Pepperdine University
Oklahoma
#20 Oklahoma Falls Victim to #13 Pepperdine, 4-3
2/26/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 26, 2012
NORMAN, Okla. - A gutsy singles performance by the #13 Pepperdine men's tennis team sent the Waves past #20 Oklahoma 4-3. Tied 3-3, Finn Tearney rebounded from a first set loss to win and put the fourth point on the board for Pepperdine.
Although the Sooners (4-2) struck first and won the doubles point, Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) and Alex Llompart (Carolina, Puerto Rico/San Juan Educational School) added another win over a top-15 ranked doubles tandem to their list of accomplishments this season. The Wave duo, ranked #53 in the ITA collegiate doubles rankings, downed #11 Dane Webb and Costin Paval 8-6.
Pepperdine (6-6) handed in one of its best performances in singles this season, winning four of the six contests to win the dual. The Waves quickly put a point on the scoreboard after Jenson Turner (Woodland Hills, Calif./Campbell Hall HS) nearly shut out David Pultr 6-1, 6-0.
Sebastian Fanselow (Essen, Germany/Kaplan College Prep) handed in an equally dominating performance, topping #5-ranked Paval 6-0, 6-3. Fanselow, currently sitting at #31 in the singles rankings, has had his fair share of success over top-10 ranked singles players having upset #2 Alex Domijan of Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Singles Tournament last season.
Oklahoma regained the lead 3-2 with wins on courts five and three, but senior captain Llompart disposed of Peerakit Siributwong, 6-3, 6-4 to knot the team score at three.
The fate of the match rested on the shoulders of Tearney, who had dropped the first set to Tsvetan Mihov 6-3, and was down 3-4 in the second frame at the time of Llompart's win.
The junior stepped up to the challenge and took set two 7-5 to force a third set. Tearney earned an early break to take a 3-0 lead, but Mihov was able to fight back within one game at 4-3. The Wave closed out the match winning the next two games to put the match away 6-3 and secure the team win for Pepperdine.
The Waves' road tour continues next week, when they play William & Mary in La Jolla, Calif. on March 4 in a neutral court dual. That same weekend, select members of the squad will compete at the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship, also in La Jolla, on March 2-4.
#13 Pepperdine 4, #20 Oklahoma 3
Singles
1. #31 Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) def. #5 Costin Paval (OKU) 6-0, 6-3
2. #26 Finn Tearney (PEP) def. #57 Tsvetan Mihov (OKU) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. #94 Guillermo Alcorta (OKU) def. #58 Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) 6-1, 6-3
4. Alex Llompart (PEP) def. #46 Peerakit Siributwong (OKU) 6-3, 6-4
5. #56 Dane Webb (OKU) def. #78 Hugh Clarke (PEP) 6-3, 6-1
6. Jenson Turner (PEP) def. David Pultr (OKU) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
1. #53 Alex Llompart/Finn Tearney (PEP) def. #11 Dane Webb/Costin Paval (OKU) 8-6
2. Tsvetan Mihov/Peerakit Siributwong (OKU) def. Sebastian Fanselow/Jenson Turner (PEP) 9-8 (7-3)
3. Lawrence Formentera/David Pultr (OKU) def. Hugh Clarke/David Sofaer (PEP) 8-5
Match Notes:Pepperdine 6-6; National ranking #13
Oklahoma 4-2; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (13,2); Singles (6,1,5,3,4,2)
Players Mentioned
