TUCSON, Ariz. — The Pepperdine men's tennis team's first-round NCAA Tournament match against Auburn summed up the season well.
Big doubles wins. An underclassman grinding out key win. A gutsy, three-set victory from a veteran player when the Waves needed it most. A chance to clinch in a 4-3 match against a Power-5 team in the third set.
And yet…
The Waves' season came to a premature end with a 4-3 loss to the #24 Auburn Tigers in Tucson, Ariz. on Friday. Playing in temperatures well above 90 degrees, Pepperdine's chances at moving on looked favorable with a dominant doubles win before wilting away as the afternoon progressed until the Tigers ended the Waves season with Nicholas Heng's three-set win on court five.
Pepperdine's season ends with a 14-12 record, the program's fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Adam Schaechterle and a regular season West Coast Conference title.
The Waves looked unflappable in doubles. Pepperdine landed the first punch in doubles play with two dominant showings on courts two and three. The duo of Chris Papa and Maxi Homberg showed they were ready for the moment by breaking Will Nolan and Tyler Stice in the first game en route to taking a 5-0 lead. Although Auburn held serve in the sixth game, the Waves put away the Tigers in the seventh game as Papa held serve for the 6-1 win.
One court over, Pietro Fellin and Edward Winter pushed Billy Blaydes and Nicholas Heng to deuce points in Auburn's first two service games before the Waves broke through in the fifth game. A pair of returns from Winter on the deuce side were too much to handle, and the Waves won a decisive break point to take a 3-2 lead. From there, the match was played on serve until the ninth game, when Fellin and Winter broke the Tigers to win 6-3. When the Waves clinched the doubles point on court three, George Davis and Linus Carlsson Halldin were up 5-4 serving against Auburn's #21 team of Raul Dobai and Finn Murgett.
In singles play, the top of #24 Auburn's lineup woke up and took a 2-1 lead with straight-set wins on courts two and three. With first-set wins on courts one and five, Pepperdine needed an answer. And they found one in Homberg, who came through with a three-set win at the fourth position.
Playing his first singles match in several months, Homberg and Raul Dobai's match was on serve until Homberg broke Dobai in the fifth game, then consolidated the break in the sixth. Although Dobai held serve on deuce point to make the score 4-3, Homberg held serve to take the first set 6-4. Dobai won the second set 6-2, but Homberg responded by breaking Dobai to start the third set and maintain a lead he wouldn't relinquish. The Pepperdine sophomore was not broken in the third set, as he went on to win 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 and make the score 3-2, Pepperdine.
Momentum from Homberg's win quickly swung in favor of the Tigers. Auburn's #31 Tyler Stice won in straight sets on court one, putting pressure on the Waves to win both matches on courts five and six to advance to keep their season alive.
Graduate transfer George Davis answered the call for Pepperdine. Competing in his first-ever NCAA Tournament match, the William & Mary transfer won his first break point opportunity of the first set against Will Nolan, then went up two breaks to take a 5-2 lead. Nolan would break back and put the match back on serve in the ninth game, yet Davis held serve to win the first set 6-4.
As he did in the first set, Davis won the first break point in the second set, but Nolan broke back on deuce point to tie the second set at three games apiece. But the Auburn junior pushed the match to a third set with a 6-4 win of his own, putting pressure on Davis to win a third set to keep the Waves in the match.
Serving with a 3-2 lead in the third set, Davis was in a prime position to take over the match when Nolan forced a pivotal deciding point. Taking an aggressive approach on deuce point, Davis charged the net, hit a forehand at the doubles line and held serve as Nolan's return went wide. With Davis up 4-2, the match was played on serve from that point forward and Davis prevailed with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory for an important singles win.
All eyes fell on court five, where Pepperdine freshman Zach Stephens outlasted Nicholas Heng in a second-set tiebreaker 7-1 to force a third set. Unfortunately for Pepperdine, Heng went up a break early in the third set and eventually won 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-3.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #31 Tyler Stice (AUB) def. #51 Edward Winter (PEPP), 7-6 (2), 6-2
2. #63 Finn Murgett (AUB) def. Pietro Fellin (PEPP), 6-4, 6-1
3. Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP), 6-2, 6-4
4. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. Raul Dobai (AUB), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
5. Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Zach Stephens (PEPP), 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-3
6. George Davis (PEPP) def. Will Nolan (AUB), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Order of finish: 3,2,4,1,6,5*
Doubles
1. Linus Carlsson Halldin/George Davis (PEPP) vs. #21 Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (AUB), 5-4 unfinished
2. Maxi Homberg/Chris Papa (PEPP) def. Will Nolan/Tyler Stice (AUB), 6-1
3. Pietro Fellin/Edward Winter def. Billy Blaydes/Nicholas Heng (AUB), 6-3
Order of finish: 2,3
