Feb. 12, 2017 Final Stats
RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERYMALIBU, CALIF.: The Pepperdine men's tennis team was felled by 4th-ranked California at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center this Sunday afternoon, despite a strong doubles presence and two singles wins.
The Waves gave the Bears a run for their money in doubles, collected 5-5 ties on all courts, but the opposition buckled down at the end to pick up 7-5 and 7-6 (4) wins on courts one and three respectively to pull ahead early.
"I'm incredibly proud the entire team," said head coach Marcelo Ferreira. "They were all resilient and relentless and truly laid it all on the line for Pepperdine. That is all a coach can ask for, players that compete with their heart and honor the name they represent.
"I feel like we are all on the right path and good things will happen to this team if we stay focused on the process."
Waves' two's pair senior Guilherme Hadlich (Balneário Camboriú, Brazil/Colégio Energia) and sophomore Gabriel Sidney (Curitiba, Parana, Brazil/Anglo Americano) were in the middle of a 6-6 tie-break point with a 2-0 advantage against Andre Goransson and Bill Griffith before the match was abandoned due to the clinch.
Senior Stefan Menichella (Santa Barbara, Calif./University HS) and sophomore Jack Van Slyke (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Laurel Springs HS (Calif.)) had a 4-1 advantage over 3rd-ranked Cal pair Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat, but the Bears eventually pulled away for a 7-5 victory.
Junior duo Pedro Iamachkine (Lima, Peru/Nebraska HS) and Lautaro Pane (Puerto Madryn, Argentina/SEADEA) also played tough in doubles against Bjorn Hoffman and JT Nishimura, reaching a 6-6 tie-break point with a 4-4 tie along the way. The opposition eventually clinched the doubles with a tie-break win 7-4.
"Despite the outcome of the doubles point, I'm very pleased with the way we competed," Ferreira said. "Berkeley has a very solid doubles lineup and we had chances across the board to grasp the point. We are playing doubles way better than last year and I'm really excited to see what the future holds."
In singles, Van Slyke opened play with a dominant two-set win over Bjorn Hoffman, earning a pair of 6-4 set wins to tie the match 1-1. The opposition put up a win on court one as 102nd-ranked Hadlich faced off with 12th-ranked Lakat, to have the Bears go up again.
"Jack showed a lot of maturity today after losing a tough doubles match," said Ferreira. "He came out ready to play singles and set the tone from the beginning of the match. That really gave momentum and motivation to the rest of the team."
Freshman Dane Esses (Houston, Texas/Memorial HS) helped the Waves even the match with a court six win. He battled back from a 1-6 loss in set one, to demand wins in the second and third sets, 6-2, 6-3 to make it a 2-2 overall match with courts two, three and four still in action.
"Dane showed incredible mental toughness today - after losing the first set 6-1 and not looking great, he was able to refocus and execute the strategy we talked about to come back," Ferreira said. "What really got him to win the match was his desire to make his teammates proud."
Next, Pepperdine remains in Malibu for a February 17 match-up with UC Irvine at 1 p.m. at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. Follow @PeppTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates and go to PepperdineWaves.com for full recaps, results and more.
