MALIBU, Calif. — No. 23 Pepperdine men's tennis (1-0) opened the season with a 4-3 victory at home over Florida Atlantic (1-2) Sunday afternoon from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
The Waves secured the win early with a 4-0 scoreline, after securing the doubles point and three two-set singles victories. The Owls won the remaining three matches, with two coming via third sets played as a ten-point tiebreak.
Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida earned his first collegiate victories in both singles and doubles for the Waves in the win, with David Fix and Hugh Winter also securing singles wins.
"We were a bit loose with errors and sloppy in our point structure today. We will work to tighten that up before Kickoff Weekend," said Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle following the match. "But, Florida Atlantic is a strong program that has spent most of the last three years inside the top-50 nationally. It was great to see Gustavo earn his first collegiate wins. But, the MVP today was Hugh Winter, who stepped up in a big way. He's a team first player and we needed him today. It was great to see him get the job done."
Fix and Almeida began the day for the Waves with a 6-4 at flight three in doubles, with Hugh Winter and Maxi Homberg winning 7-5 on court two to decide the doubles point. Lasse Poertner and Aleksa Pisaric's match at flight one went unfinished.
Fix made quick work in his singles match next, dropping just three games across a (6-1, 6-2) victory at flight five which put the Waves ahead 2-0. Hugh Winter followed on court six with a convincing (6-4, 6-1) triumph, pushing the Waves lead to 3-0.
At flight four, Almeida eventually prevailed in a battle of a first set by a 7-5 scoreline, which finished with all other matches well into the second set. Wearing down his opponent, Almeida cruised to a 6-0 win in set two to clinch the team victory for the Waves while earning his first collegiate singles win.
Homberg and Pisaric each forced a decisive third set after dropping set one, which was played as a ten-point tiebreak, with the Owls securing the wins in each to get on the board. Poertner fell at flight two soon after in three sets, bringing the final scoreline to 4-3.
The Waves secure a season-opening for the second time in the past six seasons, as Pepperdine once again boasts one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in the country. The Waves now boast a 32-14 record at home over the past five seasons.
FULL RESULTS
Doubles
1. Aleksa Pisaric/Lasse Poertner (PEPP) vs. Marek Pazdera/Mark Havlicek (FAU) 5-6, unfinished
2. Hugh Winter/Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Segundo Goity Zapico/Simon Myslivec (FAU) 7-5
3. David Fix/Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP) def. Vanja Hodzic/Lucca Pignaton (FAU) 6-4
Order of finish: 3,2
Singles
1. Mark Havlicek (FAU) def. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0
2. Segundo Goity Zapico (FAU) def. Lasse Poertner (PEPP) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Marek Pazdera (FAU) def. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) 6-2, 3-6, 1-0
4. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP) def. Vanja Hodzic (FAU) 7-5, 6-0
5. David Fix (PEPP) def. Luca Miremont (FAU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Hugh Winter (PEPP) def. Bullion Sharp (FAU) 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 5,6,4,1,3,2
The Waves will head to Tucson, Arizona next for ITA Kickoff Weekend, matching up with No. 22 Florida State on Saturday, before taking on either No. 11 Arizona or LSU Sunday. The team to go 2-0 on the weekend will secure a spot at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships held from Feb. 13-16 in Waco, Texas.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE MEN'S TENNIS
Pepperdine men's tennis has a longstanding tradition of success, highlighted by an NCAA Championship in 2006 which came 54 years after its first NAIA Championship in 1952. Robbie Weiss recorded the program's first NCAA singles championship in 1988 after the program saw doubles national championships in 1984 and 1985. 44-time WCC Champions, Pepperdine has reached 40 NCAA Tournaments and six NCAA Regionals in its history with 53 total All-Americans.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine men's tennis news, follow the Waves on social media: @PepperdineMTEN.
