GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
The Pepperdine men’s tennis team stretched their record to 24-1 on the season after defeating Harvard University, Santa Clara University and University of Hawaii in Malibu over the past week.
Against Harvard on Saturday, the Waves started quickly, winning the doubles point and running away with three singles matches to secure the victory before Harvard won three singles matches, including Ashwin Kumar’s 4-6, 6-2, 12-10 win over senior Pedro Rico.
“There’s so much parity in college tennis,” said Head Coach Adam Steinberg. “We’re not going to beat everyone 6-1 or 7-0. Harvard’s a very good team. I think the key to winning those matches is our doubles. We’re 24-1 in doubles points, that’s how we survive a lot of the matches.”
Pepperdine found its stride against Santa Clara on Sunday, blasting the Broncos, 6-1. The No.-1 doubles team in the nation, Pepperdine senior Scott Doerner and sophomore Andre Begemann, continued their winning ways, defeating Kevin McQuaid and Blane Shields, 8-2. The Waves won the doubles point, then took five of six singles points against their West Coast Conference rivals.
Steinberg said blowing teams out isn’t something the team focuses on.
“I don’t know if we get used to it,” Steinberg said. “We’ve been on the other side of that a few years ago and it’s humbling. We don’t talk about that. We don’t talk about the score. We talk about getting better and trying to win a national championship.”
The Waves finished off the perfect week by defeating Hawaii, 6-0, Wednesday. The match was postponed due to poor weather and the doubles competition was cancelled, but that didn’t faze Pepperdine’s experienced team. The Waves swept all six singles matches, with Doerner’s 6-2, 6-0 win over Sascha Heinemann leading the way.
Wind was the big story throughout the match, with massive gusts whipping tennis balls in all direction.
“It was difficult,” Steinberg said. “I told the guys before the match that I’ve always enjoyed those times when we have to challenge ourselves and play in environments we don’t particularly like. I think the character of an athlete is revealed in a situation that’s not perfect.
Steinberg said he thought the guys were “awesome” even though it was cold and windy.
“That’s the best I’ve seen our team play in those conditions,” he said. “But I’ve always said that if your attitude is good and you move your feet like crazy, then you’ll play well.”
Pepperdine will travel to San Diego State University on Saturday, then back to Malibu on Sunday for a match against Fresno State University. The match on Sunday will be Senior Day for Rico, Doerner, Ivor Lovrak and Kevin Borzenski. The four seniors will be honored in a ceremony prior to the match, which begins at 1 p.m.
“I just hope that these four guys are honored in the right way,” Steinberg said. “They’ve given everything to this program and this school. I hope people from the community and from the student body come out. Those four guys built this tennis program, we all owe them a lot.”
04-06-2006
