SAN DIEGO – The #10 Pepperdine men’s tennis team made short work of San Francisco in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament, shutting out the Dons 4-0.
The Waves got a leg up on the Dons by winning the doubles point, something they were denied of in the regular-season meeting between the two squads.
Although USF did put up a commendable fight, Pepperdine won two doubles matches both scores of 8-6. Mousheg Hovhannisyan (North Hollywood, Calif./Continental Academy) and David Sofaer (Bellevue Hill, Australia/Sydney Distance Education HS) topped Richard Bucalem and Jonathon Knowlman, while Finn Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) and Alex Sarkissian (Glendale, Calif./Glendale CC) bested Thai Tu and Germain Bahri.
The Waves set themselves apart in singles, allowing just four games in the first three matches to finish.
Francis Alcantara (Cagayan de Oro, Philippines/Fresno State) was untouchable from the No. 4 spot in the lineup, topping Rich Van Hout 6-0, 6-0. Alcantara won by the same score versus Van Hout during the regular season meeting and now has four “double bagel” decisions to his credit this year.
Sebastian Fanselow (Essen, Germany/Kaplan College Prep) topped the Dons’ ace, Tu, 6-1, 6-1. Sofaer mirrored that score in his match against Bahri to put Pepperdine out of reach, 4-0.
Action was stopped with the dual decided, but Tearney, Sarkissian and Hovhannisyan were all up a set when play was suspended.
Pepperdine plays the winner of the BYU-San Diego semifinal on Saturday, April 26 at 12:30 p.m. Live scores will be available through the WCC Tournament Central. The Waves officially have 39 WCC Tournament titles to their name.
San Francisco vs Pepperdine
Apr 26, 2013 at San Diego, Calif.
(Barnes Tennis Center)
#10 Pepperdine 4, San Francisco 0
Singles
1. #8 Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) def. Thai Tu (USF) 6-1, 6-1
2. #103 Finn Tearney (PEP) vs. Bernardo Saraiva (USF) 6-1, 0-3, unfinished
3. #60 Alex Sarkissian (PEP) vs. Nils Skajaa (USF) 6-4, 3-0, unfinished
4. #99 Francis Alcantara (PEP) def. Rich Van Hout (USF) 6-0, 6-0
5. William Schumacher (USF) vs. Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) 6-1, 4-5, unfinished
6. David Sofaer (PEP) def. Germain Bahri (USF) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. Sebastian Fanselow/Francis Alcantara (PEP) vs. Nils Skajaa/Bernardo Saraiva (USF) 6-4, unfinished
2. Alex Sarkissian/Finn Tearney (PEP) def. Thai Tu/Germain Bahri (USF) 8-6
3. David Sofaer/Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) def. Richard Bucalem/Jonathon Knowlman (USF) 8-6
Match Notes:
San Francisco 14-8, 5-5 WCC
Pepperdine 23-5, 9-0 WCC; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,1,6)
