MALIBU, Calif. — After pulling a big upset over #9 Texas A&M, the #25 Pepperdine men's tennis team looks to continue its positive momentum in the Grand Canyon State with matches against #24 Arizona State and #11 Arizona this week.
The Waves begin their road trip against #24 Arizona State on Thursday at 4 p.m. PT, then they'll wrap things up with another top-10 matchup at #10 Arizona on Sunday at 11 am. PT. All pertinent links can be found on the men's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
MATCH 7: #25 Pepperdine (4-2) at #24 Arizona State (3-2) | Thursday, Feb. 6 | 4 p.m. PT | Whiteman Tennis Center | Tempe, Ariz.
MATCH 8: #25 Pepperdine (4-2) vs. #10 Arizona (5-1) | Sunday, Feb. 9 | 11 a.m. PT | LaNelle Robson Tennis Center | Tucson, Ariz.
SCOUTING THE WAVES
Coming off an emphatic 6-1 upset win over #9 Texas A&M, the Pepperdine Waves have plenty of positive momentum going into this road trip. With freshmen playing with confidence across the lineup, lights-out doubles play and a four-match win streak, the Waves could be gunning for a top-25 spot in the ITA rankings if they continue these trends.
Two road matches against Big 12 opponents will be a litmus test for Adam Schaechterle's squad. While the Waves have two Power-4 wins under their belts — and the top-10 win over the Aggies — those wins were indoors and at sea level. Playing at altitude in uncomfortable environments will present different challenges to the Waves.
However, this four-match win streak has been very beneficial to this young team.
The Waves' heralded freshman class has made immediate contributions: Reigning West Coast Conference Singles Player of the Week Aleksa Pisaric clinched both matches last weekend and has been playing solid doubles with fellow freshman Lasse Poertner lately. With a team-best 5-1 record, Pisaric and Poertner have overpowered opponents at the bottom of the doubles ladder. Fellow freshman Hugh Winter gives Pepperdine a bonafide top doubles team with older brother Edward Winter. Not to be overlooked, David Fix is one of three Waves with three-match win streaks going into this week.
The other two players with three-match win streaks aren't bad either. Sophomore Edward Winter clinched Pepperdine's win against LSU with a ranked win over #75 Aleksi Lofman, then he handed star Texas A&M freshman Theo Papamalamis in three sets to cap off Pepperdine's memorable upset. He will likely enter the singles rankings soon. Elsewhere, Linus Carlsson Halldin also carries a three-match win streak at the third position, giving Pepperdine three experienced players in the top half of the lineup with All-American #32 Maxi Homberg.
Pepperdine's returners have recent Arizona-related experiences. Winter, Homberg, Carlsson Halldin and Chris Papa were in the lineup against ASU last season. During the NCAA Tournament, Pepperdine was sent to Arizona's LaNelle Robson Tennis Center for the first round, where they faced Auburn. Both matches were 4-3 losses for the Waves. But they'll get a chance for revenge this week.
ACROSS THE NET
Arizona State is learning the hard way what a difference one month makes in a college tennis season.
At the beginning of January, the Sun Devils were a top-25 team with one of the best young American tennis players in Murphy Cassone and six returners from last year's NCAA Tournament team.
Now, the Sun Devils have to finish out the season without Cassone, who turned pro on Jan. 24, and will need to rely on Bor Artnak and transfers Mathis Bondaz (VCU) and Matic Dimic (Alabama) to replace Cassone's guaranteed production atop the lineup. Coming off a 4-0 sweep against #12 Kentucky at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, the Sun Devils look to reverse course with three home matches this week.
Artnak, who was a top-70 singles player last season, has a 2-3 record atop the lineup in Cassone's absence, yet the player with the most wins is Daniel Phillips, a sophomore at the bottom of the singles ladder. Although his 1-2 record doesn't show it, Bondaz was a top-50 singles player at VCU last year with six wins over ranked opponents. Doubles play has been a strength for the Sun Devils lately; the top two positions in the lineup have a combined 7-3 record, however, the depth drops off at the third position, where ASU is 1-4. They have two ranked teams: #55 Bor Artnak and Matic Dimic, plus #69 Finn Willwerth and Roi Ginat.
ASU leads the all-time series 17-11 and beat the Waves 4-3 in Malibu last year. However, Pepperdine boasts an 8-4 record in Whiteman Tennis Center.
Arizona, on the other hand, can claim probably the best 1-2 punch in college tennis with #3 Colton Smith and #5 Jay Friend — the former of whom cracked into the ATP top 300 last week, while the latter is the fifth-ranked player in the nation. Both players made the NCAA Singles Championships in the spring and fall of 2024, Smith made the spring 2024 Final Four and Friend made the fall quarterfinals.
But it takes more than two players to earn four points in a match. The Wildcats learned this the hard way against UCF in the ITA Kickoff Weekend final: Friend and Smith won in straights atop the lineup, yet the Knights took the doubles point and beat up the middle of the Wildcat lineup for the shocking 4-3 upset.
Left out of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, the Wildcats might be seeing red this week. Home matches against Utah State and LMU will ramp up to Sunday's match against Pepperdine, which could serve as a resume-building win for the Wildcats. Arizona will need someone in the middle of the lineup — #55 Zoran Ludoski, #83 Oskar Jansson, Casper Christensen and Filip Gustafsson — to improve to fend off the Waves.
WHAT'S NEXT
Pepperdine returns to Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center to host cross-town rival USC on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. All schedule updates can be found on the men's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
