MALIBU, Calif. — Vanderbilt men’s tennis dropped its fourth straight in a 5-1 defeat to Pepperdine on Sunday.
The Dores started in a deficit early after suffering a rare doubles defeat, losing at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. No. 28-ranked senior Michael Ross and junior Nathan Cox held a lead for the entire match at No. 1 doubles but were unable to complete the match ahead of the clinch. The pair maintain their 5-2 dual match record at the top position.
Pepperdine grabbed first set leads at four of the six courts en route to the final result. Fifth year Henry Ruger cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Aleksa Pisaric for his third straight singles win. Freshman Pablo Martinez Gomez generated success at the No. 3 slot, taking the first set 6-4. Martinez Gomez led 3-2 in the second before the match was clinched by the Waves.
No. 39 Vanderbilt (8-7, 1-4 SEC) returns home for a conference tilt against No. 22 Mississippi State (13-3, 3-2 SEC) on Thursday. For more information, updates and exclusive game day content, follow the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team, @VandyMTennis, on Instagram and X.
No. 28 Pepperdine 5, No. 39 Vanderbilt 1
Doubles
1. No. 28 Cox/Ross (Vanderbilt)vs. Edward Winter/Hugh Winter (Pepperdine) 5-4, unfinished
2. No. 72 Linus Halldin/Maxi Homberg (Pepperdine) def. Martinez Gomez/Danil Panarin (Vanderbilt) 6-4
3. Lasse Poertner/Pisaric(Pepperdine) def. Giuseppe Cerasuolo/Ruger (Vanderbilt) 6-3
Singles
1. No. 69 E. Winter (Pepperdine) def. Cox (Vanderbilt) 6-2, 6-1
2. No. 47 Homberg (Pepperdine) def. Panarin (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 6-1
3. Martinez Gomez (Vanderbilt) vs. Halldin (Pepperdine) 6-4, 3-2, unfinished
4. Poertner (Pepperdine) def. Ross (Vanderbilt) 6-2, 6-1
5. Ruger (Vanderbilt) def. Pisaric (Pepperdine) 6-1, 6-3
6. David Fix (Pepperdine) def. Hugo Coquelin (Vanderbilt) 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,2,1,5,4)
