MALIBU, Calif. — Playing its third-straight home match against a top-10 opponent, the #40 Pepperdine men's tennis team fell 4-0 to #2 TCU at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon.
The Horned Frogs (14-1) won the doubles point over the Waves (5-9), then won four first sets in singles play en route to the sweep. With the result, Pepperdine capped off four home matches in six days — all of which were against ranked opponents — before heading into this Thursday's non-conference finale against #74 Washington.
TCU won the doubles point with two big wins at the second and third positions. At the time the Horned Frogs clinched with a 6-2 win at the second position, Linus Carlsson Halldin and George Davis were looking to rally from a 4-5 deficit in a close match with #40 Duncan Chan and Lui Maxted at the first position.
Although TCU won four first sets in singles play, Pepperdine's Pietro Fellin took the first set from #11 Jake Fearnley at the first position with a 6-4 win. Over on the fifth position, George Davis also won his first set by grinding out a marathon of a tiebreaker to win 7-6 (8) over Duncan Chan. Despite trailing 4-3, the match was played on serve from that point forward to force a tiebreak. In the tight tiebreaker, Davis broke an 8-8 tie by outlasting Chan on consecutive rallies for his first-set victory.
Unfortunately for Pepperdine, TCU won a quick match at the fourth position to go up 2-0, then took a 3-0 lead with a win at the first position. Facing match point, Carlsson Halldin and Robert Shelton both extended their matches momentarily on courts three and six, respectively, before TCU's Maxted bested Carlsson Halldin to clinch the match. When Maxted clinched, Fellin's match against Fearnley was heading for a third set, while Davis aimed to rally after trailing 3-2 in the second set.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #10 Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. #24 Edward Winter (PEPP) 6-2, 6-4
2. Pietro Fellin (PEPP) vs. #11 Jake Fearnley (TCU) 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
3. #87 Lui Maxted (TCU) vs. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP), 6-2, 6-4
4. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) def. Chris Papa (PEPP) 6-2, 6-0
5. George Davis (PEPP) vs. Duncan Chan (TCU) 7-6 (8), 2-3, unfinished
6. Julian Alonso (TCU) def. Robert Shelton (PEPP) 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
Order of finish: 4,1,3*
Doubles
1. Linus Carlsson Halldin/George Davis (PEPP) vs. #40 Duncan Chan/Lui Maxted (TCU) 4-5, unfinished
2. Tomas Jirousek/Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. Edward Winter/Tyler Davis (PEPP) 6-2
3. Pedro Vives/Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. Chris Papa/Pietro Fellin (PEPP) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,2
UP NEXT: Pepperdine hosts #74 Washington on Thursday for the non-conference regular-season finale at 1 p.m. The Waves then cap off their six-match homestand with the West Coast Conference opener against Gonzaga on Sunday, March 24 at 1 p.m.
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