The Pepperdine Waves men’s tennis team, ranked 21st in the nation, went 1-1 on their home court last week.
The Waves defeated 10th-ranked Harvard 4-3 on March 17 at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on Pepperdine’s campus, but were downed 5-2 by 15th-ranked Texas the next day.
Pepperdine has an 8-5 record heading into their matchup at West Coast Conference foe Loyola Marymount on Saturday.
Andrew Rogers, rated 48th in the nation, secured the victory for Pepperdine in their contest against Harvard when he won his singles match 6-3, 1-6, 6-1. The victory was the Waves’ fifth consecutive and payback for a Harvard’s win over Pepperdine in January.
The Crimson had an early 2-0 lead over the Waves last week due to winning the doubles point and the first singles match. Then, Waves senior Corrado Summaria, ranked 121st, won his match 6-2, 6-4. Thirteenth-ranked Daniel De Jonge, a Pepperdine senior, followed Summaria’s triumph with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 win. Harvard took a 3-2 lead after another singles win, but Pepperdine’s Tim Zeitvogel, a senior ranked 65th, grabbed a 7-5, 7-6 (3) win. Rogers, the graduate student, then secured the win.
Pepperdine head coach Adam Schaechterie said he had huge respect for Harvard after the win.
“I’m proud of our leaders for stepping up in the biggest moments,” he said.
The Waves were down 2-0 to Texas after the two doubles matches and some singles play. Summaria put Pepperdine on the board when he won his singles contest 6-3, 7-5. However, Texas claimed back-to-back wins to secure the victory. Zeitvogel’s won his match 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to give Pepperdine another point. Texas won another match for their fifth point.
Before the win over Harvard, Pepperdine beat UCLA, USC, Nebraska, and Penn in consecutive matches. The Waves’ other wins this season have been over Arizona, Oklahoma State, and Arizona State. The other three losses have been to Stanford, Tulsa, and Oregon.
After playing at Loyola Marymount, the Waves will play at Pacific on April 1 and Saint Mary’s on April 2 before hosting Portland on April 9.