Final Stats

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Pepperdine men's tennis team won a thrilling six hour match against South Alabama on Sunday, taking the match 4-2 to close ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Nicholas Baez clinched for the Waves with a two-set match on court six.

The Waves (1-2) fought back to win four singles matches after dropping the doubles point, handing the Jaguars (1-2) the loss.

RESULTS

DOUBLES

1: Loic Cloes/Clement Marzol (USA) def. Dennis Uspensky/Nicholas Baez (PEPP) - 6-3

2: Dane Esses/Brian Berdusco (PEPP) def. Olivier Gingras/Sacha Modica (USA) - 6-4

3: Maxime Lapraille/Lucas Gonzalez (USA) def. Yusuf Khamis/Max Mendelsohn (PEPP) - 7-6 (3)

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3

SINGLES

1: Dennis Uspensky (PEPP) def. Clement Marzol (USA) - 6-7, 6-4, 6-2

2: Sacha Modica (USA) def. Brian Berdusco (PEPP) - 6-4, 1-6, 6-7

3: Dane Esses (PEPP) def. Loic Cloes(USA) - 7-6 (4), 6-0

4: Yusuf Khamis (PEPP) def. Olivier Gingras (USA) - 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6)

5: Max Mendelsohn (PEPP) vs. Lucas Gonzalez (USA) - 6-1, 6-7 (12) 3-1 - unfinished

6: Nicholas Baez (PEPP) def. Santiago di Loreto (USA) - 6-3, 7-5

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

PLAY-BY-PLAY

After Dennis Uspensky and Nicholas Baez fell 6-3 to their opponents on court one, Dane Esse and Brian Berdusco rallied with a 6-4 win on court two to put all eyes on three's. Yusuf Khamis and Max Mendelsohn brought their match to a 6-6 tie to force a tiebreaker, but the opposition worked ahead after the 3-3 mark towards a 7-3 tiebreaker loss.

Pepperdine entered singles with the deficit, but he Waves bounced back early, winning four of six matches, and being ahead in the lone match that didn't finish.

Uspensky rallied back from a tiebreak loss in the first set to defeat Clement Marzol of the Jaguars 6-4, 6-2 in the final two sets. Dane Esses bested Loic Cloes 7-6 (4), 6-0 and the Waves had a 2-2 tie going with three matches left in action.

Freshman Yusuf Khamis had the most exciting match of the day, winning his first set, 6-4, then dropping his second set before coming back in the third set to force a tiebreak, which he won in an extended 8-6 tiebreak. Nicholas Baez then picked up the clincher as he put down Santiago di Lorento 6-3, 7-5 to earn Pepperdine the outstanding 4-2 win.

NOTABLES

• This is the first time this season that the Waves have come back after losing the doubles point.
• Yusuf Khamis won his first singles match as a Wave on Sunday.
• Dane Esses has won his last 2 singles matches in dual competitions.

QUOTABLES

"I am incredibly proud of the guys today," said Head Coach Marcelo Ferreira. "We were able to pull off a gutsy win because the entire team showed so much resilience. Being able to bounce back from a tough 4-3 loss to South Florida last night and pull off a win in 6 and a half hours really showed our true character."

UP NEXT

The Waves travel up to the Pacific Northwest to take on Washington on Friday, Feb. 2 and Oregon on Sunday, Feb. 4

FOLLOW

Follow @PeppTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to PepperdineWaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.