MALIBU, Calif. — Capping off its six-match homestand, the #39 Pepperdine men's tennis team hosts Washington in the non-conference finale on Thursday before beginning West Coast Conference play against Gonzaga on Sunday.
First serve for both matches is scheduled for 1 p.m. Both matches will be live-streamed via PlaySight, and admission to Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center is free to the public. Live stream and live stat links can be found on the men's tennis team's schedule page at pepperdinewaves.com.
MATCH 15: #39 Pepperdine (5-9) vs. Washington (6-8) | Thursday, March 21 | 1 p.m. | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif.
MATCH 16: #39 Pepperdine (5-9) vs. Gonzaga (5-5, 0-1 WCC) | Sunday, March 24 | 1 p.m. | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif.
SCOUTING THE WAVES
Coming off three straight losses to top-10 teams at home, the #39 Waves are looking to right the ship on Thursday before opening WCC play against the Bulldogs. Although the Waves are 5-9, their schedule hasn't been easy: Pepperdine has played its last eight matches against nationally ranked teams and has gone 4-4 in that span.
Reigning WCC Doubles Team of the Week Linus Carlsson Halldin and George Davis enter this week on a four-match win streak — including the duo's first win over a ranked opponent with a 6-3 upset victory over #22 Max Westphal and Nicolas Kotzen of Columbia last Wednesday. Pepperdine has mixed up the doubles lineup over the last two matches, as Chris Papa and Pietro Fellin have held down the third position; whereas Point Loma transfer Tyler Davis joined Edward Winter at the second position. Last week the Waves won the doubles point twice, while the doubles point against the #10 Harvard Crimson came down to the final court.
In singles, Pepperdine boasts two nationally ranked players in #35 Winter and #121 Fellin, who entered the ITA rankings for the first time this season after going 2-0 last week with three unfinished matches. Fellin has a 2-1 record against ranked players this year and tried forcing a third set against #11 Jake Fearnley of TCU when the match was abandoned this past Sunday. He leads the team with six singles wins.
Elsewhere in the lineup, Carlsson Halldin has gone 5-3 with a pair of unfinished contests in his last 10 matches playing from the second through fourth positions. The Pepperdine captain has turned things around over the past month and has become a dependable No. 3 in the Waves lineup. He and Fellin were the only Waves to record multiple singles wins last week.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Arriving in Malibu looking to snap a four-match losing streak, the Washington Huskies have a 6-8 record — including a 2-2 record against WCC teams. Washington beat Gonzaga and Portland convincingly at home, but lost to San Diego 6-1 on the road in February and fell to Santa Clara 4-2 on Tuesday. Thursday's match caps off a two-match road swing against WCC schools for the Huskies.
The Huskies have no ranked singles players but one ranked doubles team: #49 Cesar Bouchelaghem and Dzianis Zharyn, who have a 4-5 record in dual match play at the first position. Washington has a 5-1 record when winning the doubles point this spring.
Of its singles players, Zharyn comes in with a four-match win streak and a 6-4 record in dual-match play while spending time at the first and second positions. The Huskies' singles win leader is senior Han-Chih Lin, who has 10 singles wins playing primarily at the third position.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Picked sixth in the WCC Preseason Polls, the Gonzaga Bulldogs head to Malibu in search of their first conference win; earlier this month, the Zags opened WCC play with a 7-0 loss at Portland. Before playing at Pepperdine on Sunday, the Bulldogs will travel to UC Irvine on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Sitting squarely at .500 with a 5-5 record, the unranked Gonzaga Bulldogs have no ranked singles players or doubles teams. In doubles, Matthew Hollingworth and Sasha Trkulja lead the team with a 4-1 record at the first position, whereas Pablo Gomez Galvan and Leon Roider carry a two-match win streak to Malibu. The Zags have only won the doubles point three times this spring. Gomez Galvan leads the Zags with six singles wins at the fourth position, while Trkulja isn't far behind with his 5-4 record atop Gonzaga's lineup.
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