Pepperdine University
ITA Regionals
Men's Tennis Travels to Tempe for ITA Southwest Regionals
10/16/2024 11:30:00 AM | Men's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. — After nearly a month-long hiatus, the Pepperdine men's tennis team returns to the court for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regionals, held on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz. from Oct. 17-22.
NCAA berths will be up for grabs over the weekend, as the top two main draw singles finalists and the doubles champion will punch their tickets to Waco, Texas in November. For the first time ever, the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will be held in the fall, and postseason berths can only be won in specific ITA tournaments. No Pepperdine player has qualified for NCAAs so far.
Zach Stephens will kick off singles action tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., when he will face the winner between San Diego State's Louis Chusseau and Arizona State's Finn Willwerth. Doubles competition begins Saturday with both Pepperdine doubles teams playing at 10 a.m. Playing as the 11-seed in the open doubles draw, Linus Carlsson Halldin and Stephens take on Hawai'i's Andy Hernandez and Karl Collins, while 5-seed Maxi Homberg and Chris Papa face Justin Lamy and Aarav Sane of UC Riverside.
Pepperdine has used just two doubles pairs this season, and both have identical records at 2-2. With their blend of athleticism and versatility at the net, Homberg and Papa return to action for the first time since All-Americans, where they split a pair of matches in the main draw. Carlsson Halldin and Stephens went 2-2 at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup back in September.
So far, Carlsson Halldin leads the team with five singles wins this season — three of which came during his semifinal run at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic in late September. Papa and Stephens have two singles wins apiece.
From here, the Waves have one more guaranteed fall tournament: The ITA Division I Sectional Championships, held in Malibu at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center from Nov. 7-10.
Players Mentioned
