University of Washington
Pepperdine
No. 7 Pepperdine Downs No. 20 Huskies, 5-2
March 26, 2011 | Men's Tennis
March 26, 2011
SEATTLE - Washington played some outstanding doubles to take an early lead, but couldn't find the same success in singles play, as seventh-ranked Pepperdine came out of the Nordstrom Tennis Center with a 5-2 victory today. The 20th-ranked Huskies (14-5) had a seven-match win streak snapped. Senior Tobi Obenaus earned the long singles win for the Dawgs at fifth singles.
The Huskies led after a doubles point win, but Pepperdine seized the momentum by grabbing all six first sets in singles play. 49th-ranked Finn Tearney was too tough today for 52nd-ranked Kyle McMorrow, as Tearney earned a 6-2, 6-1. The Waves then took a 2-1 lead when Hugh Clarke topped Marton Bots, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6 singles. UW was hanging tough in the rest of the second sets, but Pepperdine picked up the clincher with a 6-4, 6-4 win from Mousheg Hovhannisyan at fourth singles over freshman Daniel Schmidt.
Senior Martin Kildahl fought back from a set down to force a third against Alejandro Moreno, but Moreno pulled away in the third set for a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win. Senior Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan also leveled his match at No. 1 singles against 17th-ranked Sebastian Fanselow, but Fanselow won a 10-point tiebreak, 10-3, to get the win. The tiebreak was played instead of the full set as Pepperdine had already clinched when the second set ended.
The day did end on a positive note, however, as Obenaus rallied at fifth singles against David Sofaer. Obenaus lost the first set, 6-3, but came back from down a break to win the second set in a tiebreaker. They played out the third set and Obenaus broke free early to coast to a 6-2 third set win and get the final singles point.
The doubles point was one of the most intense of the year for the Huskies. Bots and Schmidt played one of their best matches of the year at third doubles, defeating Clarke and Moreno by a couple breaks, 8-4. The Waves got even though when Fanselow and Jenson Turner won the final three games for an 8-5 win over Kildahl and Obenaus, only their third loss in dual play.
With all the attention on the No. 1 match, 29th-ranked McMorrow and Nedunchezhiyan were locked in a 4-4 battle with Tearney and Llompart. They got their first service break at 5-4 to take a 6-4 lead and then held serve to back it up. The Waves held to make it 7-5, but McMorrow served it out in the clutch for the 8-5 win and the 1-0 lead for UW.
Washington will dive headfirst back into Pac-10 play next week, as they travel to face UCLA on April 1 and two-time defending NCAA Champs USC on April 2.
Washington Men's Tennis
March 26, 2011 - Seattle, Wash.
Nordstrom Tennis Center
No. 7 Pepperdine 5, No. 20 Washington 2
Doubles
1) (29) McMorrow/Nedunchezhiyan (UW) def. Tearney/Llompart (Pep), 8-5
2) Turner/Fanselow (Pep) def. (68) Kildahl/Obenaus (UW), 8-5
3) Bots/Schmidt (UW) def. Clarke/Moreno (Pep), 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1) (17) Sebastian Fanselow (Pep) def. (86) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (UW), 7-5, 6-7 (5), (10-3)
2) (49) Finn Tearney (Pep) def. (52) Kyle McMorrow (UW), 6-2, 6-1
3) Alejandro Moreno (Pep) def. (71) Martin Kildahl (UW), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
4) Mousheg Hovhannisyan (Pep) def. Daniel Schmidt (UW), 6-4, 6-4
5) Tobi Obenaus (UW) def. David Sofaer (Pep), 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2
6) Hugh Clarke (Pep) def. Marton Bots (UW), 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 6, 4, 3, 1, 5
Players Mentioned
