INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — After a long East Coast road trip, the No. 27 Pepperdine men's tennis team had their first match back in California in a month at the UTR Sports Collegiate Championships at the BNP.
 
The Waves were battling No. 19 Arizona State, a squad that the navy blue and orange faced off against earlier this spring and was able to defeat. It was an absolute scorcher in Indian Wells on Friday and will continue to be all weekend, as the teams competed in temperatures that reached the upper 90s.
 
"Thank you to UTR Sports and BNP Paribas for the opportunity to compete at one of the most prestigious tennis events in the world," said Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle. "We played a great doubles point and then Arizona State flipped the match in the first hour of singles. It turned into an epic dogfight in the last 30 minutes. Proud of Gustavo for his attitude and mentality. He had a tough east coast trip and it was great to see him learn and grow. We needed somebody to put a point on the board, and his singles match helped set the stage for Aleksa and Lasse."
 
Pepperdine was able to win the doubles point off of Aleksa Pisaric's serve, which proved to be crucial. Pisaric was on the doubles team with Lasse Poertner and won 6-4, while Edward Winter and Hugh Winter improved to 6-1 in doubles with a 6-3 victory.
 
Edward Winter fell in straight sets on flight one (3-6, 1-6) to ASU's Bor Artnak, who is ranked 116th in the country.
 
On the second flight, No. 95-ranked Lasse Poertner had a dramatic battle with Sun Devils senior Shu Matsuoka (6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3). Poertner took a medical timeout due to cramps before coming back from down 0-3 to win six straight and defeat Matsuoka, who also dealt with cramps. Poertner's ability to fight the cramps wound up winning Pepperdine the match.
 
Pisaric carried his success from doubles into his singles match, where he was able to take down Ofek Shimanov in a third set on the third flight (4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4). Pisaric dropped the first set before winning on tiebreaker in set two, ending his match with a victory in the third.
 
Maxi Homberg took a tough loss on the fourth flight, falling in straight sets (4-6, 4-6) to Jelani Sarr.
 
Freshman Gustavo Ribeiro De Almeida played a factor in the win, defeating ASU's sophomore from Serbia, Milos Mikovic, in straight sets (6-2, 6-4).
 
David Fix, the reigning WCC Singles Player of the Week, fell in two sets to Roi Ginat (6-2, 6-3) on flight six.
 
"Aleksa and Lasse are so fully bought into the team and to our program," continued Schaechterle. "They love competing together and it felt like today they just knew that they were going to make it happen together. I have been coaching for 20 years, and 99 percent of the players I have coached would have retired in the situation Lasse was in physically today. I asked him multiple times to retire, but he wouldn't let me. He just wanted it so badly for the team, and he found a way."
 
RESULTS
Singles
1. No. 116 Bor Artnak (ASU) def. Edward Winter (PEPP): 6-3, 6-1
2. No. 95 Lasse Poertner (PEPP) def. Shu Matsuoka (ASU): 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3
3. No. 119 Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. Ofek Shimanov (ASU): 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4
4. Jelani Sarr (ASU) def. Maxi Homberg (PEPP): 6-4, 6-4
5. Gustavo Ribeiro De Almeida (PEPP) def. Milos Mikovic (ASU): 6-2, 6-4
6. Roi Ginat (ASU) def. David Fix (PEPP): 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: 1,5,4,6,3,2
 
Doubles
1. No. 83 Aleksa Pisaric & Lasse Poertner vs. Bor Artnak & Shu Matsuoka 6-4
2. Edward Winter & Hugh Winter vs. Roi Ginat & Niels Villard: 6-3
3. Maxi Homberg & Gustavo Ribeiro De Almeida vs. Ofek Shimanov & Milos Mikovic: 5-5, abandoned
Order of finish: 2,1
 
The Waves will play on Sunday at 10am PT against the winner of the Baylor-Memphis match, which happens tomorrow.
 
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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