By Kyle Jorrey
Sports Editor
Coming off an emotional win over USC, the Pepperdine men’s tennis team boarded its flight for Fort Worth, Texas, with nothing but high expectations.
Battling against some of the toughest competition its faced this season, the team split their weekend matches at the Texas Christian Shootout, beating Arizona State on Friday 6-1 before falling in the championship match to the University of Washington 4-1.
“It was just good to go and play two really good teams,” freshman Scott Doerner said. “I don’t think there was anything that went on this weekend for us to be disappointed about.”
The No. 17 Waves, now 6-2 in dual match play, will host tennis powerhouse San Diego State Saturday.
The weekend started off when the Waves grabbed the doubles point from ASU, as the tandems of juniors Diego Acuna and Calle Hansen, and freshmen Doerner and Pedro Rico each won their matches.
Hansen and Acuna, who continue to show why they are the team leaders, outlasted the Sun Devils’ duo Olivier Charroin and Chris Stewart by a score of 9-8 at the No. 1 spot to clinch the point. Head Coach Adam Steinberg credited the ASU effort.
“It was the best doubles we’ve played against this season and we came away with the point, so it was a great,” Steinberg said.
The Waves concluded their victory by nabbing five out of six singles matches, including Doerner’s 6-0, 6-1 stomping of ASU’s Ryan Eveloff.
Saturday the Waves took to the courts against the Huskies, who had disposed of host TCU the day before 4-1.
In a contest that was closer than the score would indicate, Pepperdine faced a talent-filled Washington squad that has yet to drop a match this season.
Things looked good earlier on, as the doubles tandem of Rico and Doerner again won their match, beating out Dillon Ruby and Matt Hanlin.
After the match, both freshmen said they felt good about their pairing.
“We haven’t lost one yet,” Doerner said. “We’ve been combining pretty well … we have contrasting styles, but we blend them together.”
Despite losing the doubles point to the Huskies, the Waves doubles match performance has continued to impress their coach.
“Our first and second doubles have been terrific,” Steinberg said. “We just have to finish it off, we have to get three doubles going … third doubles has the potential, we just have to work hard.”
In singles play, Hansen was the lone Wave able to escape with a victory. He soundly defeated Husky Ari Strasberg 6-1, 6-0.
“ (Calle) is playing unbelievable,” Steinberg said. “He’s a great leader for us, on and off the court … and now he’s just rolling. He’s a streaky player and he’s been on fire.”
After two weeks under the Malibu sun, some players said the chilly Texas wind had an effect on their games. Acuna, playing for the No. 1 spot, fell to Matt Hanlin, the nation’s No. 11 ranked player. He said weather was a factor against the Huskies.
“It was very cold, very windy,” Acuna said. “I think those conditions got to me … it was hard to break a sweat.”
This weekend the Waves welcome the Aztecs of San Diego State. Coach Steinberg said his team is going to have to give it all its got.
“They are a very strong team, it is a huge challenge for us,” the head coach said. “They are definitely gunning for us, and we really are going to have to play well to win.”
Acuna said the team is gaining confidence as the season goes on, building on the big victory against the Trojans one week earlier.
“We’re becoming a team more and more, each match brings us together,” Acuna said. “The USC match meant everything … especially to me and Calle … we had the world on our shoulders for a week and now need to come back down and continue to play well.”
Newcomer Rico agreed.
“I feel so good about the team right now,” Rico said. “We are like a small family … everyone is playing so they can win the most matches for the team, no one is just thinking about themselves.”
February 06, 2003