MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine men's tennis team sent seniors George Davis, Tyler Davis, Pietro Fellin and Robert Shelton off with two home wins against San Francisco and Portland on Senior Day.
The Waves (11-10, 5-1 West Coast Conference) began Monday with a 4-0 sweep over the Dons (6-13, 0-7 WCC) in what could be the final meeting between the two programs, as the Dons tennis program will be discontinued at the end of the season. Later that afternoon, the Waves finished off Portland with a 4-2 win, capped off by Edward Winter clinching on court one. At 5-1 in conference play, Pepperdine is still firmly in the hunt for the WCC regular-season title after Monday's matches.
Pepperdine's first match against San Francisco was brisk, as both teams agreed to play singles first. Although three of the Waves won their first sets en route to the sweep, Pepperdine won three singles matches in three sets.
Fittingly, Pepperdine went up 3-0 on the Dons thanks to three singles wins from seniors. Shelton got the Waves on the board with his straight-set win over Davide Cortmiglia at the fifth position. Shelton broke Cortmiglia in the tenth game to win the first set 6-4, then he went up a break in the fourth game by breaking Cortmiglia on deuce point. The Pepperdine senior faced little resistance the rest of the way, as he broke Cortmiglia in the final game for his 6-4, 6-2 win.
On court two, Fellin won his match in straight sets for his seventh consecutive singles victory with his 7-5, 6-4 win over Paul Theate. Moments after Fellin wrapped up his match, George Davis completed his three-set comeback win over Giovanni Branchetti at the third position.
Although George Davis went down a break early in the second set, the fifth-year senior broke Branchetti in the third game, then proceeded to win the next five games for a 6-2, second-set win. George Davis needed to rally once more in the third set, as he trailed 4-2 before breaking Branchetti and consolidating the break to tie the match in the eighth game. The Pepperdine graduate transfer then broke Branchetti and held serve to cap off his 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory.
Minutes later, Zach Stephens clinched the match with his three-set win over Asaf Friedler. In an all-freshman battle, Stephens bounced back after losing the first set 6-4 to take the second set 6-3. The third game was all Stephens, who quickly went up a break and didn't look back in his 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win.
In the Waves' second match against Portland, they went up in doubles play thanks to Fellin and Winter's convincing 6-1 win at the first position. While the Pilots evened the score on the third position, George Davis and Photos Photiades' victory over Nicolas Ocana and Nikola Keremedchiev at the second position clinched the doubles point for Pepperdine. Their match was on serve until the Waves broke the Pilots in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead. The Waves consolidated the break in the next game, then the match continued on serve until the ninth game when Pepperdine finished off its 6-3 win with Photiades behind the service line.
The Waves didn't relent in singles. Five of the six Waves won their first sets and Pepperdine quickly gained a 3-0 advantage with a pair of straight-set wins in singles. Like they did in the previous game, the Waves seniors got the job done in their matches, as George Davis and Fellin won in straight sets.
On court three, George Davis finished his last home match on a high note with his straight-set win over Luka Vukovic. George Davis broke Vukovic to start the match, but Vukovic broke back and consolidated the break to put the match back on serve. However, the Pepperdine graduate senior went on to win another break point over Vukovic and eventually win his first set 6-3. In the second set, the match was on serve until George Davis broke Vukovic in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead. George Davis went on to win another break point over Vukovic in the final game for his 6-3, 6-3 win.
At the second position, fellow senior Fellin blazed through his first set against Nicolas Ocana, breaking the Portland senior in the eighth game to win the first set 6-2. In the second set, Ocana broke Fellin for a 2-1 lead, yet Fellin broke back in the next game and consolidated the break for a 3-2 lead. From there, the Pepperdine senior didn't look back, as he won the next three games to cap off his 6-2, 6-2 win.
Portland would win matches on courts four and six to pull within a point of the Waves. Needing to win just one of the remaining two singles matches — both of which were in their third sets — the Waves finished off Senior Day with Winter's three-set win over Oscar Brown on court one. Winter won his first set in a 6-3 rout that wasn't as close as the score indicated; the Pepperdine freshman led 5-1 before Brown won a pair of late games to extend the set. In the second set, Winter had several opportunities to put Brown away in straight sets, yet Brown countered with a 7-5 second-set win.
But the third set was all Winter, who broke Brown in the third game for a 2-1 lead, then held on deuce point after a tightly contested fourth game. Winter broke Brown again, then used his serve to win all four points and take a 5-1 lead. Brown made one more push by holding on deuce point in the seventh game, but Winter finished off his 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win by holding serve in the next game.
PEPPERDINE VS. SAN FRANCISCO RESULTS
Singles
1. #46 Edward Winter (PEPP) vs. Moritz Hoffman (USF) 4-6, 6-3, 3-3, unfinished
2. #121 Pietro Fellin (PEPP) def. Paul Theate (USF) 7-5, 6-4
3. George Davis (PEPP) def. Giovanni Branchetti (USF) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. Zach Stephens (PEPP) def. Asaf Friedler (USF) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
5. Robert Shelton (PEPP) def. Davide Cortimiglia (USF) 6-4, 6-2
6. Chris Papa (PEPP) vs. Roman Lafond (USF) 6-3, 3-6, 3-5, unfinished
Order of finish: 5,2,3,4*
PEPPERDINE VS. PORTLAND RESULTS
Singles
1. #46 Edward Winter (PEPP) def. Oscar Brown (PORT) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
2. #121 Pietro Fellin (PEPP) def. Nicolas Ocana (PORT) 6-2, 6-2
3. George Davis (PEPP) def. Luka Vukovic (PORT) 6-3, 6-3
4. Maxim Groysman (PORT) def. Zach Stephens (PEPP) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. Robert Shelton (PEPP) vs. Nikola Keremedchiev (PORT) 6-4, 5-7, 3-3, unfinished
6. Stefan Skobelev (PORT) def. Photos Photiades (PEPP) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Order of finish: 3,2,4,6,1*
Doubles
1. Edward Winter/Pietro Fellin (PEPP) def. Luka Vukovic/Nikolas Tvedt (PORT), 6-1
2. George Davis/Photos Photiades (PEPP) def. Nicolas Ocana/Nikola Keremedchiev (PORT), 6-3
3. Oscar Brown/Stefan Skobelev (PORT) def. Chris Papa/Zach Stephens (PEPP), 6-3
Order of finish: 2,3,1
UP NEXT: Pepperdine heads to Saint Mary's and Pacific to wrap up WCC play this Friday and Sunday, respectively.
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