Courtesy: Princeton Athletic CommunicationsThe Princeton men's tennis team knew it'd be a tough task to extend the program's longest win streak since 2005, and an eighth straight victory was not to be. The 11th-ranked Pepperdine Waves stood in the way, dealing the 43rd-ranked Tigers a 5-2 defeat Wednesday in California.
"I was exceptionally pleased with our fight today," Princeton head coach Billy Pate said. "Despite our very poor start in doubles, our guys came prepared and really wanted this one. However, Pepperdine played a great match and showed why they are a top-10 caliber team. We need to continue making a few adjustments in the outdoor conditions and be ready for UC Irvine Saturday."
In the two doubles matches that decided the afternoon's first point, the two Waves pairs gave up only three games. Once singles play began, Pepperdine won the first two singles matches to be decided before Jonathan Carcione came through at sixth singles for Princeton's first point, and national fourth-ranked Matija Pecotic closed the evening with a win over 83rd-ranked Finn Tearney in three sets on court one.
The Tigers will head down the coast from Malibu to a Saturday match against UC Irvine (3-14) at 4 p.m. Eastern Time/1 p.m. Pacific in Coto de Caza, Calif.
(11) Pepperdine (13-4) 5, (43) Princeton (10-4) 2
Doubles
1. Sebastian Fanselow/Tearney (Pepp) vs. (32) McCourt/Pecotic (Prin), 5-4 dnf.
2. Alcantara/Sarikissian (Pepp) def. Dan Davies/Spindler (Prin), 8-1
3. Hovhannisyan/Sofaer (Pepp) def. Augie Bloom/Siow (Prin), 8-2
Order of finish: 2,3
Singles
1. (4) Matija Pecotic (Prin) def. (83) Finn Tearney (Pepp), 6-4, 0-6, 6-4
2. (107) Alex Sarkissian (Pepp) def. Zack McCourt (Prin), 6-4, 6-4
3. (53) Francis Alcantara (Pepp) def. Matt Spindler (Prin), 6-4, 6-4
4. Mousheg Hovhannisyan (Pepp) def. Dan Richardson (Prin), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
5. David Sofaer (Pepp) def. Matt Siow (Prin), 7-6(3), 6-2
6. Jonathan Carcione (Prin) def. Kento Tanaka-Tamaki (Pepp), 7-6(2), 6-1
Order of finish: 2,3,6,5,4,1
