SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Less than a week ago, Pepperdine redshirt sophomore Robert Shelton sealed the Pepperdine men's tennis team's win over Santa Clara on court six.
Six days later, Shelton (Lancaster, Pa.) did it again, this time to send the #37 Waves (17-8, 8-1 WCC) to the West Coast Conference title game with a 4-0 sweep of the 3-seed Broncos at the Aztec Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif. The win set up a rematch of last year's title game with 1-seed San Diego, which beat Pepperdine in Malibu 4-3 earlier this month.
Unlike the first meeting between the two teams, Pepperdine held a commanding advantage in doubles, as Maxi Homberg (Freising, Germany) and Eero Vasa (Turku, Finland) won 6-1 on court two. Right as the conference's only nationally ranked doubles team of #54 Daniel De Jonge (Vlissingen, Netherlands) and Tim Zeitvogel (Baden-Baden, Germany) made a 5-4 comeback on court one, Linus Carlsson Halldin (Stockholm, Sweden) and Pietro Fellin (Milan, Italy) clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win.
With the doubles point in hand, Pepperdine made quick work of the Broncos in singles. Homberg was never truly in peril of falling behind in his 6-2, 6-1 win on court five, then, moments later, #122 Zeitvogel won 6-2, 6-3 on court one.
Meanwhile, Shelton took a 6-3, 5-3 lead on court six, yet Jack Pulliam of Santa Clara battled all the way back to tie the match at five. Shelton took a 6-5 advantage then sprinted hard to the net on match point in the final set to seal the 4-0 win with his 6-3, 7-5 victory.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
#54 De Jonge/Zeitvogel vs. Neuhaus/Delmasso 5-4, unfinished
Vasa/Homberg def. Lerby/Pulliam, 6-1
Carlsson Halldin/Fellin def. Hinojosa/Shah, 6-3
Order of finish: 2,3
SINGLES
#122 Zeitvogel def. Lerby, 6-2, 6-3
#64 De Jonge vs. Dalmasso, 6-7 (7-3), 6-4, unfinished
Vasa vs. Neuhaus 5-7, 6-3, 2-0, unfinished
Shah vs. Fellin 7-6 (7-3), 4-2, unfinished
Homberg def. Hinojosa, 6-4, 6-1
Shelton def. Pulliam 6-3, 7-5
Order of finish: 5,1,6
UP NEXT: Pepperdine will face San Diego for its first WCC Tournament title since 2014 at the Aztec Tennis Center on Saturday at 2 p.m.
FOLLOW: Follow @PeppTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
