LA JOLLA, Calif. — Kicking off its long weekend at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, the #23 Pepperdine men's tennis team fended off #62 Rice in a 4-1 neutral-site win on Thursday afternoon.
After a tightly contested doubles point, the Waves (7-5, 1-0 West Coast Conference) won four first sets to finish off the Owls (7-4, 1-0 American Athletic Conference). Edward Winter and Lasse Poertner won in straight sets, then Maxi Homberg clinched the match with another straight-set victory.
The Owls took a sizable lead on two of the three doubles courts and dealt the first blow with a win at the third position. But shortly after the Owls took the lead, Edward Winter and Hugh Winter countered with a 6-4 win over Petro Kuzmenok and Santiago Navarro on court one.
With the doubles point in the balance, Pepperdine's team of #67 Linus Carlsson Halldin and Homberg shook off a slow start and rallied against Rice's team of Kabeer Kapasi and Yair Sarouk on court two.
Facing deuce points in three consecutive games, the Waves and Owls traded breaks midway through the set until the Owls eventually took a 5-2 lead. With their backs against the wall, Homberg and Carlsson Halldin won three-straight games to put the match back on serve.
After holding serve on deuce point in the twelfth game, the Waves bolted out to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker and didn't look back. With Carlsson Halldin behind the service line, Pepperdine clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 (3) win on court two.
Pepperdine went on to win four first sets in singles play, however, the match was much closer than the scores indicated. The Owls forced first-set tiebreaks in two of the top three singles matches, while the Waves won three sets by a break or more.
On court one, #76 Edward Winter quickly put the Waves up 2-0 with his 6-3, 6-1 win over Arthus de la Bassetiere. Moments after the sophomore's sixth win of the spring season, the Waves got another straight-set win from Poertner, who beat former Pacific Tiger Tommy Czaplinski 6-3, 6-2.
Although the Owls managed to get on the board with a three-set win on court six, Pepperdine was either up or tied on the remaining three courts. Pepperdine junior #53 Homberg eventually got the job done against Petro Kuzmenok. Homberg and Kuzmenok were knotted at 3-3 in the tiebreaker before Homberg won four-straight points to wrap up the first set. Then in the second set, the match was played on serve for the first six games before Homberg pulled away with his 7-6 (3), 6-3 match-clinching victory.
Pepperdine will stay in La Jolla for the 136th Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship, which runs through Sunday. The Waves return to dual match play with a home contest against #34 Vanderbilt on Sunday, March 9 at 11 a.m.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #76 Edward Winter (PEPP) def. Arthus de la Bassetiere (RICE) 6-3, 6-1
2. #53 Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Petro Kuzmenok (RICE) 7-6 (3), 6-3
3. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) vs. Santiago Navarro (RICE) 6-7, 6-3, 1-1 unfinished
4. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) vs. Emir Sendogan (RICE) 6-3, 5-5, unfinished
5. Lasse Poertner (PEPP) def. Tommy Czaplinski (RICE) 6-3, 6-2
6. Kabeer Kapasi (RICE) def. Chris Papa (PEPP) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 1,5,6,2*
Doubles
1. Edward Winter/Hugh Winter (PEPP) def. Petro Kuzmenok/Santiago Navarro (RICE) 6-4
2. #67 Linus Carlsson Halldin/Maxi Homberg def. Kabeer Kapasi/Yair Sarouk (RICE) 7-6(3)
3. Arthus de la Bassetiere/Eduardo Morais (RICE) def. Aleksa Pisaric/Lasse Poertner (PEPP) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,1,2*
