Pepperdine University
Stanford
#7 Pepperdine Dismantles #8 Stanford, 6-1
3/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 28, 2012
MALIBU, Calif. - The #7 Pepperdine men's tennis team issued #8 Stanford a 6-1 loss on Wednesday afternoon at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. A strong start in doubles translated into a dominant performance in singles, leading the Waves to their third-consecutive win over a top-10 ranked opponent.
With the win, Pepperdine improves to 12-6 overall and improves its win streak to nine matches. The Cardinal falls to 10-4 on the year.
The Waves struck first, winning two of the three doubles matches. Sebastian Fanselow (Essen, Germany/Kaplan College Prep) and Jenson Turner (Woodland Hills, Calif./Campbell Hall HS) earned two early breaks to jump out to commanding 5-1 lead versus Matt Kandath and Denis Lin. The Pepperdine pair finished out the match just as strong as they started, held serve, and won 8-3.
On court three, Hugh Clarke (Brisbane, Australia/Brisbane Boys' College) and David Sofaer (Bellevue Hill, Calif./Sydney Distance Education HS) broke the serve of Robert Stineman and John Morrissey early on, but the Cardinal tandem got the break back to knot the score at 5-all.
The Waves kept fighting and won the next two games to take 7-5 lead. Up 40-love with Stanford on serve, Sofaer came up with a back hand return that a Cardinal player hit back right to Clarke, who was waiting in front of the net. The senior slammed the ball home to clinch the game, the match and the doubles point.
In the No. 1 match, Alex Llompart (Carolina, Puerto Rico/San Juan Educational School) and Finn Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) battled with Ryan Thacher and Bradley Klahn from start to finish. Neither duo was able to build a sizeable lead, and the match was eventually decided in the tiebreaker.
Again, the opposing teams continued to battle point-for-point, but Stanford came up with a late run to win the tiebreaker 8-6.
Pepperdine extended the lead after standout singles performances from Llompart and Tearney. Llompart allowed just one game in a straight-set triumph over Kandath, while Tearney, ranked #16 in singles, gave the Waves a 3-0 lead following a 6-2, 6-1 win against #25-ranked Thacher.
Turner's win from the No. 5 spot in the lineup put Pepperdine out of reach. The senior downed Lin, 6-2, 6-2.
The Waves extended their lead after both Clarke and Fanselow won in two sets. Clarke defeated Stineman, 6-3, 6-3, while #9-ranked Fanselow topped #84 Klahn, 6-4, 6-2.
Stanford was able to avoid the sweep, as Morrissey recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory versus Mousheg Hovhannisyan (North Hollywood, Calif./Continental Academy).
The Waves return to action this Sunday, April 1, when they host a West Coast Conference doubleheader against Santa Clara and San Francisco. The first match versus the Broncos is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., with the Dons to follow at 3:30 p.m.
#7 Pepperdine 6, #8 Stanford 1
Singles
1. #9 Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) def. #84 Bradley Klahn (STAN) 6-4, 6-2
2. #16 Finn Tearney (PEP) def. #25 Ryan Thacher (STAN) 6-2, 6-1
3. Alex Llompart (PEP) def. Matt Kandath (STAN) 6-0, 6-1
4. John Morrissey (STAN) def. #72 Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) 6-3, 6-4
5. Jenson Turner (PEP) def. Denis Lin (STAN) 6-2, 6-2
6. Hugh Clarke (PEP) def. Robert Stineman (STAN) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
1. #2 Alex Llompart/Finn Tearney (PEP) def. #9 Ryan Thacher/Bradley Klahn (STAN) 8-7 (6)
2. Sebastian Fanselow/Jenson Turner (PEP) def. Matt Kandath/Denis Lin (STAN) 8-3
3. Hugh Clarke/David Sofaer (PEP) def. Robert Stineman/John Morrissey (STAN) 8-5
Match Notes:
Stanford 10-4; National ranking #8
Pepperdine 12-6; National ranking #7
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,2,5,6,1,4)
Players Mentioned
