Pepperdine University’s men’s tennis team, ranked No. 23 nationally, began its season with a 4-3 home victory over Florida Atlantic University at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center in Malibu on Sunday. The Waves secured the overall win early by capturing the doubles point and three singles matches in straight sets.
Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida achieved his first collegiate wins for Pepperdine in both singles and doubles play. David Fix and Hugh Winter also contributed singles victories to help secure the team’s result.
Director of Tennis Adam Schaechterle commented after the match: “We were a bit loose with errors and sloppy in our point structure today. We will work to tighten that up before Kickoff Weekend,” he said. “But, Florida Atlantic is a strong program that has spent most of the last three years inside the top-50 nationally. It was great to see Gustavo earn his first collegiate wins. But, the MVP today was Hugh Winter, who stepped up in a big way. He’s a team first player and we needed him today. It was great to see him get the job done.”
The doubles competition saw Fix and Almeida win 6-4 at flight three, while Winter and Maxi Homberg clinched another victory at court two with a 7-5 scoreline, securing the doubles point for Pepperdine.
In singles play, Fix won quickly at flight five (6-1, 6-2), followed by Winter’s win on court six (6-4, 6-1). Almeida clinched the team victory at flight four after winning his first set 7-5 and then taking the second set 6-0.
Florida Atlantic won three of the remaining singles matches, two of which were decided by ten-point tiebreakers after split sets.
With this result, Pepperdine opens its season with a win for only the second time in six years. Over the past five seasons, Pepperdine holds a record of 32 wins and 14 losses at home.
Next weekend, Pepperdine will travel to Tucson for ITA Kickoff Weekend where they are scheduled to face No. 22 Florida State on Saturday before playing either No. 11 Arizona or LSU on Sunday. The team that finishes undefeated during this event will qualify for February’s ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Waco, Texas.
Pepperdine men’s tennis has a history marked by success including an NCAA Championship title in 2006 as well as multiple national championships dating back to its NAIA title in 1952. The program boasts numerous All-Americans and conference titles throughout its history.
