, topping #16-ranked Daniel Nguyen, 6-3, 7-6. It was the highest ranked player Tearney has defeated since earning a three-set win over Duke's Reid Carlton last season. At the time, Carlton was listed at #5 on the singles rankings.
The Waves (3-3) continue their tough schedule next week, when they face #8 UCLA at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Tuesday, February 14.
#1 USC 6, #12 Pepperdine 1
Singles
1. Steve Johnson (USC) def. #21 Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) 6-3, 6-2
2. #35 Finn Tearney (PEP) def. #16 Daniel Nguyen (USC) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
3. #12 Ray Sarmiento (USC) def. #49 Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) 7-5, 6-1
4. #48 Emilio Gomez (USC) def. Alex Llompart (PEP) 6-4, 6-1
5. #33 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) def. #106 Hugh Clarke (PEP) 6-4, 6-3
6. Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. Jenson Turner (PEP) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
1. Steve Johnson/Yannick Hanfmann (USC) def. Alex Llompart/Finn Tearney (PEP) 9-8 (7-1)
2. Daniel Nguyen/Ray Sarmiento (USC) def. Sebastian Fanselow/Jenson Turner (PEP) 8-3
3. Hugh Clarke/David Sofaer (PEP) def. Emilio Gomez/Roberto Quiroz (USC) 8-2
Match Notes:
USC 7-0; National ranking #1
Pepperdine 3-3; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,5,4,3,6,2)
Players Mentioned
