SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The #37 Pepperdine men's tennis team clinched a share of its fourth West Coast Conference regular season title with a 4-1 win at Santa Clara on Saturday.
With the win, the Waves (16-8, 8-1 West Coast Conference) split the regular season conference title with the San Diego Toreros. This marks Pepperdine's first regular season title since 2021 and the team's second under head coach Adam Schaechterle. Meanwhile, the Broncos (14-9, 5-3 WCC) are currently in third place in the conference standings, but will play LMU on Sunday.
The doubles point was close throughout, yet the Broncos clinched on court two after the match went to extra points. Linus Carlsson Halldin (Stockholm, Sweden) and Pietro Fellin (Milan, Italy) took care of business on the third line with a 6-3 win, yet Santa Clara's duo on court one upset #51 Daniel De Jonge (Vlissingen, Netherlands) and Tim Zeitvogel (Baden-Baden, Germany) to even the score. Although Eero Vasa (Turku, Finland) and Maxi Homberg (Freising, Germany) made a valiant comeback effort to force a tiebreak, they would fall 6-6 (7-5).
Singles play was a different story. Homberg bolted out to a 6-0, 6-2 win on court four in order to get the Waves on the board. Pepperdine seniors Zeitvogel and De Jonge would add to Pepperdine's score with two-set wins on courts two and one, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Robert Shelton (Lancaster, Pa.) would seal the deal on court six with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 victory.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
Neuhaus/Dalmasso def. #51 De Jonge/Zeitvogel 7-5
Pulliam/Lerby def. Vasa/Homberg 7-6 (7-5)
Carlsson Halldin/Fellin def. Shah/Hinojosa 6-3
Order of finish: 3,1,2
SINGLES
#66 De Jonge def. Lerby 6-4, 6-3
#105 Zeitvogel def. Dalmasso 6-2, 6-3
Neuhaus vs. Vasa 7-6 (6-4), 3-6, unfinished
Fellin vs. Shah 7-6, (7-3), 3-3, unfinished
Homberg def. Pulliam 6-0, 6-2
Shelton def. Hinojosaa 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
Order of finish: 5,2,1,6*
NEXT UP: With today's win, Pepperdine earns a first-round bye in the West Coast Conference tournament, held at the Aztec Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif. The Waves will play on Friday, April 28 against an opponent that has yet to be determined.
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