SAN DIEGO, Calif. — No need to sweat it out this time.
Less than a week removed from the #39 Pepperdine men's tennis team's down-to-the-wire, 4-3 win at #56 Pacific, the Waves rode the momentum from the doubles point to sweep the Tigers 4-0 in the West Coast Conference semifinals on Friday afternoon.
In an afternoon that saw five singles matches have a tiebreak set, graduate senior George Davis clinched the match for the Waves with his 6-3, 7-6 (2) win over Ran Amar at the fifth position. Remarkably, all five Pepperdine players won their tiebreak sets en route to the sweep.
The win brings the Waves (14-10, 6-1 WCC) back to the championship match, where they will face off against San Diego for the third straight year. Meanwhile, the Tigers (16-5, 5-3 WCC) — who were on the bubble before facing Pepperdine twice this week — will hold their collective breath to find their postseason fate during next Monday's NCAA Selection Show.
Before singles play, Pepperdine established itself in doubles play with two convincing wins to clinch the doubles point. Over on court three, Edward Winter and Pietro Fellin blanked Tiago Silva and Christof Schaertlin Coffey 6-0 to give Pepperdine a quick advantage in doubles.
But the story of the doubles point took place on court two. Making his return to the court after being sidelined with an injury for most of the spring, sophomore Maxi Homberg teamed up with Chris Papa to clinch the doubles point with their 6-3 win over Terence Das and Tommy Czaplinski. The Pepperdine duo used their fast-paced play and athleticism up at the net to win several deuce points in an entertaining, energetic match.
The Tigers went up a break early, yet the Waves found their footing in the fourth game as they broke the Tigers on deuce point to tie the match at two games apiece. Pepperdine consolidated the break and broke the Tigers again in the sixth game, then Papa's serving helped the Waves take a 5-2 lead. Although Pacific held serve, Homberg's work behind the service line helped set up Papa in the sixth game as the duo held serve for the 6-3 win.
Everything clicked for the Waves after that. All six Pepperdine players won their first sets in singles, making it an uphill battle the rest of the way for the Tigers.
At the third position, Linus Carlsson Halldin dug his way out of an early deficit to force the first of five tiebreak sets for Pepperdine in his match against Tiago Silva. Playing in his second breaker against Silva in the last five days, Carlsson Halldin stormed back after trailing 4-2 to tie the score at 4-4. Both players kept things close and took a 6-6 tie into the changeover, but Carlsson Halldin sealed the deal by winning the next two points to take the first set 7-6 (6).
Both players traded breaks to start the second set, then Carlson Halldin held serve and went up a break in the fourth game to take a lead he wouldn't relinquish. The match was played on serve from that point forward, and Carlsson Halldin avenged his earlier loss to Silva when it mattered most with his 7-6 (6), 6-3 win.
Like Carlsson Halldin, freshman Zach Stephens gutted out a first-set tiebreaker en route to his straight-set win at the fourth position over Terence Das. Playing in his first collegiate postseason match, Stephens broke Das in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead, then needed to weather Das' comeback attempt as the Pacific redshirt sophomore forced a tiebreak set. But the breaker was all Stephens, who won his first set 7-6 (3) and rode that momentum to break Das to start the second set. Stephens went up a break in the fourth game and didn't look back as he gave Pepperdine a 3-0 lead with his 7-6 (3), 6-2 win.
Threatening to wrap up the match with leads on all four remaining courts, Davis answered the call for the Waves. Playing in his first WCC Tournament match, the William & Mary transfer won the first three games before Amar responded by winning the next three games to even the score. However, Davis broke Amar in the seventh game, consolidated the break, and broke Amar in the ninth game to win the first set.
The second set was much closer. After trailing three games in the second set, Davis rallied to break Amar in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. Although Amar broke back to put the match back on serve — and eventually force a tiebreak — the breaker was all Davis, as the graduate senior clinched the match with his 6-3, 7-6 (2) win.
When Davis clinched, Pepperdine forced match points on all three remaining singles matches: Winter was up 5-2 in the third set over Peter Alam at the first position, Fellin had a 6-5 lead in the second set and Robert Shelton had a 5-3 lead in the second set over Andre Rodeia.
Tomorrow's championship match against #18 San Diego will take place at 10 a.m. at the Aztec Tennis Center. Admission is free to the public.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #48 Edward Winter (PEPP) vs. Peter Alam (PAC), 6-2, 4-6, 5-2, unfinished
2. #122 Pietro Fellin (PEPP) vs. Justus Trainauskas (PAC) 7-6 (3), 6-5, unfinished
3. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) def. Tiago Silva (PAC), 7-6 (6), 6-3
4. Zach Stephens (PEPP) def. Terence Das (PAC), 7-6 (3), 6-2
5. George Davis (PEPP) def. Ran Amar (PAC), 6-3, 7-6 (2)
6. Robert Shelton (PEPP) vs. Andre Rodeia (PAC), 7-6 (7), 5-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 3,4,5*
Doubles
1. Linus Carlsson Halldin/George Davis (PEPP) vs. Peter Alam/Justas Trainauskas (PAC)
2. Maxi Homberg/Chris Papa (PEPP) def. Terence Das/Tommy Czaplinski (PAC), 6-3
3. Pietro Fellin/Edward Winter (PEPP) def. Tiago Silva/Christof Schaertlin Coffey (PAC), 6-0
Order of finish: 3,2
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