MALIBU, Calif. — Playing against its second consecutive top-10 opponent, the #40 Pepperdine men's tennis team fell 4-1 to the #10 Harvard Crimson at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on Friday afternoon.
Despite playing a close doubles point, in which all three matches were determined by late breakpoint opportunities, the Crimson (12-4) clinched the doubles point with a tiebreak victory on court three before winning three singles matches in straight sets. When Harvard clinched, Pietro Fellin put the Waves (5-8) on the board with his 6-4, 6-2 victory at the third position.
In the tightly contested doubles point, the Waves struck first as Linus Carlsson Halldin and George Davis broke Cooper Williams and Ronan Jachuck for a 5-3 lead in the eighth game. From there, the duo held serve en route to winning their fourth-consecutive match and giving Pepperdine an early advantage in doubles.
However, the Crimson won a late breakpoint at the second position to win 6-4, leaving it up to Fellin and Chris Papa playing in their first doubles match together at the third position to make a comeback in their match against Alan Yim and Masato Perera. The Waves duo trailed by a break early, yet they broke the Crimson on deuce point and consolidated the break in the eighth game for a 4-4 tie.
From there, the match was played on serve into a tiebreak. Several shots from Papa at the net helped the Waves take a 2-1 lead, yet the Crimson would rattle off three straight points to take a 4-2 lead at the changeover. Unfortunately for Pepperdine, the Waves wouldn't get any closer as the Crimson clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 (3) win.
Harvard carried that momentum into singles play. Although Pepperdine and Harvard won three first-sets apiece across singles, a 10-minute stretch in the second set that saw the Crimson win at the second and fifth positions swung the momentum in the visitors' favor.
One bright spot for Pepperdine was Fellin, who blazed through his first set against Ronan Jachuck to win 6-2. In the second set, Fellin broke Jachuck for a 3-2 lead, then consolidated the break on deuce point with a slew of backhands that set up a forehand, which Jachuck returned wide. Both players held serve from then on; as #24 Edward Winter tried fending off match point on the first position, Fellin held serve in the final game to win his match — albeit moments after the Crimson clinched with a win at the first position.
RESULTS
Singles
1. Henry von der Schulenburg (HARVARD) def. #24 Edward Winter (PEPP) 7-5, 6-2
2. #104 David Milavsky (HARVARD) def. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) 6-4, 6-2
3. Pietro Fellin (PEPP) def. Ronan Jachuck (HARVARD) 6-2, 6-4
4. George Davis (PEPP) vs. Melchior Delloye (HARVARD) 6-4, 3-6, unfinished
5. Rohan Murali (HARVARD) def. Zach Stephens (PEPP) 6-3, 6-4
6. Robert Shelton (PEPP) vs. Masato Perera (HARVARD) 6-4, 3-5, unfinished
Order of finish: 2,5,1*,3
Doubles
1. Linus Carlsson Halldin/George Davis (PEPP) def. Cooper Williams/Ronan Jachuck (HARVARD) 6-3
2. Daniel Lins/David Milavsky (HARVARD) def. Tyler Davis/Edward Winter (PEPP) 6-4
3. Alan Yim/Masato Perera (HARVARD) def. Chris Papa/Pietro Fellin (PEPP) 7-6 (3)
Order of finish: 1,2,3
UP NEXT: The Waves host #2 TCU on Sunday at 3 p.m. as the second half of a doubleheader with the women's team, which hosts #12 California at 11 a.m.
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