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A week ago men’s tennis Head Coach Adam Steinberg said all his young team needed was some match experience. Then, he said, Pepperdine’s wealth of talented players would get the chance to show the nation they’re a legitimate top 10 contender.
He wasn’t kidding.
This past week the Waves swept all three of their dual matches, including an emotional 5-2 win over defending national champions USC and former Wave coach Peter Smith. The team also won matches 4-1 over Pacific and 7-0 over the University of Nevada Las Vegas, but the USC victory was far and away the biggest victory of the young season for the team and its coach.
“The win today meant the world to the team,” Steinberg said. “Besides beating the defending national champions, there were a lot of personal things going on with the match, playing against their old coach and against a couple of guys who played for Pepperdine last year … there was a very interesting story behind the match, and it was a really great victory for a lot of reasons.”
Against the Trojans on Wednesday afternoon, the team got off to a big start, taking the doubles point by capturing two out of the three doubles matches. No. 1 doubles, juniors Diego Acuna and Calle Hansen, posted a dominating 8-3 win over Prakash Amritraj and Daniel Langre, USC’s top guns.
After them, the freshmen tandem of Scott Doerner and Pedro Rico won the final three games in an 8-5 victory.
“Our two captains beat a great No. 1 doubles team, and that was huge for us,” Steinberg said. “The doubles could have gone either way, and the younger guys really stepped up.”
Entering singles play up a point, the Waves quickly got up 3-0 thanks to the play of sophomore Alexis Radifison and Rico, who was just added to the team roster this week. Radifison cruised past Jeff Kazarian 6-2, 6-0, and Rico beat former Pepperdine player Johan Berg, 6-4, 6-2 in impressive fashion.
The win was Rico’s third singles victory in three matches, as the young Spaniard has wasted little time in making an impact on the team.
“He’s a tremendous talent,” Steinberg said. “And he’s a better person than he is a tennis player. He’s added so much to the team.”
Amritraj picked up USC’s first point of the contest with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Acuna in No. 1 singles. The loss was Acuna’s first of the season. The Trojans pulled the score to 3-2 when Parker Collins defeated freshman Kevin Borzenski by the scores of 7-5, 6-1 in the No. 6 spot.
With emotions and intensity reaching the breaking point, the match came down to Waves Hansen and Doerner. In front of an audience mixed between Pepperdine and USC supporters, the freshman clinched the victory against Trojan Ruben Torres 6-3, 6-2. Just minutes later, Hansen, involved in what was possibly the day’s most thrilling match, accentuated the big win by finishing his opponent Langre in dramatic fashion 6-2, 7-6 (11-9).
Seconds after the match, the team gathered at mid-court in celebration after what was obviously its most emotional contest of the season.
“It’s something my assistant coach, Per (Nilsson), and I try to instill in them,” Steinberg said. “They’re so young, and they need to learn that in a lot of these matches it comes down to who wants it more. And today that was us.”
After the match, Smith, who was instrumental in Steinberg’s coming to Pepperdine, congratulated the new coach and his former players.
“We’re good friends, Peter (Smith) is a great guy,” Steinberg said. “I owe a lot to him … I’m sure the whole match was a pretty uncomfortable thing for him … but we’ll see them again this season.”
Next week the Waves take their show on the road for the first time this season, competing in the four-team Texas Christian Invitational. Aside from host TCU, the Waves will take on teams from Arizona State and Washington.
After spending its first two weeks in the comfort of its home courts, Steinberg thinks it’s time for a trip.
“It’s a perfect time,” Steinberg said. “The motivation is there for all the guys, and I think it’s especially good for the freshmen. It’s important for the guys to learn to win on the road.”
Submitted January 30, 2003
MALIBU, CA
