NEW YORK, N.Y. - No. 20 Pepperdine men's tennis (5-5) fell to No. 27 Columbia (6-4) Friday evening in the Big Apple at Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center.
 
The match was close all around and saw three singles matches go to a third set.
 
Lasse Poertner and David Fix each tallied singles victories for the Waves as Pepperdine came up just short in the doubles point.
 
Columbia's Sachin Palta and Michael Zheng defeated Pepperdine's Fix and Maxi Homberg, giving the Lions the doubles point. Aleksa Pisaric and Poertner battled hard in their respective doubles match, tying 4-4 before abandoning after Columbia gained the edge in doubles.
 
Edward Winter battled hard on flight one but retired in the second set due to illness.
 
Fix also handled business by downing Jordan Chang on flight six in straight sets (6-1, 6-4) and was able to help Pepperdine tie the match at two points for each squad.
 
Poertner, ranked No. 111 in men's singles this week by ITA, impressed by defeating the No. 66-ranked Palta in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) at the No. 3 position, getting Pepperdine on the board.
 
Homberg went three sets but fell in the third (6-2, 3-6, 6-3) on flight two.
 
It was a tough draw for No. 111 Pisaric on flight four, dropping his match in three sets. He dropped the first set 6-3 before winning set two 6-2, ultimately falling 6-4 in the final set.
 
The theme of going three sets continued on five, as Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida took the first set 6-3 against Abhishek Thorat but dropped set two 2-6. It was back-and-forth in the third set but Almeida fell 6-4, which clinched the match for the Lions.
 
"It was a great college match like it always is with the Lions," said Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle. "Proud of Ed for doing everything he could to take the court for his teammates. And I'm also proud of Lasse, who is turning into a leader this spring. The Waves are excited for Harvard on Sunday."
 
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 53 Nicolas Kotzen/Andrew Ena (COL) vs. No. 75 Aleksa Pisaric/Lasse Poertner (PEP), 4-4 unfinished
2. David Fix/Maxi Homberg (PEP) def. Sachin Palta/Michael Zheng (COL), 6-3
3. Thanphat Boosarawongse/Abhishek Thorat (COL) def. Gustavo Almeida/Edward Winter (PEP), 6-2
Order of finish: 3,1
 
Singles
1. No. 6 Michael Zheng (COL) def. Edward Winter (PEP), 6-3, 3-0 ret.
2. No. 36 Nicolas Kotzen (COL) def. Maxi Homberg (PEP), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
3. No. 101 Lasse Poertner (PEP) def. No. 66 Sachin Palta (COL), 6-3, 6-3
4. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL) def. No. 111 Aleksa Pisaric (PEP), 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Abhishek Thorat (COL) def. Gustavo Almeida (PEP), 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
6. David Fix (PEP) def. Jordan Chang (COL), 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: 1,6,3,2,4,5
The Waves will have a chance to bounce back on Sunday at No. 40 Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. The match is scheduled for 10 a.m. PT.

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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