Pepperdine University
Michigan
Fix Finishes Off No. 39 Michigan as No. 27 Men’s Tennis Advances to Second Round of NCAA Tournament
5/1/2026 6:30:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BATON ROUGE, La. - No. 27 Pepperdine men's tennis (18-9, 6-1 WCC) went tooth-and-nail with No. 37 Michigan but prevailed in a 4-2 victory over the Wolverines. Michigan ends its season with an overall record of 13-11 while the blue and orange move to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Pepperdine will take on No. 7 LSU tomorrow at 5 p.m. CT / 3 p.m. PT for a spot in the NCAA Super Regionals.
The Waves claimed the doubles point early and then picked up singles wins from Maxi Homberg, Lasse Poertner and David Fix to extend the season.
"I give a lot of credit to our administration supporting our east coast trip over spring break," said Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle. "It's hard to see us beating Michigan indoors today without those Ivy battles under our belt. We are peaking at the best time. Another great doubles point and an excellent team win today. We have a group of hungry dogs and we are excited for tomorrow."
The 49th-ranked duo of Edward Winter and David Fix opened doubles action with a 6-4 win over Pierce Shaya and Max Dahlin.Â
Not long after, Maxi Homberg and Aleksa Pisaric clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 victory over Nicholas Steighlehner and Mert Oral.Â
Freshman Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida and Lasse Poertner went unfinished against Alex Cairo and Bjorn Swenson but held a 5-3 advantage.
Moving to singles, Homberg posted the first victory of the day with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court five, putting Pepperdine ahead 2-0.
The lead for the Waves would increase to 3-0, as Poertner earned a two-set win next. He defeated No. 49 Bjorn Swenson 6-0 in the first set before a 7-0 win in a second set tiebreak.
The Wolverines continued to fight, earning wins on court three and one, pushing the match to a 3-2 scoreline in favor of Pepperdine.
Both Fix and Almeida were tasked with third sets, as the Waves needed on move victory to secure the win.
On court six, it was Fix who got the key break early on and held his serve down the stretch to win his match, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, and give Pepperdine a 4-2 victory.
Almeida was deadlocked at 5-5 in the third set when the match was clinched, after winning set one 6-1 and falling 4-6 in the second.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 49 Edward Winter/David Fix (PEPP) def. Pierce Shaya/Max Dahlin (MICH): 6-4
2. Gustavo Almeida/Lasse Poertner (PEPP) vs. Alex Cairo/Bjorn Swenson (MICH): 5-3, unfinished
3. Maxi Homberg/Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. Nicholas Steiglehner/Mert Oral (MICH): 6-3
Order of finish: 1,3
Singles
1. No. 7 Max Dahlin (MICH) def. Edward Winter (PEPP): 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5)Â
2. Lasse Poertner (PEPP) def. No. 49 Bjorn Swenson (MICH): 6-0, 7-6 (7-0)
3. Mert Oral (MICH) def. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP): 6-3, 0-6, 6-2
4. Gustavo Riberio de Almeida (PEPP) vs. Nicholas Steiglehner (MICH): 6-1, 4-6, 5-5, unfinished
5. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Alex Cairo (MICH): 6-3, 6-2
6. David Fix (PEPP) def. Arnav Bhandari (MICH): 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
Order of finish: 5,2,3,1,6
Pepperdine will take on No. 7 LSU in a true road match tomorrow at 3 p.m. PT in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Follow along with live video and stats at this link for tomorrow's match.
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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Players Mentioned
