MALIBU, Calif. — Lightning strikes twice in Malibu.
For the second time this season, the ninth-ranked team in the country came into Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center and left with a lopsided loss at the hands of the Pepperdine men's tennis team. This time, the victim was the Columbia Lions, who the No. 21 Waves upset 4-1 under the lights on Thursday night.
From the first serve onward, the match was a night to remember for the Waves (11-6). Pepperdine blitzed the Lions (10-4) in the doubles point, saw sophomore Edward Winter upset defending NCAA Singles Champion and the nation's top player Michael Zheng in straight sets, then finished the job with wins from Lasse Poertner and Linus Carlsson Halldin.
With the win, Pepperdine has notched multiple top-10 wins in two seasons under head coach Adam Schaechterle (the first was in 2022).
Playing under the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center lights for the first time in years, the Waves put on a show for the crowd.
On court one, Edward and Hugh Winter gave the Waves an early edge in doubles, picking up their second nationally ranked win over No. 35 Zheng and Nicolas Kotzen 6-2. The brothers didn't disappoint: They broke the Lions in back-to-back service games to go up 5-2 before Hugh Winter served out the 6-2 win.
One court over, the Waves' veteran duo of Carlsson Halldin and Maxi Homberg played a close match with Sachin Palta and Max Westphal. Although the Lions broke the Waves in the fifth game, the Waves broke back to tie the match at four games apiece.
Both teams held serve into a tiebreak, where the Waves quickly went up 2-0. Despite the Lions coming back to tie the score at two all, they couldn't get a read on Homberg's returns as the breaker progressed; Pepperdine rattled off four-straight points to take a 6-2 lead before Columbia mounted a comeback. Yet Columbia's comeback attempt was too little, too late. With Homberg serving from the ad side on match point, Carlsson Halldin lunged for a forehand at the net on the deuce side that the Lions couldn't return.
With the doubles point in hand, the Waves found themselves locked in a tight first set with the Lions in singles play. Although Columbia and Pepperdine each won three sets apiece, No. 28 Edward Winter blazed through his first set over No. 1 Michael Zheng on court one.
Just as the match looked like it would be a marathon between the two teams, Winter broke Zheng in the fourth game, then quickly consolidated the break for a 4-1 lead. Zheng's ability to grind out three-set matches and get back into the match loomed, yet that didn't matter to Winter. With his dazzling array of drop shots, passing shots and his backhand clicking, the sophomore broke Zheng again for a 5-1 lead before most matches hit the halfway point of the first set.
But Zheng found his level and broke Winter in the seventh game before consolidating the break for 5-3. The two-time NCAA singles finalist's comeback seemed imminent as he went up 40-0 in Winter's next service game.
Yet Winter had other ideas.
The Australian capped off a long exchange with a series of forehands on the next point. He outlasted Zheng in a 14-hit rally after the Columbia star netted a Winter forehand. Then on deciding point, Zheng's return went long, sealing the 6-3 first-set win for Winter.
Midway through Winter's second set, Columbia got on the board with a straight-set win on court six. And, for the majority of the second set, it appeared Zheng found his level. As both top-30 players kept the match on serve, it appeared that the second set would be determined by a single break point.
Finally, in the 11th game, Winter broke through. He broke Zheng for a 6-5 lead, then went back to serve out one of the biggest matches of his career. Zheng fought off one match point at 40-15 by winning a long exchange, yet that would be his final offering. After serving from the deuce side, Winter ripped a forehand, then rushed to the service line just in time to see Zheng's return sail over his head and out of bounds. Winter's 6-3, 7-5 win was just the second time Zheng has lost in straight sets this season.
For the next ten minutes, it was a matter of when — not if — Pepperdine was going to clinch.
After outlasting No. 123 Max Westphal in a 7-6 (4) first set on court three, Lasse Poertner sped through his second set against the Columbia junior. Poertner had a chance to break Westphal for the match in the sixth game, yet Westphal held serve and Poertner served out his 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory for his first-ranked win of the season.
Moments later on court one, Carlsson Halldin was up 7-5, 5-4 on No. 59 Hugo Hashimoto on court four. Carlsson Halldin's first set was determined by a late break point, but his second set wasn't as close as the final score indicated. The senior captain broke Hashimoto for a 5-2 lead in the second set, yet Hashimoto fought back to keep his team's hopes alive. Hashimoto broke back, then saved a match point on deciding point in the ninth game, giving Carlsson Halldin a chance to serve out the match.
The Pepperdine senior obliged. On match point, Carlsson Halldin rocketed an ace on the ad side, capping off the Waves' 4-1 upset win.
Pepperdine will begin West Coast Conference play on the road at No. 71 Santa Clara on Sunday, March 30. First serve is scheduled for noon. All schedule updates can be found on the men's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #28 Edward Winter (PEPPM) def. #1 Michael Zheng (COL) 6-3, 7-5
2. #66 Maxi Homberg PEPPM) vs. #42 Nicolas Kotzen (COL) 1-6, 7-5, 3-1, unfinished
3. Lasse Poertner (PEPPM) def. #123 Max Westphal (COL) 7-6 (4), 6-2
4. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPPM) def. #59 Hugo Hashimoto (COL) 7-5, 6-4
5. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPPM) vs. Sachin Palta (COL) 3-6, 6-3, 2-0, unfinished
6. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL) def. David Fix (PEPPM) 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 6,1,3,4*
Doubles
1. Edward Winter/Hugh Winter (PEPPM) def. #35 Nicolas Kotzen/Michael Zheng (COL) 6-2
2. Linus Carlsson Halldin/Maxi Homberg (PEPPM) def. Sachin Palta/Max Westphal (COL) 7-6 (5)
3. Aleksa Pisaric/Lasse Poertner (PEPPM) vs. Hugo Hashimoto/Jayden Templeman (COL) 6-6, unfinished
Order of finish: 1,2*
