STARKVILLE, Miss. — Capping off the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend with a win, the Pepperdine men's tennis team fended off LSU 4-1 indoors at the Rula Tennis Pavilion in Starkville, Miss. on Sunday afternoon.
Winning the doubles point for the second-straight match, the Waves (2-2) took the doubles point from the Tigers (2-2) before David Fix, Linus Carlsson Halldin and Edward Winter won in singles to seal the win. Sunday was Pepperdine's 10th win over LSU and the program's first Power-4 win of the year.
Thanks to Aleksa Pisaric and Lasse Poertner, the Waves took an early lead in doubles with the freshmen winning 6-2 on court three. The duo overpowered Andrej Loncarevic and Sasa Markovic throughout the match, then Pisaric clinched the win with an ace for the duo's third win of the year.
Results on the next two courts were anything but straightforward. After both Pepperdine teams led by a break early, the Waves needed to fend off their opponents in tiebreakers. Carlsson Halldin and Maxi Homberg got off the court first, as the Waves' duo dug out of an 0-2 hole in the breaker to win 7-6 (3). A Homberg backhand gave Pepperdine a 3-2 lead the Waves wouldn't relinquish, then the Waves finished the tiebreak on a 4-1 run to cap off the win.
With a 1-0 lead in singles, the Waves won five first sets and gave LSU little room to make a comeback.
Fix was the first player off the court in singles with his 6-4, 6-3 win over Enzo Kohlmann. The freshman broke Kohlmann on deuce point to win the first set, then Fix won a break point in the sixth game to go up 4-2 in the second set. In the ninth and final game, Fix held serve on deuce point and sealed the win with an overhead winner at the center service line.
Although LSU got on the board with a win on court five, Carlsson Halldin prevailed in a straight-set, 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory over Calin Stirbu. Carlsson Halldin turned the tide of the match in the breaker by rattling off six consecutive points to take a 6-1 lead before wrapping up the first set two points later. The Pepperdine captain won a pivotal break point midway through the second set, then broke Stirbu again for a 5-3 lead before finishing him off with an ace on match point.
With Pepperdine up on two of the final three courts, Edward Winter wrapped up his straight-set match on court one to clinch for the Waves. The Australian sophomore showed resolve in the first set, as he rallied back from a 3-1 deficit to win the breaker, 7-4.
Serving down 2-1 in the second set, Winter came back from a 30-0 deficit to hold serve, then Winter won a pivotal break point for a 3-2 lead in the next game. From there, Winter broke Lofman again in the seventh game, giving him a 5-2 lead heading into his final service game.
On match point, Winter held serve on deuce point when Lofman returned a cross-court forehand long. Winter's 7-6 (4), 6-2 win is his first ranked singles win of the season so far.
Pepperdine returns home for a two-match homestand this weekend, starting with a PCH Cup rivalry match against LMU on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Waves will also host Texas A&M the next day at 2 p.m. All schedule updates can be found on the men's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
RESULTS
Singles
1. Edward Winter (PEPP) def. #75 Aleksi Lofman (LSU) 7-6 (4), 6-2
2. Sasa Markovic (LSU) vs. #36 Maxi Homberg (PEPP) 3-6, 6-4, 3-2, unfinished
3. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) def. Calin Stirbu (LSU) 7-6 (2), 6-3
4. Alessio Vasquez (LSU) vs. Lasse Poertner (PEPP) 3-6, 6-6 (7-7), unfinished
5. #99 Julien Penzlin (LSU) def. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) 7-5, 6-2
6. David Fix (PEPP) def. Enzo Kohlmann (LSU) 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 6,5,3,1*
Doubles
1. #28 Julien Penzlin/Aleksi Lofman (LSU) vs. Edward Winter/Hugh Winter (PEPP) 6-6, unfinished
2. Linus Carlsson Halldin/Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Enzo Kohlmann/Alessio Vasquez (LSU) 7-6 (3)
3. Lasse Poertner/Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. Andrej Loncarevic/Sasa Markovic (LSU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,2*
