SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The #53 Pepperdine men's tennis team made quick work of the #75 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos with a 6-1 road win on Thursday afternoon.
The Waves (3-6) excelled across the board not only by handing the Gauchos (3-3) their second doubles point loss of the season, but also with five singles wins — four of which were in straight sets.
Singles play was all Pepperdine. Freshman #34 Edward Winter won another match against a top-20 opponent with a three-set victory over #20 Pablo Masjuan, Maxi Homberg won his fourth-consecutive match and Zach Stephens clinched for the second time at the sixth position this season. Elsewhere, Linus Carlsson Halldin picked up a win at the third position, while Robert Shelton won his first singles match of the year.
Although the Gauchos took a 1-0 lead with a doubles win on court one, Pietro Fellin and Winter evened the score in the doubles point at the third position with a 6-2 win over Kai Brady and Lucca Liu. The duo held on deuce point for a 4-2 lead in the sixth game and didn't look back en route to winning their third-straight doubles match. Shortly thereafter on court two, Carlsson Halldin and George Davis put away Luka Mrsic and Conrad Brown 6-4 to clinch the doubles point.
Pepperdine carried that momentum into singles play, where four Waves won their first sets against the Gauchos. Homberg flew through his first set against Mrsic with a 6-4 win, then broke Mrsic immediately in the second set as he cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the fourth position. Carlsson Halldin picked up a straight-set, 6-3, 6-3 win over Lucca Liu to put Pepperdine up 3-0, then for the second time in his young collegiate career, Stephens came through and clinched for the Waves with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court six.
The rest of the matches were played out. At the fifth position, Shelton came back after losing the first set to beat Kai Brady 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 for his first singles win of the season. Meanwhile on court one, Winter picked up his second win over a top-20 opponent this spring with a three-set win over Masjuan. The freshman rolled in the first set by winning the first breakpoint and dominating in a 6-1 first-set win. Although Masjuan evened the score in the second set, Winter came back and won the third set 6-3.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #34 Edward Winter (PEPP) def. #20 Pablo Masjuan (UCSB) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
2. Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB) def. Pietro Fellin (PEPP) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-1)
3. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) def. Lucca Liu (UCSB) 6-3, 6-3
4. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Luka Mrsic (UCSB) 6-4, 6-2
5. Robert Shelton (PEPP) def. Kai Brady (UCSB) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Zach Stephens (PEPP) def. Conrad Brown (UCSB) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
1. #34 Pablo Masjuan/Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB) def. Chris Papa/Maxi Homberg (PEPP) 6-0
2. Linus Carlsson Halldin/George Davis (PEPP) def. Luka Mrsic/Conrad Brown (UCSB) 6-4
3. Pietro Fellin/Edward Winter (PEPP) def. Kai Brady/Lucca Liu (UCSB) 6-2
Order of finish: 1,3,2
UP NEXT: The Waves compete at the Pacific Coast Doubles Tournament, held at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club from Feb. 29-March 3.
FOLLOW: Follow @PeppTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
