COLLEGE STATION, Texas — In spite of mustering a valiant comeback attempt in singles play, the Pepperdine men's tennis team fell 4-3 at #11 Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon.
The Waves (2-6) rebounded from close defeats in the doubles point by notching three singles wins over the #11 Aggies (8-2). Sunday marked just the second time that Texas A&M's result came down to the final singles court. For the Waves, the match was the team's fifth 4-3 decision of the season.
Although Pietro Fellin and Edward Winter picked up their first win over a ranked opponent by beating #57 Raphael Perot and Tiago Pires 6-3, the other two courts were much closer affairs. The Aggies prevailed 6-4 at the first position, then the doubles point came down to court two, where Luke Casper and Kenner Taylor clinched the doubles point for Texas A&M with a 7-5 win.
The back half of Pepperdine's lineup answered the call in singles. Zach Stephens put Pepperdine on the board with his 6-4, 6-1 straight-set win over Texas A&M freshman Brayden Michna. Despite the Aggies taking a 3-1 lead, the Waves countered with Linus Carlsson Halldin's 7-6 (6), 6-2 win over Tiago Peres at the fourth position, then Maxi Homberg notched his third-straight victory with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 win over Luke Casper.
All eyes turned to the second position, where Fellin and #87 Togan Tokac were in their third set. Playing with his back against the wall trailing 5-2 in the third set, Fellin made a significant comeback by breaking Tokac on deuce point and consolidating the break. Fellin would go on to win a pivotal tenth game on another deuce point to extend the match, but his heroics weren't finished. With Tokac serving up six games to five, Fellin got behind 30-0, then rallied back to force deuce point before forcing a tiebreak set when Tokac's backhand return fell into the net.
In the tiebreak, Fellin went up 2-0 before Tokac surged ahead to win 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (3).
RESULTS
Singles
1. #69 Raphael Perot (TAMU) def. #34 Edward Winter (PEPP) 6-4, 6-2
2. #87 Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Pietro Fellin (PEPP) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (3)
3. #86 Giulio Perego (TAMU) def. Chris Papa (PEPP) 6-4, 6-2
4. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) def. Tiago Pires (TAMU) 7-6 (6), 6-2
5. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Luke Casper (TAMU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
6. Zach Stephens (PEPP) def. Brayden Michna (TAMU) 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 3,6,1,4,5,2*
Doubles
1. Giulio Perego/Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Maxi Homberg/Chris Papa (PEPP) 6-4
2. Luke Casper/Kenner Taylor (TAMU) def. George Davis/Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) 7-5
3. Pietro Fellin/Edward Winter (PEPP) def. #57 Raphael Perot/Tiago Pires (TAMU) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,1,2
UP NEXT: The Waves return to California to take on UC Santa Barbara on the road on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 11 a.m.
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