INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Playing on one of tennis' biggest stages at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the No. 28 Pepperdine Waves fell short in a 4-3 loss to the No. 14 Baylor Bears in the 2025 UTR Sports Collegiate Championships at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday afternoon.
The crowd on hand to see the Waves (9-6) and Bears (13-6) duke it out in a three-and-a-half hour thriller was not disappointed. Four of the six singles matches had tiebreaks, and three of those matches went to third sets. Individually, Pepperdine's players showed great resolve. Despite dropping the doubles point, Lasse Poertner and Aleksa Pisaric overcame significant deficits to win in straight-sets, while No. 69 Edward Winter used a 7-6 (6) second-set win to beat No. 40 Devi Badenhorst in three sets.
Going into the match, the Waves knew the Bears would excel in doubles play. Baylor did take the doubles point at the second and third positions, yet the Waves responded by winning four first sets.
Lasse Poertner got off the court first for the Waves. Facing Alexandru Chirita on court four, Poertner took a double-break lead that he maintained throughout his 6-1 first set win.
However, Chirita returned the favor in the second set and found his level to go up 3-0. But Poertner rallied. The freshman broke Chirita in the fifth game to out the match back on serve, then broke him again at deuce for a 5-4 lead. From there, Poertner and Chirita traded breaks before Poertner served out his 6-1, 7-5 victory.
Although Baylor reclaimed the lead with a straight-set win on court three, Pepperdine tied the score again with Aleksa Pisaric's 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over Louis Bowden on court five. Despite falling behind a break in the first set, Pisaric climbed back into the match to take a 4-3 lead. With Chirita serving on deciding point in the eighth game, Pisaric flipped the script by breaking Chirita before both players traded breaks down the stretch.
After stealing a 6-4 first-set win over Chirita, Pisaric went up a break in the fourth game and stayed ahead for most of the set. Once again, Chirita and Pisaric traded breaks late in the set, but this time the players reached a tiebreak. Pisaric fell behind 2-1 but eventually rallied back to make the score 3-3 before rattling off four-consecutive points to win 6-4, 7-6 (3) and make the score 2-2.
While Pisaric was wrapping up his second set breaker, sophomore No. 69 Edward Winter was making an impressive comeback in the second set of his match against No. 40 Devin Badenhorst. Winter and Badenhorst traded breaks late in the second set and needed a tiebreak, which Winter won 7-6 (6).
Winter's comeback was critical not only for himself, but also for his team. Baylor won a three-set match on court six to take a 3-2 lead while Winter and Maxi Homberg were in their third sets. The Australian sophomore showed impressive resolve, breaking Badenhorst at deuce late in the final set before serving out his 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 come-from-behind win.
The match came down to a third-set tiebreaker on court two. Baylor's No. 96 Oskar Brostrom Poulsen saved three match points and eventually prevailed 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7) to fend off Pepperdine's upset bid.
Pepperdine stays in Indian Wells through the weekend to finish the 2025 UTR Sports Collegiate Championships against either No. 26 Princeton or No. 45 Arizona State. First serve is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #69 Edward Winter (PEPP) def. #40 Devin Badenhorst (BU) 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4
2. #96 Oskar Brostrom Poulsen (BU) #47 Maxi Homberg (PEPP) 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7)
3. #99 Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) 6-4, 6-4
4. Lasse Poertner (PEPP) def. Alexandru Chirita (BU) 6-1, 7-5
5. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. Louis Bowden (BU) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
6. Marko Miladinovic (BU) def. David Fix (PEPP) 4-6, 6-7(5), 6-2
Order of finish: 4,3,5,6,1,2*
Doubles
1. Edward Winter/Hugh Winter (PEPP) vs. #15 Marko Miladinovic/Oskar Brostrom Poulsen (BU) 2-5 unfinished
2. #79 Devin Badenhorst/Luc Koenig (BU) def. #72 Linus Carlsson Halldin/Maxi Homberg (PEPP) 6-2
3. Louis Bowden/Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. Aleksa Pisaric/Lasse Poertner (PEPP) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,2*
