Friday, May 8
Waco, Texas
4:00 pm PT
Pepperdine University
3
at
4
Baylor
Photo by: Mia Pleasant
No. 27 Men's Tennis Comes Up Short at NCAA Super Regionals
5/8/2026 9:30:00 PM | Men's Tennis
WACO, Texas - No. 27 Pepperdine men's tennis (19-10, 6-1 WCC) fell short in a heartbreaker to No. 11 Baylor (25-9, 6-2 Big 12) in the NCAA Super Regionals on Friday night.
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"Special night in Waco," said Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle. "Awesome crowd. Two elite teams trading punches and putting on a show. A tremendous college match that I hope reminds everyone who watched what makes our sport special. I thought the Waves embraced the atmosphere and enjoyed the pressure exactly how we teach. The loss is too fresh to talk about perspective on the season. But I'm proud of the performance tonight."
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The Waves faced a 1-0 deficit after dropping the doubles point. Pepperdine had tough battles from David Fix and Edward Winter along with Lasse Poertner and Gustavo Almeida. Maxi Homberg and Aleksa Pisaric had a 5-4 advantage in their doubles match but went unfinished.
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Zsombor Velca defeated Poertner in singles to extend Baylor's lead to 2-0.
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With their backs against the wall early, the Waves never backed down. The freshman Almeida took care of Alexandru Chiritas handedly in straight sets (6-1, 6-2), getting Pepperdine on the board.
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Luc Koenig responded for the Bears with a win over Homberg (6-1, 6-4).
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On three, Pisaric came through constantly in the clutch, pulling out a nail-biting straight-sets victory over 53rd-ranked Connor Van Schalkwyk. It took a tiebreaker in each game, but Pisaric knotted the match at three apiece.
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It all came down to Edward Winter on flight one. He took set one against Devin Badenhorst (6-2), the 10th-ranked singles player in the country. Badenhorst answered with a narrow set two victory (7-5). An epic third set resulted in a tiebreaking situation. Winter played tug-of-war with Badenhorst during the first few games, but ultimately fell at the very end 7-5, and Pepperdine's magical postseason run came to an end.
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RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 69 Alexandru Chirita/Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. No. 49 David Fix/Edward Winter (PEPP): 6-3
2. No. 89 Luc Koenig/Connor Van Schalkwyk (BU) def. Lasse Poertner/Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP): 6-4
3. Devin Badenhorst/Calvin Baierl (BU) vs. Maxi Homberg/Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP): 4-5
Order of finish: 1,2
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Singles
1. No. 10 Devin Badenhorst (BU) def. Edward Winter (PEPP): 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
2. No. 51 Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. Lasse Poertner (PEPP): 6-1, 6-1
3. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. No. 53 Connor Van Schalkwyk (BU): 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (8-6)
4. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP) def. Alexandru Chirita (BU): 6-1, 6-2
5. Luc Koenig (BU) def. Maxi Homberg (PEPP): 6-1, 6-4
6. David Fix (PEPP) def. Louis Bowden (BU): 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 2,4,5,6,3,1
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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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"Special night in Waco," said Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle. "Awesome crowd. Two elite teams trading punches and putting on a show. A tremendous college match that I hope reminds everyone who watched what makes our sport special. I thought the Waves embraced the atmosphere and enjoyed the pressure exactly how we teach. The loss is too fresh to talk about perspective on the season. But I'm proud of the performance tonight."
Â
The Waves faced a 1-0 deficit after dropping the doubles point. Pepperdine had tough battles from David Fix and Edward Winter along with Lasse Poertner and Gustavo Almeida. Maxi Homberg and Aleksa Pisaric had a 5-4 advantage in their doubles match but went unfinished.
Â
Zsombor Velca defeated Poertner in singles to extend Baylor's lead to 2-0.
Â
With their backs against the wall early, the Waves never backed down. The freshman Almeida took care of Alexandru Chiritas handedly in straight sets (6-1, 6-2), getting Pepperdine on the board.
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Luc Koenig responded for the Bears with a win over Homberg (6-1, 6-4).
David Fix continued his dominance on the sixth flight, defeating Louis Bowden in straight sets (6-1, 6-2). He pulled Pepperdine to within a 3-2 deficit.Pisaric takes 3s and we've got a TIE MATCH IN WACO.
— Pepperdine Men's Tennis (@PepperdineMTEN) May 9, 2026
đź”—: https://t.co/gT88s928Ac#MakeWaves | @PepperdineWaves pic.twitter.com/1q7IJwea1Y
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On three, Pisaric came through constantly in the clutch, pulling out a nail-biting straight-sets victory over 53rd-ranked Connor Van Schalkwyk. It took a tiebreaker in each game, but Pisaric knotted the match at three apiece.
Â
It all came down to Edward Winter on flight one. He took set one against Devin Badenhorst (6-2), the 10th-ranked singles player in the country. Badenhorst answered with a narrow set two victory (7-5). An epic third set resulted in a tiebreaking situation. Winter played tug-of-war with Badenhorst during the first few games, but ultimately fell at the very end 7-5, and Pepperdine's magical postseason run came to an end.
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RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 69 Alexandru Chirita/Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. No. 49 David Fix/Edward Winter (PEPP): 6-3
2. No. 89 Luc Koenig/Connor Van Schalkwyk (BU) def. Lasse Poertner/Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP): 6-4
3. Devin Badenhorst/Calvin Baierl (BU) vs. Maxi Homberg/Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP): 4-5
Order of finish: 1,2
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Singles
1. No. 10 Devin Badenhorst (BU) def. Edward Winter (PEPP): 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
2. No. 51 Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. Lasse Poertner (PEPP): 6-1, 6-1
3. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) def. No. 53 Connor Van Schalkwyk (BU): 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (8-6)
4. Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida (PEPP) def. Alexandru Chirita (BU): 6-1, 6-2
5. Luc Koenig (BU) def. Maxi Homberg (PEPP): 6-1, 6-4
6. David Fix (PEPP) def. Louis Bowden (BU): 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 2,4,5,6,3,1
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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
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