MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine men's tennis team made its fall season debut against Michigan and racked up three wins against the Wolverines on day one of The Malibu Showdown on Friday.
In a match that saw four out of Pepperdine's six players make debuts in a Waves uniform, true freshman Edward Winter (Adelaide, Australia) had a hand in two of the team's three wins. He and sophomore Maxi Homberg (Freising, Germany) cruised to a 6-2 win in doubles, then in singles, he dispatched #31 Gavin Young 6-4, 6-4 on court one. Linus Carlsson Halldin (Stockholm, Sweden) had a dominant 6-2, 6-1 singles win to round out the victories for Pepperdine.
Except for Winter and Homberg's convincing win, doubles play was a tightly contested affair between Pepperdine and Michigan. Winter and Homberg would win the Waves' first break point of the day on a Michigan double-fault to go up 3-2. From there, the duo didn't look back in their 6-2 win.
Over on court three, Pepperdine newcomers Tyler Davis (Redlands, Calif.) and Photos Photiades (Dali, Cyprus) battled Will Cooksey and Bjorn Swenson, yet fell 6-4 to the Wolverines.
Playing on court one, George Davis (London, England) and Carlsson Halldin took on Michigan's #25 team of Gavin Young and Nico Ehrenschneider — the top-ranked doubles team in The Malibu Showdown. Both teams held serve until Michigan broke the Pepperdine duo at 2-1, then consolidated the break to go up 3-1.
However, George Davis and Carlsson Halldin would make a comeback. Trailing 40-30 in the eighth game, Carlsson Halldin's backhand winner at the net forced the deciding point, and then another backhand between both Wolverines helped the Waves break back. The two teams would hold serve and force a tiebreak.
In the tiebreak, both teams held serve until the Wolverines broke the Waves in the second match point to win 7-6 (7-5).
Carrying momentum after hard-fought doubles play, Carlsson Halldin made quick work of Bjorn Swenson in a 6-2, 6-1 win in which he was never broken until the second set. The win marked the first singles win of the fall season for the Waves.
Meanwhile, all eyes were on court one for Winter's highly anticipated collegiate debut. The freshman, ranked fifth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's newcomer/freshman rankings, squared off against a top-35 opponent in Michigan's #31 Gavin Young.
In the first set, both players held serve until Winter broke Young with a backhand return that Young misplayed, giving Winter a 3-2 lead. The freshman had to hold off Young, who won three straight game points to break Winter and make the score 5-4 in the first set. Yet Winter would prevail. Despite trailing 30-love, Winter battled all the way back to take the first set 6-4.
Like the first set, Winter and Young held serve for the first four games until another strong backhand return from Winter was too much for Young to handle. Winter consolidated the break to go up 4-2, then both players held serve until the tenth game of the set. Up 40-15, Winter won his first collegiate singles match when Young's forehand return went long, sealing Winter's 6-4, 6-4 win.
Pepperdine newcomers George Davis and Photiades had the longest matches of the day. George Davis had an early 6-2 advantage, yet ended up falling to Nicholas Steiglehner in three sets; whereas Photiades fought valiantly in his singles debut. The true freshman's first collegiate singles match featured an hourlong first set, yet Michigan's Mert Oral prevailed 7-6 (12-10), 6-2.
RESULTS
Singles
1. Edward Winter (PEPP) def. #31 Gavin Young (MICH) 6-4, 6-4
2. Jacob Bickersteth (MICH) def. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) 6-3, 6-3
3. #85 Will Cooksey (MICH) def. George Davis (PEPP) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) def. Bjorn Swenson (MICH) 6-2, 6-1
5. Nicholas Steiglehner (MICH) def. Tyler Davis (PEPP) 6-2, 7-5
6. Mert Oral (MICH) def. Photos Photiades (PEPP) 7-6 (12-10), 6-2
Doubles
1. #25 Gavin Young/Nino Ehrenschneider (MICH) def. George Davis/Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) 7-6 (7-5)
2. Maxi Homberg/Edward Winter (PEPP) def. Jacob Bickersteth/Nicholas Steiglehner (MICH) 6-2
3. Will Cooksey/Bjorn Swenson (MICH) def. Photos Photiades/Tyler Davis (PEPP) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,4,5,1,3)
UP NEXT: Pepperdine will take on Kentucky tomorrow at 10 a.m. PT. A broadcast with live commentary will be provided by Cracked Racquets and the match will also be livestreamed on PlaySight.
