MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine men’s tennis team got the 2011 USTA/ITA Division I Men’s Southwest Regional started off on the right foot, winning seven of the day’s 10 matches. In singles, Daniel Moss, Sebastian Fanselow, Finn Tearney, Hugh Clarke, and Mousheg Hovhannisyan and all advanced to the third round.
The morning opened with a single round of doubles. Moss (Malibu, Calif./Malibu HS) and David Sofaer (Bellevue Hill, Australia/Sydney Distance Education HS) defeated Axel Bouillin and Greg Scott of UC Santa Barbara 8-6.
The duo continues second-round action tomorrow, along with top-seeded Fanselow (Essen, Germany/Kaplan College Prep) and Jenson Turner (Woodland Hill, Calif./Campbell Hall HS) and #2-seed Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) and Clarke (Brisbane, Australia/Brisbane Boys College) who both received a first-round byes.
In singles, Moss began the day with a 6-2, 6-2 win versus Sai Kartik Nakireddi before eliminating Loyola Marymount’s Nicholas Bjerke in straight sets. Tomorrow the senior will take on the #9 seed, Clarke Spinosa.
Fanselow, who entered the tournament as the top seed and defending Southwest Regional singles champion, topped the Toreros’ Andrew Raphaelson 6-2, 6-1. On the schedule tomorrow is a match with Derek Siddiqui of San Diego State.
Tearney was challenged by Nick Papac of Fresno State in the first set, but managed to win the opener by a score of 7-4 in the tiebreaker. The junior found his rhythm and shut Papac down in the second frame, 6-0.
In the court adjacent to Tearney, Clarke was battling with Pacific’s Ivan Castro. After dropping the first set 5-7, Clarke relied on his strong play at the net to win the next two stanzas 6-2, 6-4.
Hovhannisyan cruised through to the round of 32, following a 6-4, 6-1 victory versus Hawaii’s Charlie Rice. Standing between him and the round of 16 is David Ayoun of Fresno State. The two are scheduled to face off tomorrow at noon.
Action at the USTA/ITA Southwest Regional Championship resumes tomorrow. Fans can visit the Tournament Central, where results and brackets will be updated throughout the day.
USTA/ITA Div. I Southwest Regional Championships
Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011
Doubles – Round 1
Daniel Moss/David Sofaer – Pepperdine def. Axel Bouillin/Greg Scott – UCSB, 8-6
(Fanselow/Turner and Tearney/Clarke granted first-round bye)
Singles – Round 1
Daniel Moss – Pepperdine def. Sai Kartik Nakireddi – Fresno St. – 6-2, 6-2
(Fanselow, Tearney, Hovhannisyan, Clarke, Sofaer, Tanaka-Tamaki and Turner granted a first-round bye)
Singles – Round 2
Sebastian Fanselow - PEP (1) def. Andrew Raphaelson – USD, 6-2, 6-1
Alex Wilton – LMU def. Jenson Turner - PEP (17), 6-2, 6-2
Andre Dome - Cal Poly (4) def. Kento Tanaka-Tamaki – PEP, 6-0, 6-2
Patrick Pohlmann - USD (11) def. David Sofaer, 7-5, 6-3
Mousheg Hovhannisyan - PEP (10) def. Charlie Rice – Hawaii, 6-4, 6-1
Finn Tearney - PEP (3) def. Nick Papac - Fresno St., 7-6 (4), 6-0
Daniel Moss – PEP def. Nicholas Bjerke – LMU, 6-4, 6-3
Hugh Clarke - PEP (17) def. Ivan Castro – Pacific, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
