Pepperdine Team Page

FLUSHING, N.Y. – After missing the majority of the fall season due to injury, Pepperdine men’s tennis standout Sebastian Fanselow has come back in full force at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship. The two-time All-American defeated one of the best players in college tennis today to advance to the title match.

Fanselow (Essen, Germany/Kaplan College Prep), ranked third in singles by the ITA but unseeded in the tournament, won three-straight matches to earn a spot in the semifinals, where he met up with Virginia’s Alex Domijan, the tournament’s No. 1 seed. Domijan, standing at 6-foot-7, has one of the biggest serves in college tennis and was part of the Cavalier squad the defeated the Waves in the NCAA team semifinals last spring.

Down 2-3 in the opening set, Fanselow won three-straight games to take a 5-3 lead. From there, it was just a matter of holding serve, which the Wave did to take the first set from Domijan, 6-4.

In set two, Domijan broke Fanselow’s serve early to go ahead 3-1. Although Fanselow was able to get the break back, he was unable to hold serve a second time and eventually fell 6-3 to go to a third and deciding frame.

Fanselow’s service game improved in the final set, and the two top-tier players battled all the way to a 5-5 tie. After holding serve and up 6-5, Fanselow was faced with either breaking Domijan’s serve or heading to a tiebreaker. The senior was brilliant in the final game, holding Domijan at love to break the Cavalier’s serve and win 7-5.

In tomorrow’s final Fanselow will face another Virginia player, Jarmere Jenkins, who is ranked second in the NCAA and seeded sixth in the tournament. Fanselow and Jenkins squared off last season in the NCAA team semifinals. Fanselow won the contests 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Fanselow was recognized as the ITA Sportsmanship Award winner following the match.   

For links to live chat, live scores and more visit the ITA website. For in-match updates, be sure to follow @PeppTennis and @ITATennis on Twitter.

USTA/ITA National Indoor Championship
Nov 8-11, 2012 at Flushing, N.Y. (USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center)
R32  #3 Sebastian Fanselow (Pepperdine) def. #10 KU Singh (Georgia) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
R16  #3 Sebastian Fanselow (Pepperdine) def. Julian Lenz (Baylor) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
QF   #3 Sebastian Fanselow (Pepperdine) def. #9 Ray Sarmiento (USC) 6-1, 6-2
SF   #3 Sebastian Fanselow (Pepperdine) def. #8 Alex Domijan (Virginia) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5