College Tennis News - Moving On: Pepperdine Defeats LSU 4-0 to Advance in NCAA Tournament

Pepperdine reaches the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the second-straight sea...

MALIBU, Calif. – The #12 Pepperdine men’s tennis team is one of 16 teams left in the NCAA Tournament after blanking #20 LSU 4-0 today on the courts of the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. The Waves will travel to the Khan Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Illinois where the remainder of the championships will play out.

Pepperdine’s (26-5) road to the championship began yesterday with a 4-0 win vs. UC Santa Barbara. The Waves left nothing to chance this afternoon, shutting out the Tigers 4-0 after LSU had edged #40 Stanford 4-2 in the first round.

The home team struck first today, taking two of the three doubles matches to claim the point. Sebastian Fanselow (Essen, Germany/Kaplan College Prep) and Francis Alcantara (Cagayan de Oro, Philippines/Fresno State) were the first to finish, putting away an 8-3 decision against #31-ranked Stefan Szacinski and Tam Trinh.

Although Boris Arias and Chris Simpson made a late run, Mousheg Hovhannisyan (North Hollywood, Calif./Continental HS) cut the run short and held serve to secure the 8-6 win along with partner David Sofaer (Bellevue Hill, Australia/Sydney Distance Education HS).

Fanselow has been brilliant thus far in the NCAA Tournament, and won 20 games in a row before allowing one. Yesterday the senior won 6-0, 6-0 and was leading today 6-0, 2-0 before Simpson held serve to win a game. The West Coast Conference Player of the Year still put away the match 6-0, 6-3.

Sofaer put the Waves ahead 3-0 after disposing of Harrison Kennedy 6-2, 6-1.

With Pepperdine leading matches on three of the four remaining courts, Alcantara was the player to put point No. 4 on the board. The junior outlasted Mark Bowtell, 6-2, 6-1.

The Waves will face #32 Memphis in the round of 16 on Thursday, May 16 on the courts of the Khan Tennis Complex in Urbana, Ill. The Tigers shutout BYU in the first round before upsetting #7 Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. 4-2 in round two.

LSU vs Pepperdine

May 11, 2013 at Malibu, Calif.

(Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)

#12 Pepperdine 4, #20 LSU 0

Singles

1. #11 Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) def. #42 Chris Simpson (LSU) 6-0, 6-3

2. #62 Alex Sarkissian (PEP) vs. #91 Stefan Szacinski (LSU) 6-2, 5-5, unfinished

3. #107 Finn Tearney (PEP) vs. Olivier Borsos (LSU) 6-2, 2-1, unfinished

4. #102 Francis Alcantara (PEP) def. Mark Bowtell (LSU) 6-2, 6-1

5. Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) vs. Tam Trinh (LSU) 3-6, 2-3, unfinished

6. David Sofaer (PEP) def. Harrison Kennedy (LSU) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles

1. Francis Alcantara/Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) def. #31 Stefan Szacinski/Tam Trinh (LSU) 8-3

2. Finn Tearney/Alex Sarkissian (PEP) vs. Olivier Borsos/Roger Anderson (LSU) 4-7, unfinished

3. David Sofaer/Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) def. Boris Arias/Chris Simpson (LSU) 8-6

Match Notes:

LSU 16-12; National ranking #20

Pepperdine 26-5; National ranking #12

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,6,4)