MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine men's tennis doubles duo of Maxi Homberg and Edward Winter saw their run in the ITA Southwest Regional doubles tournament come to an end in the finals against Colton Smith and Jay Friend of Arizona on Monday.
After dropping the first set 6-3 to Arizona, the Waves underclassmen regained momentum in the second set by winning the first three games. However, the Waves duo, which carried a perfect 7-0 record into the regional doubles final, eventually fell 6-3, 6-3 to the Wildcats.
Playing on Pepperdine's home court at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center, the Waves and Wildcats held serve until Arizona broke Pepperdine to take a 2-1 lead. However, Homberg (Freising, Germany) and Winter (Adelaide, Australia) broke back in the next game as Homberg ripped a forehand shot past both Wildcats up at the net.
From there, the Waves consolidated the break to take a 3-2 lead. In what would be a pattern throughout the match, Arizona couldn't get a good read on Homberg's serve; in the fifth game, Pepperdine won three of its points off Arizona's return errors. But Arizona's Colton Smith — the second highest-rated singles player in the ITA Southwest Regional tournament — responded behind the service line in the next game to tie the score at three games apiece. The Wildcats went on to break Pepperdine 4-3 in the next game and did not look back in their 6-3 first-set win.
Losing the first set on deuce point appeared to light a fire in the Pepperdine underclassmen. With Smith back to serve to start the second set, Pepperdine clawed back from an early deficit to force a deciding point. Both Friend and Smith worked their way up to the net and hit five straight volleys at Winter, yet the freshman prevailed when Smith's return of Winter's forehand shot went wide.
Homberg and Winter seized momentum with a key hold in the next game. After falling behind 40-15, Homberg's serving helped the Waves fight off two break points, then Winter's backhand slice at the net split both Wildcats to put Pepperdine up a break.
The lead was short-lived. Despite playing with newfound confidence in the next game, the Wildcats held serve, which swung the match's momentum back toward Arizona. The Wildcats broke the Waves in the next game, then consolidated the break with Smith behind the service line for a 3-2 lead. Pepperdine held serve on another Homberg ace, yet Arizona would pull away for good with a pivotal hold in the next game. The Wildcats eventually held off Pepperdine down the stretch for a 6-3, 6-3 win.
With the result, both doubles teams will advance to the ITA Fall National Championships, held in San Diego at the Barnes Tennis Center from Nov. 1-5. Homberg and Winter give Pepperdine back-to-back doubles teams at fall nationals, as All-Americans Daniel De Jonge and Tim Zeitvogel made the round of 16 last season.
RESULT
Doubles Finals
Friend/Smith (ARIZ) def. Maxi Homberg/Edward Winter (PEPP) 6-3, 6-3
UP NEXT: Homberg and Winter head south to San Diego for the ITA Fall National Championships, held at Barnes Tennis Center from Nov. 1-5.
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