University of Washington
Pepperdine
No. 48 Washington Picks Up Ranked Win At Home
February 21, 2016 | Men's Tennis
SEATTLE – The No. 48 Washington Huskies pulled out a big 4-1 victory today over No. 52 Pepperdine at the Nordstrom Tennis Center to advance to 9-2 on the season.
“I'm really thrilled to get the win, it was just a great day for tennis,” said head coach Matt Anger. “There were some really intense matches and a lot of competitive play.”
The Huskies wasted no time with theatrics, taking the doubles point in dramatic fashion. On court three, Kawika Lam and Enzo Sommer defeated Tom Hill and Jack Van Slyke 6-2, while Jake Douglas and Mitch Stewart fell on court two 6-2. On court one, Piers Foley and Wendell Watanabe faced a tough challenge in the 17th ranked duo in the country Guilherme Hadlich and Gabriel Sidney but rose to the challenge. With the score tied 6-6, the Dawgs were able to force a tie-breaker and win 7-6 (8-6) in dramatic fashion, and clinch the doubles point for the Huskies with a big ranked win.
“Doubles came down to being really close, coming down to the tie-breaker,” said Anger. “Our guys were able to come up with some clutch shots to get that doubles point”
In singles Foley played a great 6-2, 6-4 match defeating Tom Hill on court six, with Gal Hakak falling on court three shortly after to bring the score to 2-1. On court four, Sommer continued his dominant season in singles, with a tough 7-6, 6-4 victory to put the Huskies a point away from the win.
“Right down the line in singles we did a good job,” said Anger. “Gal was the only one that couldn't get the win but I have to tip my hat off to his opponent, he played very well and didn't give us a lot of chances, he was incredibly solid.”
After winning the first set 6-4, Jake Douglas led 5-4 in the second, up 40-15. However, Stefan Menichella of Pepperdine battled back to force the tie-breaker after a 6-6 second set score. With the largest crowd on the season behind him, Douglas rallied to win the tie-breaker 7-3, clinching the victory for the Huskies. The win also gave Douglas the highest win percentage in a singles career in Washington history, at 43-12 (.782). The matches on courts one and five were called off.
“I think we struggled a little out of the gate with Mitch and Sebastian, but they both were able to get the second set,” said Anger. “Obviously if you need those courts it helps, but even if other guys are doing well it just helps the rest of the team along. Ultimately though it was great to finish with a win today.”
The Huskies will be back in action next Friday and Saturday when they travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan to face No. 45 Michigan and No. 29 Tulsa. Keep up to date with the team on their website at GoHuskies.com, and on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
Results:
No. 48 Washington – 4
No. 52 Pepperdine – 1
Doubles:
Court 1 – (UW) Foley/Watanabe def. (Pepp) No. 17 Hadlich/Sidney 7-6 (8-6)
Court 2 – (Pepp) Iamachkine/Pane def. (UW) Douglas/Stewart 6-2
Court 3 – (UW) Lam/Sommer def. (Pepp) Hill/Van Slyke 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles:
Court 1 – (UW) No. 105 Mitch Stewart vs. (Pepp) Guilherme Hadlich 2-6, 6-3, 4-1 (DNF)
Court 2 – (UW) Jake Douglas def. (Pepp) Stefan Menichella 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
Court 3 – (Pepp) Lautaro Pane def. (UW) Gal Hakak 6-3, 6-1
Court 4 – (UW) Enzo Sommer def. (Pepp) Jack Van Slyke 7-6, 6-4
Court 5 – (UW) Sebastian Hawken def. (Pepp) Pedro Iamachkine 3-6, 6-3, 1-3 (DNF)
Court 6 – (UW) Piers Foley def. (Pepp) Tom Hill 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4, 2
Players Mentioned
