MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men’s tennis freshman Edward Winter notched his first singles win over a top-15 opponent and Pietro Fellin added another singles win for the Waves, yet the #21 Michigan State Spartans beat Pepperdine 5-2 on Monday.
The Waves (1-1) made things interesting late in singles play as Maxi Homberg and Zach Stephens bounced back after 7-5, first-set losses, yet the #21 Spartans (4-0) won both matches to hand Pepperdine its first loss.
Despite the team score, the match was heated and competitive between both teams. All three doubles matches were played on serve until the Spartans’ duo of #45 Sebastien Collard and Ronald Hohmann won the first break point of the match to take a 3-2 lead on the first line. From there, the Spartans won 6-2 for an early lead in doubles play.
While MSU would go on to take an early advantage on the first position, the remaining two doubles matches were close affairs. The momentum of the doubles point turned when MSU’s Ozan Baris and Taym Alazmeh broke Pietro Fellin and Linus Carlsson Halldin on deuce point to tie the match at four games all. Moments later on the third line, MSU won its first break point at 6-5, giving the Spartans the edge it needed to win 7-5 on the third position.
However, Pepperdine got on the board in an emphatic way as #23 Winter rolled 6-0, 6-4 over #12 Ronald Hohmann III for his first career win over a top-15 singles opponent. Winter was firing on all cylinders in the first set: He broke Hohmann on his first break point opportunity and cruised to a quick, 6-0 first-set victory in less than 20 minutes.
In the second set, Winter again won the first breakpoint opportunity and got out to a 5-0 lead. Hohmann, however, got on the board in the sixth game and won his first break point of the match in the seventh game. Despite clawing back into the match, Winter broke Hohmann for the win in the ninth game by getting out to a 40-15 lead, then sealing the deal when Hohmann’s forehand sailed well out of bounds.
Shortly thereafter, Fellin gave Pepperdine a 2-1 lead on the third line. Fellin went up a break early, then broke Taym Alazmeh to go up 4-1 in the fifth game. The match was played on serve from that point forward, giving Fellin a 6-4 first-set win. In the third game of the second set, Fellin broke Alazmeh, then consolidated the break before Alazmeh held serve in the next game. Fellin won four-straight points to break Alazmeh and didn’t look back in his 6-4, 6-2 win.
While MSU posted wins on the second and third positions to go up 3-2, Homberg battled back in the second set to force a tiebreak. At the same time, Stephens went up 5-3 in the second set after bouncing back from a 7-5 first-set loss. Despite Homberg tying the tiebreak at six-all, #59 Max Sheldon of MSU clinched the match for the Spartans with a 7-5, 7-6 (6) win before Stephens could force his match into a third set.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #23 Edward Winter (PEPP) def. #12 Ronald Hohmann (MSU) 6-0, 6-4
2. #6 Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) 6-3, 6-2
3. Sebastien Collard (MSU) def. Chris Papa (PEPP) 7-5, 6-2
4. Pietro Fellin (PEPP) def. Taym Alazmeh (MSU) 6-4, 6-2
5. #59 Max Sheldon (MSU) def. Maxi Homberg (PEPP) 7-5, 7-6 (6)
6. David Saye (MSU) def. Zach Stephens (PEPP) 7-5, 5-7 (10-6)
Order of finish: 1,4,2,3,5*,6
Doubles
1. #45 Sebastien Collard/Ronald Hohmann (MSU) def. #43 Maxi Homberg/Edward Winter (PEPP) 6-2
2. Pietro Fellin/Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) vs. Ozan Baris/Taym Alazmeh (MSU) 4-5, unfinished
3. Graydon Lair/Max Sheldon (MSU) def. Tyler Davis/Chris Papa (PEPP) 7-5
Order of finish: 1,3
UP NEXT: Pepperdine hosts Arizona State on Friday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m.
FOLLOW: Follow @PeppTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.