College Tennis News - Waves improve to 2-0 after a 6-1 triumph over the Huskies

SEATTLE – The #7 Pepperdine men’s tennis team topped #22 Washington by a score of 6-1 on the indoor courts of the Nordstrom Tennis Center on Wednesday afternoon. The victory was the Waves’ first of the season over a ranked opponent.

Pepperdine, 2-0 overall, first claimed the doubles point before claiming five of the six singles contests.

David Sofaer (Bellevue Hill, Australia/Sydney Distance Education HS) and Mousheg Hovhannisyan (North Hollywood, Calif./Continental Academy) gave Pepperdine the advantage in doubles after their 8-4 win, followed by Finn Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) and Francis Alcantara’s (Cagayan de Oro, Philippines/Fresno State) 8-6 triumph to clinched the point.

Tearney was dominant in singles, downing Marton Bots, 6-1, 6-1 to give the Waves a 2-0 lead. Straight-set wins courtesy of Alcantara and Hovhannisyan sealed the team win for Pepperdine. Alcantara edged Max Manthou 6-4, 6-4, while Hovhannisyan escaped with a first set win in the tiebreaker before taking down Viktor Farkas 6-2 in the second frame.

Alex Sarkissian (Glendale, Calif./Glendale CC) split sets with Emmett Egger and was tied at 3-all in the third before Egger was forced to retire.

Sofaer put the sixth point up on the board after fighting back from a 6-3 loss in the opening stanza to win 7-5 in the second set tiebreaker against Nicholas Kamisar. In the deciding set, Sofaer was victorious by a score of 6-3.

Sebastian Fanselow (Essen, Germany/Kaplan College Prep) suffered Pepperdine’s only loss of the day, falling to Kyle McMorrow. McMorrow, who ended last season ranked #28, won by set scores of 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

The Waves are back in action at home on Jan. 26-27 when they entertain #33 Florida State, #45 Drake and #53 Denver in ITA Kick-Off Weekend action. Pepperdine squares off with the Pioneers at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. The Seminoles and Bulldogs play one another at 1 p.m.. The winner of each match plays at 1 p.m. on Sunday for a chance to advance to the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Team Championship.

Pepperdine vs Washington
Jan 23, 2013 at Seattle, Wash.
(Nordstrom Tennis Center)

#7 Pepperdine 6, #22 Washington 1
Singles
1. Kyle McMorrow (UW) def. #6 Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. Finn Tearney (PEP) def. Marton Bots (UW) 6-1, 6-1
3. Alex Sarkissian (PEP) def. Emmett Egger (UW) 6-3, 5-7, 3-3, forfeit
4. Francis Alcantara (PEP) def. Max Manthou (UW) 6-4, 6-4
5. Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) def. Viktor Farkas (UW) 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
6. David Sofaer (PEP) def. Nicholas Kamisar (UW) 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3

Doubles
1. Finn Tearney/Francis Alcantara (PEP) def. Emmett Egger/Kyle McMorrow (UW) 8-6
2. Hudson Barnhart/Max Manthou (UW) vs. Sebastian Fanselow/Alex Sarkissian (PEP) 5-7, unfinished
3. David Sofaer/Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) def. Viktor Farkas/Jeff Hawke (UW) 8-4

Match Notes:
Pepperdine 2-0; National ranking #7
Washington 2-2; National ranking #22
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,4,5,3,1,6)