Friday, 05/25/2012

ATHENS, Ga. – Khunpak Issara and Lorraine Guillermo of the Pepperdine women’s tennis team stormed through their round of 16 match to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship and earn ITA All-American status. On the men’s side, Alex Llompart and Finn Tearney fell in a closely fought three-set battle to a top-10 ranked pair.

Issara (Bangkok, Thailand/Bangkok Patana School) and Guillermo (Walnut, Calif./Rowland HS) become the program’s 10th doubles team to receive ITA All-American recognition, and the first since the 2007 season.

The duo dominated today against #23-ranked Jillian O’Neill and Alex Angheleschu of Georgia Tech. The Waves, who sit in the polls at #32, won 6-1, 6-2.

Issara and Guillermo have now won 16 matches in a row, and boast a season record of 24-4.

Tomorrow’s quarterfinal match will be against either #2 Mallory Burdette and Nicole Gibbs of Stanford, or Rice’s #26-ranked Natalie Beazant and Dominique Harmath.

Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) and Llompart’s (Carolina, Puerto Rico/San Juan Educational School) season came to an end today, with a loss in the round of 16. The duo fell to Oklahoma’s Costin Pavel and Dane Webb, ranked #10, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.

In yesterday’s opening round, the Pepperdine tandem eliminated #9 Alexander Stamchev and Andreas Mies of Auburn 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Tearney and Llompart conclude the year with a 17-14 overall record, including nine wins against ranked opponents. The pair was ranked as high as #2 in 2012, and is currently listed at #15.

NCAA Doubles Championship
May 24-28, 2012 at Athens, Ga. (Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
Doubles Round of 16
#32 Issara/Guillermo (Pepperdine) def. #23 O'Neill/ Anghelescu (Georgia Tech) 6-1, 6-2
#10 Pavel/Webb (Oklahoma) def. #15 Tearney/Llompart (Pepperdine) 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3

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