NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The scenario was all too familiar for the Pepperdine men's tennis team.
Tied 3-3. A third set in the last singles match. A quality win over a ranked opponent — this time, the #28 Vanderbilt Commodores — on the line. Twice this year, the Waves have fought until the final set, only to come up empty in the final singles match.
Yet this time, the Waves prevailed.
Maxi Homberg's come-from-behind, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win at the fifth position clinched Pepperdine's 4-3 win over #28 Vanderbilt for the #70 Waves' first win over a ranked opponent this season. The Waves (2-5) got contributions from all over the lineup against the Commodores (8-3), plus they won the doubles point for the second time this season to hand Vanderbilt its second home loss of the season.
Pepperdine started off the match on a high note, as the Waves cruised to doubles wins with a 6-3 win from Homberg and Chris Papa — their second of the year — and then with Pietro Fellin and Edward Winter clinching the doubles point for the second time this season with a dominant, 6-2 win at the third position.
From there, #34 Winter got back in the win column with a wire-to-wire, 6-2, 6-1 win over Danil Panarin at the first position. In both sets, Winter won the first breakpoint opportunity and didn't look back for his second win of dual match play.
Although Vanderbilt evened the score with a win on court three, Linus Carlsson Halldin cruised to a straight-set win over Michael Ross at the fourth position to give Pepperdine a 3-1 lead. Carlsson Halldin and Ross played on serve for the first three games of the first set before the Pepperdine captain broke Ross in the fourth game en route to a quick 6-1, first-set win. In the second set, Carlsson Halldin won the first two breakpoint opportunities to bolt out to a 4-0 lead, which he maintained throughout his 6-1, 6-3 win.
The Dores would eventually win on courts two and six, turning the attention to court five as Homberg and Jeremie Casabon played to decide the match. Despite losing the first set 6-2, Homberg won the first three games of the second set before Casabon held serve in the fourth game. Homberg held on deuce point in the fifth game to go up 4-1, then broke Casabon before Casabon broke back for 5-2. The rest of the second set was played on serve as Homberg evened the score with a 6-3, second-set win.
Serving — both good and bad — helped Homberg go up a break in the third set, as Casabon was broken on a double fault in the first game, then an ace in the second game helped Homberg take a 2-0 lead. Homberg broke Casabon again on deuce point in the third, then consolidated the break on an ace to take a 4-0 lead he wouldn't relinquish.
The match was played on serve from that point forward and although Casabon fended off match point with a deuce point hold in the seventh game, Homberg clinched the match in the following game to cap off his 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #34 Edward Winter (PEPP) def. Danil Panarin (VU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Joubert Klopper (VU) def. Pietro Fellin (PEPP) 6-2, 7-5
3. Nathan Cox (VU) def. Chris Papa (PEPP) 6-4, 6-3
4. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) def. Michael Ross (VU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Jeremie Casabon (VU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Hugo Coquelin (VU) def. Zach Stephens (PEPP) 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 1,3,4,2,6,5*
Doubles
1. Maxi Homberg/Chris Papa (PEPP) def. Jeremie Casabon/Nathan Cox (VU) 6-3
2. Linus Carlsson Halldin/George Davis (PEPP) vs. Joubert Klopper/Michael Ross (VU), 4-3 unfinished
3. Pietro Fellin/Edward Winter (PEPP) def. Hugo Coquelin/Danil Panarin (VU) 6-2
Order of finish: 1,3
UP NEXT: The Waves head to College Station, Texas for a match against #11 Texas A&M on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. local time/11 a.m. PT.
FOLLOW: Follow @PeppTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
