Complete Results

MALIBU, Calif. - For the second dual in a row, it came down to the final match for the Pepperdine men's tennis team, and for the second dual in a row, freshman Pedro Iamachkine played the hero. The freshman first helped clinch the doubles point, before winning his singles match in three sets to secure the 4-3 win over San Diego State on Wednesday afternoon.

Iamachkine (Lima, Peru/Nebraska HS) bounced back from a loss in his first set to win in three, just as he had done last week Saturday at Miami. The Waves are now 3-3 on the season.

The day began with doubles. Stefan Menichella (Santa Barbara, Calif./University HS) and Tom Hill (Birmingham, England/K12 International Academy) put away a decisive 6-2 decision at No. 3 to get the Waves started, but San Diego State got one back by sneaking away with a 7-5 win at No. 1.

The doubles point came down to Iamachkine and Lautaro Pane (Puerto Madryn, Argentina/SEADEA) against Thorsten Bertsch and Jonas Meinzer at No. 2. The two sides battled all the way to a 6-6 tie, and moved to a tiebreaker to decide the match.

The Waves fell behind match point twice in the tiebreaker, but Iamachkine kept Pepperdine in it with some superb play at the net. The Waves took their first match point at 8-7, but were unable to convert.

Iamachkine hit tape and the ball took the unfortunate bounce back to give SDSU match point No. 3, but once again the Waves were able to fight it off. Pepperdine took its second match point after Pane's forehand couldn't be handled, but miscommunication proved costly as the Aztecs evened the tiebreaker at 10-10.

The Waves had to fight off one more match point before taking a 12-11 lead, and Pane delivered a forehand return that could not be touched to secure the match 13-11.

Pepperdine took a 1-0 lead into singles, but only won first sets on two of the four courts.

Rakshay Thakkar (Pune, India/St. Vincent's High School) put the Waves in front 2-0 after serving up a quick 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Hendrik Jebens at No. 3.

Marko Goles-Babic charted the Aztecs' first point of the day with a straight-set win at No. 4, before Freddy Gelbrich made it a 2-2 dual with his singles win over Menichella.

With all three matches left going three sets, the dual victory was still up for grabs.

Hill bounced back from a 4-6 loss in the first set to beat Milen Ianakiev 6-1, 6-4, but Guilherme Hadlich (Balneário Camboriú, Brazil/Colégio Energia) suffered a rare loss to keep the dual score tied.

Iamachkine was up a break of serve in the third against Andranik Khachatryan, after edging his opponent 7-5 in the second to extend his match. After taking a 5-2 lead, the freshman Wave handily served out his match to win 6-2 and clinch the victory.

He took a victory lap past his teammates, who were waiting behind the adjacent fence with high fives.

Pepperdine continues the week with a doubleheader on Saturday, February 21 against UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount. First serve between the Waves and Anteaters is set for 10 a.m., with a 3 p.m. dual versus LMU to follow.

San Diego State vs Pepperdine
Feb 18, 2015 at Malibu, Calif.
(Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)

#48 Pepperdine 4, San Diego State 3
Singles
1. Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU) def. Stefan Menichella (PEP) 6-4, 6-4
2. Thorsten Bertsch (SDSU) def. Guilherme Hadlich (PEP) 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Rakshay Thakkar (PEP) def. Hendrik Jebens (SDSU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU) def. Lautaro Pane (PEP) 6-4, 6-0
5. Pedro Iamachkine (PEP) def. Andranik Khachatryan (SDSU) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
6. Tom Hill (PEP) def. Milen Ianakiev (SDSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4

Doubles
1. Hendrik Jebens/Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU) def. Guilherme Hadlich/Rakshay Thakkar (PEP) 7-5
2. Lautaro Pane/Pedro Iamachkine (PEP) def. Thorsten Bertsch/Jonas Meinzer (SDSU) 7-6 (13-11)
3. Tom Hill/Stefan Menichella (PEP) def. Marko Goles-Babic/Andranik Khachatryan (SDSU) 6-2

Match Notes:
San Diego State 4-4
Pepperdine 3-3; National ranking #48
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,4,1,6,2,5)