MALIBU, Calif. — No. 25 Pepperdine men's tennis (2-2) fell by a score of 4-2 to No. 17 Arizona (5-2) Friday evening from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

The Waves dropped the doubles point before evening the match at 2-2 with a pair of singles wins from Lasse Poertner and Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida, before the Wildcats claimed wins on one and six to secure the road victory.

"The boys are bought in, competing, and growing," said Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle following the match. "Our staff hasn't done a good enough job with coaching doubles and that hurt us today. But, I'm proud of the identity the team is building in how they dig and fight."

Playing their first doubles match of the season together, Edward Winter and Hugh Winter recorded a win on court two for the Waves, 6-4. The Wildcats were able to secure the doubles point after a win on one, before winning 7-5 on three. 

Poertner cruised to a two-set win (6-3, 6-0) on three to begin singles play, evening the match at 1-1. Poertner improved to 2-2 on the season in singles with the win.

Almeida picked up his second collegiate win next on five, dropping just four games across the two sets (6-2, 6-2). The Wildcats earned a win on four soon after in two sets, bringing the match to a 2-2 scoreline.

A premier matchup on one between fourth-ranked Jay Friend and Edward Winter saw the second set go to a pivotal tiebreak, after Friend posted a 6-4 triumph in the first set. The extended tiebreak went back and forth, with Friend eventually prevailing, 9-7, to put the Wildcats in position to clinch at 3-2.

On six, David Fix went to a third set, after winning 6-3 in the first and falling 6-1 in set two. Going up a break, the Wildcats' Alejandro Arcila was able to get a pair of breaks back, clinching the match with a 6-4 third set victory.

On two, Maxi Homberg's match went unfinished as he gave No. 58 Filip Gustafsson a deep run into the third set. Homberg fell 3-6 in set one before a dominant 6-1 win in set two. The third set had drawn even at 5-5 before being abandoned.

RESULTS
Doubles 
1. Glib Sekachov/Filip Gustaffson (ARIZ) def. No. 53 Aleksa Pisaric/Lasse Poertner (PEPP): 6-3
2. Edward Winter/Hugh Winter (PEPP) def. Zoran Ludoski/Alexander Rozin (ARIZ): 6-4
3. Jay Friend/Alejandro Acrila (ARIZ) def. No. 51 Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida/David Fix (PEPP): 7-5
Order of finish: 1,2,3

Singles
1. No. 4 Jay Friend (ARIZ) def. No. 88 Edward Winter (PEPP): 6-4, 7-6 (9-7)
2. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) ABN vs. No. 58 Fliip Gustafsson (ARIZ): 3-6, 6-1, 5-5
3. Lasse Poertner (PEPP) def. Alexander Rozin (ARIZ): 6-3, 6-0
4. Zoran Ludoski (ARIZ) def. No. 61 Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP): 7-5, 6-3
5. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP) def. Glib Sekachov (ARIZ): 6-2, 6-2
6. Alejandro Arcila (ARIZ) def. David Fix (PEPP): 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: 3,5,4,1,6

The Waves return Sunday for a home match against No. 24 Arizona State, with match time set for noon from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

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.

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