Saturday, April 25
Fairfield, Calif.
10:00 a.m. PT
Pepperdine University
3
vs
4
No. 1 San Diego
Photo by: Greg Bintz
No. 27 Men's Tennis Falls in WCC Tournament Championship
4/25/2026 5:50:00 PM | Men's Tennis
FAIRFIELD, Calif. - No. 27 Pepperdine men's tennis (17-9, 6-1 WCC) fell short of a WCC tournament championship in a 3-4 loss to San Diego (20-5, 6-1 WCC).
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"Absolutely gutted for the boys," said Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle. "We played our best doubles point when it mattered most, and put ourselves in winning positions on multiple courts. Just couldn't close it out. I'm proud of the boys for how they represented Pepperdine and our program. We look forward to the selection show on Monday, and now our focus turns to the NCAA tourney."
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Maxi Homberg and Aleksa Pisaric were victorious before Stian Klaassen and Oliver Tarvet responded with a win on two. In an epic battle, David Fix and Edward Winter secured the doubles point with an 8-6 tiebreaker over Lambert Ruland and Adrien Berrut. The Toreros had made a comeback but Fix and Winter hung on to pull ahead 7-6 before clinching the doubles point with the tiebreaker.
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The Waves started off singles scorching hot, as Fix manhandled Neo Niedner in straight sets, blanking him in both (6-0, 6-0). His victory extended Pepperdine's lead to 2-0.
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On four, Gustavo Almeida fell in straight sets (6-3, 6-2).
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Homberg responded for the Waves on flight five, extending Pepperdine's advantage to 3-1 following a win over Ruland (6-4, 6-4). Ruland had made a brief comeback in set two but Homberg stopped his momentum and carried out the final game for his victory.
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Edward Winter dropped the first set in his match against Tarvet and looked like he would steal the second set, but ultimately fell in straight sets (6-3, 6-3).
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The match picked up major steam on flight two, as Poertner was attempting to seal the deal and deliver the title for the Waves. After winning 6-0 in the first set, he fell 6-3 in set two. It was a seesaw battle in the third set, but the sophomore came up short 7-6 before dropping the tiebreaker 7-2, which knotted the match at three apiece.
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It all came down to Pisaric on flight three. He fell on a tiebreaker in the first set but rallied for a 7-5 victory in set two. His match was another epic battle and was the lone singles match remaining, moving to a tiebreaker again after a 7-6 loss in the third set. Pisaric raced out to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker and it looked like Pepperdine would be crowned champions. Moments later, Klaassen started a string of seven unanswered as Pisaric also cramped after going down 5-4. San Diego ended up winning the tiebreaker and came from behind to beat Pepperdine in the WCC Championship, 4-3.
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RESULTS
Doubles
1. David Fix/Edward Winter (PEPP) def. Lambert Ruland/Adrien Berrut (USD): 7-6 (8-6)
2. Stian Klaassen/Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida/Lasse Poertner (PEPP): 6-4
3. Maxi Homberg/Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. Manvydas Balciunas/Vincent Marysko (USD): 6-4
Order of finish: 3,2,1
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Singles
1. Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. Edward Winter (PEPP): 6-3, 6-3
2. Manvydas Balciunas (USD) def. Lasse Poertner (PEPP): 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
3. Stian Klaassen (USD) def. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP): 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 7-6 (7-4)
4. Adrien Berrut (USD) def. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP): 6-3, 6-2
5. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Lambert Ruland (USD): 6-4, 6-4
6. David Fix (PEPP) def. Neo Niedner (USD): 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: 6,4,5,1,2,3
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Pepperdine will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and find out their opponent during the NCAA Selection Show, which is on Monday, April 27 at 1:00 pm pacific time. The show will stream live on ncaa.com.
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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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FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine men's tennis news, follow the Waves on social media: @PepperdineMTEN.
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"Absolutely gutted for the boys," said Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle. "We played our best doubles point when it mattered most, and put ourselves in winning positions on multiple courts. Just couldn't close it out. I'm proud of the boys for how they represented Pepperdine and our program. We look forward to the selection show on Monday, and now our focus turns to the NCAA tourney."
Â
Maxi Homberg and Aleksa Pisaric were victorious before Stian Klaassen and Oliver Tarvet responded with a win on two. In an epic battle, David Fix and Edward Winter secured the doubles point with an 8-6 tiebreaker over Lambert Ruland and Adrien Berrut. The Toreros had made a comeback but Fix and Winter hung on to pull ahead 7-6 before clinching the doubles point with the tiebreaker.
Â
The Waves started off singles scorching hot, as Fix manhandled Neo Niedner in straight sets, blanking him in both (6-0, 6-0). His victory extended Pepperdine's lead to 2-0.
Â
On four, Gustavo Almeida fell in straight sets (6-3, 6-2).
Â
Homberg responded for the Waves on flight five, extending Pepperdine's advantage to 3-1 following a win over Ruland (6-4, 6-4). Ruland had made a brief comeback in set two but Homberg stopped his momentum and carried out the final game for his victory.
Â
Edward Winter dropped the first set in his match against Tarvet and looked like he would steal the second set, but ultimately fell in straight sets (6-3, 6-3).
Â
The match picked up major steam on flight two, as Poertner was attempting to seal the deal and deliver the title for the Waves. After winning 6-0 in the first set, he fell 6-3 in set two. It was a seesaw battle in the third set, but the sophomore came up short 7-6 before dropping the tiebreaker 7-2, which knotted the match at three apiece.
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It all came down to Pisaric on flight three. He fell on a tiebreaker in the first set but rallied for a 7-5 victory in set two. His match was another epic battle and was the lone singles match remaining, moving to a tiebreaker again after a 7-6 loss in the third set. Pisaric raced out to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker and it looked like Pepperdine would be crowned champions. Moments later, Klaassen started a string of seven unanswered as Pisaric also cramped after going down 5-4. San Diego ended up winning the tiebreaker and came from behind to beat Pepperdine in the WCC Championship, 4-3.
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RESULTS
Doubles
1. David Fix/Edward Winter (PEPP) def. Lambert Ruland/Adrien Berrut (USD): 7-6 (8-6)
2. Stian Klaassen/Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida/Lasse Poertner (PEPP): 6-4
3. Maxi Homberg/Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. Manvydas Balciunas/Vincent Marysko (USD): 6-4
Order of finish: 3,2,1
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Singles
1. Oliver Tarvet (USD) def. Edward Winter (PEPP): 6-3, 6-3
2. Manvydas Balciunas (USD) def. Lasse Poertner (PEPP): 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
3. Stian Klaassen (USD) def. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP): 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 7-6 (7-4)
4. Adrien Berrut (USD) def. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP): 6-3, 6-2
5. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Lambert Ruland (USD): 6-4, 6-4
6. David Fix (PEPP) def. Neo Niedner (USD): 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: 6,4,5,1,2,3
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Pepperdine will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and find out their opponent during the NCAA Selection Show, which is on Monday, April 27 at 1:00 pm pacific time. The show will stream live on ncaa.com.
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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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FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine men's tennis news, follow the Waves on social media: @PepperdineMTEN.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
