MALIBU, Calif. — The No. 28 Pepperdine men's tennis team honored seniors Linus Carlsson Halldin and Chris Papa with a 4-0 sweep of the Saint Mary's Gaels at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Waves (15-9, 5-2 WCC) handled the Gaels (5-16, 2-6 WCC) in doubles play, then rolled in singles with three straight-set wins. Pepperdine got straight-set wins from Papa and David Fix before Hugh Winter clinched the match with his 6-0, 6-2 win on court five.
Fittingly, Papa was instrumental in helping the Waves win the doubles point on his Senior Day. The graduate student teamed up with Fix for a big win at the third position to give the Waves a quick lead in doubles. Papa and Fix took a double-break lead in the fourth game and didn't look back. On match point, Fix and Papa advanced to the net and Papa broke the Gaels for the 6-1 win.
With Pepperdine leading on both remaining courts, freshmen Aleksa Pisaric and Lasse Poertner pulled through on court two by beating Bastien Maxant and Thibaud Maxant 6-4 to clinch the doubles point.
Pepperdine won all six first sets in singles play and quickly put the match out of reach for the Gaels. Over on court six, Papa wrapped up his 6-0 first-set win before most matches were midway through the first set. The fifth-year senior had little trouble dispatching Aidan Watt in the second set. Papa broke Watt for the match in the sixth game to cap off his 6-0, 6-0 Senior Day win.
One court over, Fix had an equally drama-free match against Bastien Maxant. The freshman gave up just one service game early in the first set, then took a double-break lead en route to winning 6-1. Fix blanked Maxant in the second set, giving Pepperdine a 3-0 lead with his 6-1, 6-0 rout.
Freshman Hugh Winter came through on court five to clinch the match for the Waves with his 6-0, 6-2 win over Francisco Duran. Winter shut out Duran 6-0 and was the second Wave to finish his first set, and although Duran won two games in the second set, Winter breezed through the match. When Winter clinched, the Waves were up on all three remaining matches.
Pepperdine will turn its attention to the West Coast Conference Championships, held at San Diego State's Aztec Tennis Center from April 24-26. All schedule updates can be found on the men's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #25 Edward Winter (PEPP) vs. Thibaud Maxant (SMC) 6-3, 4-1, unfinished
2. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) vs. Finn Dyer (SMC) 6-4, 1-2, unfinished
3. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) vs. Pierre Lieutaud (SMC) 6-3, 1-2, unfinished
4. David Fix (PEPP) def. Bastien Maxant (SMC) 6-1, 6-0
5. Hugh Winter (PEPP) def. Francisco Duran (SMC) 6-0, 6-2
6. Chris Papa (PEPP) def. Aidan Watt (SMC) 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: 6,4,5*
Doubles
#60 Edward Winter/Hugh Winter (PEPP) vs. Carlos Ramos Membriv/Ellison Greco (SMC) 5-3, unfinished
2. Aleksa Pisaric/Lasse Poertner (PEPP) def. Bastien Maxant/Thibaud Maxant (SMC) 6-4
3. Chris Papa/David Fix (PEPP) def. Finn Dyer/Pierre Lieutaud (SMC) 6-1
Order of finish: 3,1*
