Pepperdine University
BYU
Men's Tennis Advances to WCC Championship Match
4/27/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 27, 2012
Click here for interview with Mousheg Hovhannisyan
Click here for interview with Alex Llompart
SAN DIEGO - The #7 Pepperdine men's tennis team opened the 2012 West Coast Conference Tournament with a 4-1 triumph over #54 BYU to advance to tomorrow's title match.
Highlighting the day was Mousheg Hovhannisyan (North Hollywood, Calif./Continental Academy), who recovered from a love-5 deficit to win the first set 7-5. The junior rode the momentum to a 6-3 win in the second frame to clinch the fourth point for the Waves.
Pepperdine (22-6) opened the afternoon in doubles and earned wins from the No. 1 and No. 3 spots in the lineup.
Finn Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) and Alex Llompart (Carolina, Puerto Rico/San Juan Educational School) found retribution from an earlier loss in the regular season to Georgy Batrakov and Patrick Kawka, and defeated the Cougar's top pair today 8-4.
Hugh Clarke (Brisbane, Australia/Brisbane Boys College) and David Sofaer (Bellevue Hill, Australia/Sydney Distance Education HS) extended their win streak to 14 after downing Keaton Cullimore and Michael Eraso. With the doubles point clinched, play was suspended on court two.
Although BYU fought hard and challenged the Waves in singles, Pepperdine put four straight-set wins in the books to secure the team victory. Llompart put away Kawka 6-2, 6-3, while Clarke defeated Francis Sargeant 7-5, 6-0.
Although the Cougars' Spencer Smith got his team on the board with a win, Hovhannisyan put the Waves out of reach with his two-set triumph on court four.
Pepperdine faces San Diego, who defeated Santa Clara 5-2 in the semifinals, in tomorrow's championship match. First serve is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. at the Barnes Tennis Center. The Waves defeated the Toreros earlier this season by a score of 5-2.
WCC Tournament Semifinals
#7 Pepperdine 4, #54 BYU 1
Singles
1. #9 Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) vs. #61 Georgy Batrakov (BYU) unfinished
2. #118 Spencer Smith (BYU) def. #28 Finn Tearney (PEP) 6-3, 6-3
3. Alex Llompart (PEP) def. Patrick Kawka (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
4. #102 Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) def. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Hugh Clarke (PEP) def. Francis Sargeant (BYU) 7-5, 6-0
6. Jenson Turner (PEP) vs. Michael Eraso (BYU) 7-6 (8-6), unfinished
Doubles
1. #15 Finn Tearney/Alex Llompart (PEP) def. #86 Georgy Batrakov/Patrick Kawka (BYU) 8-4
2. Sebastian Fanselow/Jenson Turner (PEP) vs. Francis Sargeant/Spencer Smith (BYU) unfinished
3. Hugh Clarke/David Sofaer (PEP) def. Keaton Cullimore/Michael Eraso (BYU) 8-3
Match Notes:
BYU 16-9; National ranking #54
Pepperdine 22-6; National ranking #7
Players Mentioned
