College Tennis News - #12 Pepperdine Drops to #3 USC, 4-2

LOS ANGELES – Despite a solid effort in singles, the #12 Pepperdine men’s tennis team succumbed to a 4-2 defeat to #3 USC on Friday afternoon. David Sofaer and Francis Alcantara both won today to score points for the Waves.

With scattered rain showers threatening the Los Angeles area the two teams elected to play singles first.

Sofaer (Bellevue Hill, Australia/Sydney Distance Education) gave Pepperdine the initial lead, downing #88 Max de Vroome with a 6-4, 6-1 straight-set decision. It was the junior’s first win of the season over a ranked opponent.

Also scoring for the Waves was Alcantara (Cagayan de Oro, Philippines/Fresno State). The junior emerged with a 7-3 triumph in the third-set tiebreaker to tally the win against #27 Roberto Quiroz. Alcantara is now a team-best 12-1 in singles this dual season.

Sebastian Fanselow (Essen, Germany/Kaplan College Prep) and Alex Sarkissian (Glendale, Calif./Glendale CC) both lost in straight sets, albeit not by a large margin. Fanselow, ranked #7 in the singles rankings, fell to #4 Emilio Gomez 6-3, 6-4, while #73 Sarkissian was edged by #64 Yannick Hanfmann, 6-4, 6-4.

Finn Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) battled back from a loss in the first set vs. #14 Ray Sarmiento, but ultimately fell 6-3 in the third set.

Mousheg Hovhannisyan (North Hollywood, Calif./Continental Academy) won his first set against Eric Johnson, 6-3, before the Trojan won in the second frame. Despite the momentum shift, the third set played out incredible close, but in the end Johnson squeaked out a 7-5 win to clinch the match.

The Waves return home to the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on Tuesday, March 12 to host #8 Ohio State. Doubles is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and admission is free to all fans.

Pepperdine vs USC
Mar 08, 2013 at Los Angeles, Calif.
(Marks Stadium)

#3 USC 4, #12 Pepperdine 2
Singles
1. #4 Emilio Gomez (USC) def. #7 Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) 6-3, 6-4
2. #14 Ray Sarmiento (USC) def. #83 Finn Tearney (PEP) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
3. #87 Francis Alcantara (PEP) def. #27 Roberto Quiroz (USC) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
4. #64 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) def. #73 Alex Sarkissian (PEP) 6-4, 6-4
5. #51 Eric Johnson (USC) def. Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
6. David Sofaer (PEP) def. #88 Max de Vroome (USC) 6-4, 6-1

Match Notes:
Pepperdine 10-3; National ranking #12
USC 14-2; National ranking #3