January 22 2011
Pepperdine’s men’s tennis began the season with a 7-0 victory against Denver University and University of California at Santa Barbara in Westlake Village on January 22 2011. The result is particularly impressive considering last week’s lackluster play at the National Collegiate tennis Classic in La Quinta California.
In a commanding performance Pepperdine won all three of their doubles matches and all six of their singles matches at the North Ranch Country Club. Pepperdine’s men’s team is currently ranked 21 nationally compared to No. 31 Denver and No. 61 Santa Barbara.
In singles play No. 1 Finn Tearney defeated Mathieu Forget 7-6 (5) 6-4 No. 2 Sebastian Fanselow beat Alex Konigsfeldt 6-4 5-7 6-4 as No. 3 Alex Llompart thwarted Benjamin Recknagel 6-2 7-5. No. 4 Jenson Turner defeated Taylor Chavez Goggin 6-4 7-6 (2) No. 5 Alfredo Moreno overcame Max Glenn in a 6-4 7-6 (2) victory and No. 5 Mousheg Hovhannisyan upended Philip Therp 7-5 7-6 (4).
In doubles Tearney and Clarke teamed up to beat Chavez Goggin and Konigsfeldt 9-8 (1) Llompart and Moreno topped Forget and Recknagel 9-8 (4) and Fanselow and Turner beat Therp and Jurgensen 8-1.
The men’s team is happy with the result believing the momentum they build now can serve the Waves throughout the season.
“I think as a team we are starting off well said sophomore Sebastian Fanselow. We are really supporting each other and that helps our game a lot. It shows that we had a good start and that we are ready to compete from day one. It’s a long season and we will be playing better teams [later on] but everyone competed really well this weekend.”
January 23 2011
Pepperdine’s men’s tennis team improved to 2-0 on the second day of their season opener with a 5-2 victory over UC Irvine on Sunday January 23. Contested on Irvine’s campus the impressive victory displays Pepperdine’s consistency and staying power.
In singles No. 1 Sebastian Fanselow beat Chris Kearney 6-3 7-5 No. 2 Finn Tearney overcame Steve Henderson 7-6 (2) 6-4 while No. 3 Alex Llompart raced to a 6-0 6-0 victory against Stephen Stege. Pepperdine’s No. 4 Jenson Turner was topped by Irvine’s Sam Gould 6-2 6-4 Irvine’s Fabian Matthews upended Pepperdine’s No. 5 Alfredo Moreno 6-4 6-4 as Pepperdine’s No. 6 Mousheg Hovhannisyan beat Shan Sondhu 6-4 6-3. In doubles play Tearney and Clarke teamed up for the second time this weekend to beat Stege and Kearney 8-6 Llompart and Moreno whizzed past Henderson and Gould 8-4 and Fanselow and Turner beat Cheung and Sondhu 8-6.
After their second day of competition this weekend the Waves remained undefeated in doubles play and only conceded two singles victories both on Sunday.
“I thought I played a lot better today than I did yesterday” says sophomore Sebastian Fanselow. “Yesterday I was being a bit too impatient while today I thought I handled myself better”. Fanselow also mentioned some specific goals the team should keep in mind. “We still have to get better [in doubles]. And we have to be more aggressive in singles and can’t be afraid to go for our shots”.
After two days of solid play the Pepperdine Waves have much to look forward to this season. Their next tournament will be held against Virginia Tech in Durham North Carolina on January 28 and 29.