It’s called pre-season for a reason.
With school back in session the Pepperdine men’s tennis team took to the hard courts Friday and Saturday trying to shake off the rust as it kicked off fall tournament play. Led by a young inexperienced group the Waves posted only one first round win in singles but captured a surprising tournament victory in doubles at the 10th annual Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational in Midland TX.
“The start wasn’t ideal for us as a team but it is still very early in the pre-season said sophomore Hugh Clarke. We just need to find our feet a little bit.”
Sophomore Alex Llompart took care of business in the first round before defeating University of Oklahoma’s Blake Boswell 7-5 6-2 advancing to the round of 16. There Llompart played well but couldn’t move it to a third set falling to senior Josh Zavala of the University of Texas 6-4 7-6 in what proved to be a hotly contested match.
Clarke struggled to find consistency in his shots dropping his first round match to University of New Mexico sophomore Joe Wood 6-1 4-6 6-7. The tide didn’t change in the consolation round where Clarke lost 7-5 6-4 to the Lobo’s Jaden Phillips in yet another close match.
“I was disappointed to bow out early but I played some good tennis in patches Clarke said. I just need to get my consistency up. I’m hitting the ball great but I have to focus more and be clear with my game plan on the big points.”
Freshman Finn Tearney’s luck wasn’t so good either. The New Zealand-native lost 6-1 3-6 10-8 to Texas’ Benjamin Chin in the first round but bounced back nicely in the consolation bracket. New Mexico’s Connor Berg went up big with a quick 6-1 first set win over Tearney but the Waves freshman re-grouped and knocked off Berg 1-6 6-1 10-1 to seal the win.
Tearney advanced to the men’s consolation quarterfinals where he met Lobo freshman Phil Anderson and dispatched him 6-4 5-7 7-6 in a grueling three-setter. Combined with the 90-plus degree heat the win was that much more impressive.
Llompart ranked No. 71 nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and Tearney advanced to the semifinals of the main draw where they upset the University of Texas’ dynamic duo of Zavala and Vasko Mladenov 9-8 (8-6). In what was their first tournament playing together as a team Llompart and Tearney took Midland by storm knocking off University of Oklahoma’s Andre Daescu and Ionut Beleleu 8-6 to bring home the doubles crown.
The Waves then returned home and began preparations to host their first fall tournament of 2009. The Wave Invitational commences Sept. 25 and continues through Sept. 27 with opponents including University of Arizona University of Minnesota and Fresno State.
“The whole team is ready to go Clarke said. The last few weeks we have been training really hard and we’re going to let everyone know we are a solid team for 2010.”