MALIBU, Calif. — In a brisk match that clocked in at under two-and-a-half hours, the #39 Pepperdine men's tennis team swept the visiting Gonzaga Bulldogs for their first win in West Coast Conference play on Sunday.
The Waves (7-9, 1-0 WCC) shut out the Bulldogs (5-7, 0-2 WCC) thanks to winning the doubles point, then winning five first-sets in singles en route to the 4-0 sweep. Zach Stephens got the Waves on the board with his straight-set win, then the top of the lineup clinched the match with victories in short succession from Linus Carlsson Halldin and #121 Pietro Fellin. Pepperdine has won its last five conference-opening matches.
Doubles play saw the Waves face little resistance from the Zags on courts one and three. Chris Papa and Stephens won their first doubles match as a duo with a 6-2 win over Oscar Rashed and Gus Krauel at the third position. Rashed and Krauel broke the Waves in the first game, yet the Pepperdine duo broke back and consolidated the break to take a 2-1 lead. Although the Bulldogs broke back in the next game, Papa and Stephens eventually broke the Bulldogs on deuce point for a 4-2 lead that they wouldn't relinquish. The duo would hold serve, then break the Bulldogs for their first win of the season.
At the first position, Carlsson Halldin and George Davis beat Sasha Trkulja and Matthew Hollingworth to clinch the doubles point. The match was played on serve until the Waves broke the Bulldogs for a 3-1 lead in the fourth game. From there, the Waves led by a break from that point forward and they would clinch the doubles point in a 6-2 win.
Singles play was all Pepperdine. Five of the Waves' six singles players won their first sets; nearly all of them were lopsided affairs. Stephens trailed Oscar Rashed 2-1 in his first set, yet he flipped the script on the match by winning the next four games. Rashed held in the eighth game, then Stephens held for a 6-3, come-from-behind, first-set win.
In the second set, Stephens broke Rashed and consolidated the break for a lead he would not relinquish. The Pepperdine freshman broke Rashed for 5-2, then held serve in the eighth game to cap off his 6-3, 6-2 win at the fifth position.
On court two, Carlsson Halldin went up a break early on Matthew Hollingworth, then led by as many as four games in the first set. Carlsson Halldin broke Hollingworth for a 5-1 lead, but both players traded breaks to cap off the Pepperdine captain's 6-2 first-set win.
The second was closer, albeit not by much. Like he had in the first set, Carlsson Halldin had an early lead in the second set before breaking Hollingworth in the eighth game to lead 5-3. Serving for the match, Carlsson Halldin held serve in the ninth game and capped off his straight-set win with several nifty moves at the net to win 6-2, 6-3.
Moments after Carlsson Halldin put the Waves up 3-0, #121 Fellin capped off his straight-set win over Sahsa Trkulja to clinch the match — his second-straight win after entering the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings last week. Fellin led for the entirety of his match.
After winning the first set 6-2, in which he was aided by Trkulja's double-fault on deuce point in the seventh game, Fellin left nothing to chance in his second set. The Pepperdine veteran went up a break early and bolted out to a 4-0 lead in the second set before Trkulja held serve in the fifth game. The match was played on serve from that point forward as Fellin cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win to seal the Waves' win.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #121 Pietro Fellin (PEPP) def. Sasha Trkulja (GU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) def. Matthew Hollingworth (GU) 6-2, 6-3
3. George Davis (PEPP) vs. Leon Roider (GU) 6-4, 2-3, unfinished
4. Robert Shelton (PEPP) vs. Pablo Gomez Galvan (GU) 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
5. Zach Stephens (PEPP) def. Oscar Rashed (GU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Chris Papa (PEPP) vs. Tom Dunlop (GU) 6-7 (4-7), 1-1, unfinished
Order of finish: 5,2,1*
Doubles
1. Linus Carlsson Halldin/George Davis (PEPP) def. Sasha Trkulja/Matthew Hollingworth (GU) 6-3
2. Tyler Davis/Pietro Fellin (PEPP) vs. Leon Roider/Pablo Gomez Galvan (GU) 3-4, unfinished
3. Zach Stephens/Chris Papa (PEPP) def. Oscar Rashed/Gus Krauel (GU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,1
UP NEXT: Pepperdine heads to San Diego for a critical WCC match at #12 San Diego on March 30.
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