Senior men’s tennis standout Bassam Beidas took the Wave Invitational by storm Sept. 25 through 27 winning five total matches and capturing the singles title.
The Waves were dominant from the start posting six singles wins against the University of Minnesota and four doubles wins against the University of Arizona. Freshman Finn Tearney and sophomore Alex Llompart cruised past their opponents winning 8-4 while fellow sophomores Alejandro Moreno and Stuart Keplar snuck out a close one 9-8 (6).
Pepperdine had Arizona’s number heading into day two of the tournament. On Saturday the Waves swept the Wildcats in all seven of their singles matches. Beidas knocked off Geoff Embry 6-2 6-2 and sophomore Daniel Moss defeated Andres Carrasco 6-4 6-2.
“We all played very good tennis and it just shows the depth we have in our squad already said sophomore Hugh Clarke.
Tearney’s grueling three-hour match against the Wildcats’ Jason Zafiros highlighted the singles clean sweep. Despite a first set 5-7 loss, Tearney turned it around, winning the next two sets 7-5 to preserve the shutout.
[Tearney’s] been playing great tennis and he has a lot of potential Clarke said. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him playing high in the lineup some time in the season.”
For doubles day two was a bit rough however. Beidas and Clarke couldn’t quite find a rhythm and consequently they lost 8-2.
On Sunday the Waves concluded the three-day tournament in style winning three of the four doubles matches against Minnesota. Beidas and Clarke came back from their slump and had little trouble with their opponents. The dynamic duo won 8-1.
“It was good to get some wins under the belt and boost the confidence a little Clarke said. Hopefully we’ll keep getting better.”
Beidas followed up with a convincing singles performance beating Mirko Zapletal of Fresno St. 6-3 7-5 to win the singles crown.
“It was a really special moment for me Beidas said. It’s the first year of the invitational and I felt really good about my performance. I started off all of my matches serving well but it tailed off toward the end. That’s something I need to work on for the future.”
Moss concluded the inaugural Wave Invitational with a 6-4 4-6 10-7 win against former Pepperdine star Rikus de Villiers who now plays for Fresno St.
Although they plan to head back to the NCAA tournament this season the Waves are still young which bodes well for the next couple of years.
“[Tearney] had a great fight back on Saturday and [freshman] Sebastien Fanselow handily beat a good player on Sunday Beidas said. I know the team will be strong for years to come with these two guys here.”
Fanselow competed in three singles matches and two doubles matches during the tournament. Every opponent he faced Fanselow beat. Not bad for a freshman competing in his first career collegiate tournament.
“Every player on the team has something positive to take from the weekend Beidas said. We just need to build on our success from here on out.
The Waves will return to the hard courts Oct. 15 when they will play host to the ITA Regional tournament at the Ralphs-Straus tennis center.
“We need to just keep working hard getting fit and gaining confidence in ourselves Beidas said. We are practicing the right way at the moment and if we keep that going we will be a force to be reckoned with at the regional’s.”
