SAN FRANCISCO — On the first day of the Battle in the Bay Classic, Maxi Homberg and Chris Papa of the Pepperdine men's tennis team opened up the fall season with a first-round doubles win, plus Papa advanced in the singles draw on Thursday.

Competing at the California Tennis Club, the Pepperdine duo beat Boise State's Jett Middleton and Lukas Velik 8-7 (5) to reach the quarterfinals, which takes place Friday at 10 a.m. Thursday's win was the fourth in a row for Homberg and Papa, whose win streak dates back to the 2024 postseason. The Waves will square off against UC Santa Barbara's Gianluca Brunkow and Dominique Rolland, who upset top-seeded Pedro Vives and Lui Maxted of TCU in the first round. 

Later on Thursday, Papa beat Lorenzo Esquici of Texas Tech 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the opening round of the singles draw. The three-set win was not only Papa's second career win over a Power-4 opponent but also the lone singles win for the Waves. Elsewhere in singles, #103 Homberg fell in the first round to Derrick Chen of Cal in three sets.

Papa will play #39 Lui Maxted of TCU in the round of 16 tomorrow at 11 a.m. Should he beat Maxted, Papa will also play in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. In a matchup of ranked opponents, Homberg will take on Illinois junior #42 Kenta Miyoshi in the consolation draw at 2 p.m.

RESULTS

Doubles Round of 16
Maxi Homberg/Chris Papa (PEPP) def. Jett Middleton/Lukas Velik (BSU), 8-7 (5)

Singles Round of 32
Derrick Chen (CAL) def. #103 Maxi Homberg (PEPP), 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
Chris Papa (PEPP) def. Lorenzo Esquici (TTU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

FRIDAY'S MATCHES

Quarterfinals
Maxi Homberg/Chris Papa (PEPP) vs. #45 Gianluca Brunkow/Dominique Rolland (UCSB), 10 a.m. PT

Singles Round of 16
Chris Papa (PEPP) vs. #39 Lui Maxted (TCU), 11 a.m. PT