SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The #39 Pepperdine men's tennis team fell 4-1 against the #12 University of San Diego Toreros in a match between the West Coast Conference's top two teams on Friday afternoon.
The Waves (7-10, 1-1 WCC) managed to put one singles win on the board thanks to #121 Pietro Fellin upsetting #100 Iiro Vasa at the second position, plus Pepperdine pushed two matches to a third set, yet the Toreros (15-2, 2-0 WCC) clinched the match in a tiebreak on court six.
In doubles play, the Waves and Toreros took big leads on courts one and three, respectively, which made the doubles point appear to come down to the match on court two between Pepperdine's duo of Edward Winter and Fellin against USD's Oliver Tarvet and Stian Klaassen. However, after the Toreros won 6-2 at the third doubles position, their team of Sacchitt Sharrma and Vasa fended off match point three times en route to taking a 6-5 lead. Leading in both matches, USD took the doubles point with a 6-3 win on court two.
San Diego didn't relent in singles, as five of the six Toreros won their first sets. At the second position, #121 Fellin was a bright spot for the Waves, as he dispatched Vasa in a 6-4, 6-4, straight-set win for his fifth-straight win. Unfortunately for Pepperdine, the Toreros made the score 3-1 with wins on courts four and one.
Needing to win all three remaining singles matches for the upset, Linus Carlsson Halldin and Zach Stephens bounced back to win their second sets and force their matches to go the distance, but Pepperdine ran out of chances when Stian Klaassen clinched the match with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win at the sixth position.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #7 Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. #35 Edward Winter (PEPP) 6-2, 6-2
2. #121 Pietro Fellin (PEPP) def. #100 Iiro Vasa (USD) 6-4, 6-4
3. Lambert Ruland (USD) vs. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) 6-4, 4-6, 2-2, unfinished
4. Savriyan Danilov (USD) def. George Davis (PEPP) 6-3, 6-3
5. Sacchitt Sharrma (USD) vs. Zach Stephens (PEPP) 6-4, 3-6, 3-1, unfinished
6. Stian Klaassen (USD) def. Robert Shelton (PEPP) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Order of finish: 4,1,2,6*
Doubles
1. Sacchitt Sharrma/Iiro Vasa (USD) vs. George Davis/Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) 6-5, unfinished
2. Stian Klaassen/Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. Pietro Fellin/Edward Winter (PEPP) 6-3
3. Savriyan Danilov/Lambert Ruland (USD) def. Chris Papa/Zach Stephens (PEPP) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,2
UP NEXT: Pepperdine heads to LMU on Saturday, April 6 in a PCH Cup rivalry match. First serve is scheduled for noon.
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