Complete Results

MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine men's tennis team hosted a doubleheader today, first playing UC Irvine before opening West Coast Conference play against Loyola Marymount. Both duals came down to the wire, with the Waves emerging with two 4-3 victories.

Pepperdine opened the day with a hard-fought 4-3 win over the Anteaters. UC Irvine took a 2-0 lead before Stefan Menichella (Santa Barbara, Calif./University HS), Pedro Iamachkine (Lima, Peru/Nebraska HS) and Tom Hill (Birmingham, England/K12 International Academy) all won in singles within just a minute or two of each other to make it 3-2.

Both Menichella and Iamachkine bounced back from losses in the first set to win in three, while Hill secured his victory in straight sets.

Shuhei Shibahara evened the score at 3-3 after edging Rakshay Thakkar (Pune, India/St. Vincent's High School) in the third set tiebreaker.

Guilherme Hadlich (Balneário Camboriú, Brazil/Colégio Energia) delivered a gutsy performance at No. 2 to clinch the dual for the Waves. After falling 6-3 in the first to Nico Mertens, he drove the second set to a tiebreaker and won 7-5 to extend the match.

The deciding frame played out close, but Hadlich broke late to win 7-5 and put point No. 4 on the board for the home team.

After a break for lunch, the Waves were back on the courts to open WCC play against LMU. The dual played out just a close, and came down to the final match to finish.

Pepperdine struck first, winning the doubles point against the Lions. Lautaro Pane (Puerto Madryn, Argentina/SEADEA) and Iamachkine teamed up to beat Charles Boyce and Cristobal Rivera, 6-2. Hadlich and Thakkar secured the point with a 6-4 win at No. 1 against Errol Smith and Joat Farah.

Luca Marquard (Bensheim, Germany/Goeth Gymnasium Bensheim) extended the Waves' lead after dispatching Alex Bourgeois, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 6.

Hill put away his second straight-set decision of the day, this time playing from the No. 5 spot in the lineup.

LMU put a point on the board courtesy of Boyce, who defeated Hadlich 7-6, 6-1. The Lions began to gather some momentum after earning another singles victory to make it 3-2.

Menichella and Smith splits sets at No. 1, before Smith took a 5-2 lead in the third. The Wave battled back to force a tiebreaker, but couldn't break through in the 7-3 loss.

It once again came down to Iamachkine, who had previously clinched 4-3 decisions against Miami and San Diego State.

His match against Rivera played out painstakingly close. After Iamachkine won the first set 6-4, Rivera returned the favor with a 6-4 win of his own. The two players continued to go game-for-game with one another, but Iamachkine held on to win 6-4 and clinch the dual victory for the home side.

Pepperdine continues the homestand next week with two matches in Malibu. The Waves first host Oregon on Saturday, Feb. 28, before taking on Tulsa on Sunday, March 1. Both duals are set for a 1 p.m. start.

UC Irvine vs Pepperdine
Feb 21, 2015 at Malibu, Calif.
(Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)

#48 Pepperdine 4, #75 UC Irvine 3
Singles
1. Stefan Menichella (PEP) def. Sebastian Heim (UCI) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
2. Guilherme Hadlich (PEP) def. Nico Mertens (UCI) 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
3. Shuhei Shibahara (UCI) def. Rakshay Thakkar (PEP) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
4. Tyler Pham (UCI) def. Lautaro Pane (PEP) 6-3, 6-2
5. Pedro Iamachkine (PEP) def. Rafael Davidian (UCI) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
6. Tom Hill (PEP) def. Jonathan Hammel (UCI) 6-3, 7-5

Doubles
1. Guilherme Hadlich/Rakshay Thakkar (PEP) vs. Tyler Pham/Jonathan Hammel (UCI) 4-3, unfinished
2. Rafael Davidian/Jonathan Poon (UCI) def. Lautaro Pane/Pedro Iamachkine (PEP) 6-3
3. Sebastian Heim/Nico Mertens (UCI) def. Stefan Menichella/Tom Hill (PEP) 6-2

Match Notes:
UC Irvine 4-8; National ranking #75
Pepperdine 4-3; National ranking #48
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,1,5,6,3,2)
Exhibition Match: Luca Marquard (PEP) def. Jonathan Poon (UCI), 8-4

Loyola Marymount vs Pepperdine
Feb 21, 2015 at Malibu, Calif.
(Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)

#48 Pepperdine 4, Loyola Marymount 3
Singles
1. Errol Smith (LMU) def. Stefan Menichella (PEP) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
2. Charles Boyce (LMU) def. Guilherme Hadlich (PEP) 7-6, 6-1
3. Felix Van Kann (LMU) def. Rakshay Thakkar (PEP) 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
4. Pedro Iamachkine (PEP) def. Cristobal Rivera (LMU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
5. Tom Hill (PEP) def. Joat Farah (LMU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Luca Marquard (PEP) def. Alex Bourgeois (LMU) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles
1. Guilherme Hadlich/Rakshay Thakkar (PEP) def. Errol Smith/Joat Farah (LMU) 6-4
2. Lautaro Pane/Pedro Iamachkine (PEP) def. Charles Boyce/Cristobal Rivera (LMU) 6-2
3. Othar Kordsachia/Felix Van Kann (LMU) def. Tom Hill/Stefan Menichella (PEP) 6-1

Match Notes:
Loyola Marymount 2-4, 0-1 WCC
Pepperdine 5-3, 1-0 WCC; National ranking #48
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,5,2,3,1,4)
Exhibition Match: Kento Tanaka-Tamaki (PEP) def. Adam Zaorski (LMU), 8-3