Men’s Tennis Team from Pepperdine Heads to Regional Championships

Malibu, Calif. — The Pepperdine men’s tennis team is gearing up for an exciting journey as they head west to compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional Championships. This event will take place at the Kiwanis Tennis Center in Tempe, Arizona, from October 16-21. For the first time this fall, the team will chase NCAA Tournament bids, with the top two singles finalists and the doubles champion earning their spots.

In preparation for the championship, Pepperdine is sending a solid squad of six players: David Fix, Photos Photiades, Aleksa Pisaric, Lasse Poertner, No. 90 Gustavo Ribeiro de Almeida, and Hugh Winter. Each of them is set to compete in both singles and doubles. Notably, all three of Pepperdine’s doubles teams received first-round byes.

Winter and Photiades, currently seeded 7th, are expected to play their match on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against an undecided opponent. Meanwhile, the 8-seeded team of Fix and Ribeiro de Almeida will take on Leo von Bismarck and Andrei Crabel from UCLA on the same day and time. Pisaric and Poertner, the 9-seeded pair, will also compete at 12:30 p.m. against another yet-to-be-determined team.

In singles play, Winter will kick off the competition against Ivaylo Simeonov from UC Riverside on Thursday at noon. Photiades will follow, playing in the second round against another yet-to-be-determined opponent at 1:30 p.m.. The rest of the matchups will be confirmed as the tournament progresses.

Most noteworthy, five of the Pepperdine players are coming off a successful performance at the Sherwood Intercollegiate Classic, where they claimed a remarkable 19 victories. Poertner notably stood out as the co-champion of the tournament, achieving an impressive 8-0 record in both singles and doubles. Ribeiro de Almeida made a fantastic debut, also going 3-0 in singles with all wins coming in straight sets.

Looking ahead, Pepperdine will have one more chance to secure their spots in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship from November 6-9. They will compete at the ITA Division 1 Sectional Championship in Berkeley, California, in addition to the ITA Conference Masters Championship held in San Diego.

For ongoing updates about the Pepperdine men’s tennis team, you can visit their schedule page at pepperdinewaves.com.

In conclusion, as the Waves prepare to take on this crucial tournament, all eyes will be on them to see if they can claim their spots in the NCAA Tournament.