STANFORD, Calif. – The University of Hawaii men's tennis team's season came to a close with a 4-0 loss to Pepperdine in the first round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship Saturday at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium. The Rainbow Warrior ended the season with a 12-8 record.

 

The No. 37 Rainbow Warriors came into the tournament with high hopes, winning four of their last five matches en route to their third straight Western Athletic Conference title and NCAA appearance. They were also looking to exact some revenge on the No. 21 Waves who ousted the Rainbow Warriors in an NCAA first round match two years ago in Malibu. But it was déjà vu all over again as Pepperdine defeated UH by the exact count as 2008.

 

Pepperdine (17-10), winners 11 of their last 12 matches will now face the winner of No. 7 Stanford and Quinnipiac in the second round on Sunday.

 

The day started off with an exciting round of doubles. The No. 75 duo of Philipp Eberhard and Andreas Weber dropped their match, 8-2, to No. 27 Bassam Beidas and Alex Llompart. Courts No. 2 and 3 though were hotly contested. Hugh Clarke and Finbar Tearny ultimately squeezed out a 9-7 win over Dennis Lajola and Daniel Llarenas to clinch the point. It was just the third time in the last 10 matches that UH dropped the doubles point.

 

In singles play, the Waves took the first set in each of the six courts. Straight set losses by Eberhard at court No. 5 and freshman Dmytro Kovalyov on the No. 6 court put the Rainbow Warriors in a 3-0 hole. But it wasn't over yet. UH was battling in the top three courts, as Lajola, Weber and Leo Rosenberg were poised to even things up with their efforts in the second set. However, Lajola eventually succumbed to Beidas in a close 8-6 tie-breaker, as the Waves claimed the fourth and decisive point.

 

With the result at hand, the final three courts were suspended, including the matchup between Weber and Sebastian Fanselow on the No. 2 court with Weber trailing 6-4, 4-4. It was the final UH appearance for the German native, the team's lone senior, who completed his career as a four-time all-conference player and NCAA qualifier (individual and team).

 

1. No. 27 Beidas/Llompart (PEP) d. No. 78 Weber/Eberhard (UH) 8-2

2. Hugh Clarke/Tearney (PEP) d. Dennis Lajola/Daniel Llarenas (UH) 9-7

3. Fanselow/Hovhannisyan (PEP) vs. Rosenberg/Tweedt (UH) 6-6, unfinished

 

1. No. 32 Bassam Beidas (PEP) def. No. 113 Dennis Lajola (UH) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)                    

2. No. 70 Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) vs. Andreas Weber (UH) 6-4, 4-4, unfinished                 

3. Finbar Tearney (PEP) vs. Leo Rosenberg (UH) 6-4, 5-6, unfinished                         

4. Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) vs. Jeremy Tweedt (UH) 7-5, 5-3, unfinished

5. Alex Llompart (PEP) vs. Philipp Eberhard (UH) 6-1, 6-0                                         

6. Jenson Turner (PEP) vs. Dmytro Kovalyov (UH)      6-2, 6-0                                              

Order of Finish: 5, 6, 1