MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — No. 27 Pepperdine men's tennis got back in the win column with a narrow 4-3 victory over Middle Tennessee State on Sunday afternoon. The win concludes a nearly two-week trip outside of California that started in New York City on February 27 at Columbia.
 
"Five road matches in a week, five cities, and five absolute battles," said Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle following the match. "We are appreciative of the support from Pepperdine to make this trip, which has been special on and off the court."
 
"We learned from every match," he continued. "And today, this group of eight guys sensed who they wanted to be as a team. It's taken longer than our coaching staff would have preferred. But, today they decided they don't care about conditions out of their control. Outdoors, indoors, delays, different balls, tough crowd, last match on. They just want to be reliable for each other and find a way. Today felt like the start of who this group wants to be."
 
The Waves won the doubles point, which proved to be the difference in the end. Maxi Homberg and Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida had no problems taking care of the Blue Raiders' Houston Jacques and Antoine Mayoral, winning handedly 6-1. Brothers Edward and Hugh Winter weren't far behind, defeating Eric Crivei and Jonasz Dziopak 6-3. No. 83 Aleksa Pisaric and Lasse Poertner were winning their doubles match 6-5 but it was abandoned after the Winters tallied the doubles point and Pepperdine took a 1-0 advantage.
 
In singles play, Edward Winter fell in a third set on flight one (2-6, 6-2, 6-2).
 
Lasse Poertner came up short against Karim Al-Amin in straight sets (6-2, 6-2) as Al-Amin tallied MTSU's second point.
 
On flight three, No. 124 Aleksa Pisaric extended the Waves' lead to 3-1 after finishing off Birtan Duran in a two-set victory (6-3, 6-4). Pisaric improved to a 9-8 record this season.
 
Homberg continued to have a successful day by taking down Dziopak in straight sets on flight four (6-1, 6-2).
 
Freshman Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida dropped his match in straight sets on the fifth flight, resulting in the score knotting at three apiece.
 
It all came down to David Fix on flight six, who was tied one set each against MTSU's Eric Crivei. Things looked bleak as Fix faced a 0-4 deficit in the third set before rallying in a reverse sweep, reigning victorious 6-4 as he laid on the ground in celebration after clinching the final point. His effort helped seal the deal in Pepperdine's 4-3 win over Middle Tennessee State.
 
RESULTS
Singles
1. Ondrej Horak (MTSU) def. Edward Winter (PEPP): 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Karim Al-Amin (MTSU) def. No. 100 Lasse Poertner (PEPP): 6-2, 6-3
3. No. 124 Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. Birtan Duran (MTSU): 6-3, 6-4
4. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Jonasz Dziopak (MTSU): 6-1, 6-2
5. Freddy Murray (MTSU) def. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP): 6-3, 6-4
6. David Fix (PEPP) def. Eric Crivei (MTSU): 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 4,2,3,5,1,6
 
Doubles
1. No. 80 Karim Al-Amin/Ondrej Horak MTSU) vs. #83 Aleksa Pisaric/Lasse Poertner (PEPP): 5-6, abandoned
2. Edward Winter/Hugh Winter (PEPP) def. Eric Crivei/Jonasz Dziopak (MTSU): 6-3
3. Maxi Homberg/Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP) def. Houston Jacques/Antoine Mayoral (MTSU): 6-1
Order of finish 3,2,1
 
The Waves will return to the court this Friday for the UTR Collegiate Championships at the BNP in Indian Wells, California.
 
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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