Senior David Ayoun (above), returns a serve in a double’s
match on Saturday. Ayoun and partner Sai Kartik Nakireddi
fell 8-6 to Pepperdine’s Hugh Clarke and David Sofaer.
Esteban Cortez / The Collegian
Mother Nature didn’t want to wait any longer during Sunday’s men’s tennis match between Fresno State and No. 12 Pepperdine at the Wathen Tennis Center, forcing the match to be called off at 8:45 p.m. after a 3½-hour mid-match rain delay.
The wet weather forced the ‘Dogs to a slow start against the Waves, losing their first two doubles matches and gave Pepperdine the first point of the match. Fresno State’s Jean-Charles Diame and partner Zachary Leslie fell to Finn Tearney and Alex Llompart, 8-1. David Ayoun and partner Sai Kartik Nakireddi held their ground on court three, but were bested by Pepperdine’s Hugh Clarke and David Sofaer, 8-6.
The lone doubles’ win for Fresno State came from senior Remi Boutillier and sophomore partner Francis Alcantara, who bested Pepperdine’s Jenson Turner and Sebastian Fanselow, 8-6.
In singles, Fresno State surged back despite facing four nationally ranked opponents from Pepperdine: No. 21 Fanselow, No. 35 Tearney, No. 49 Mousheg Hovhannisyan and No. 106 Clarke.
Leslie led the comeback for the ‘Dogs, downing Clarke 6-3, 6-1 after teammates Diame and Reid deLaubenfels both lost in their matches. Ayoun had a comeback of his own against Llompart, losing the first set 2-6 before taking the second and third sets 7-5 and 6-3, respectively.
But it was Alcantara, nationally ranked No. 44 in singles, who stole the show on Sunday, defeating No. 21 Fanselow 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, forcing a 3-3 tie for the ‘Dogs.
“It felt great to beat a player like [Fanselow],” Alcantara said in a statement released by the university. “I personally had nothing to lose, so I played hard and did everything I could to help my team.”
Alcantara’s upset over Fanselow earned him the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week award on Monday.
It looked promising for the ‘Dogs, who were en route to a historic comeback over No. 12 Pepperdine, but the weather conditions forced the match to be called off during the final-and-deciding singles match between No. 14 Boutillier and No. 35 Tearney. Tearney was leading Boutillier, 5-7, 7-6, 5-3 when the match was called.
The winner of the match will be determined at a later date.
Fresno State will head to Los Angeles this weekend for the ITA Kickoff. The ‘Dogs will take on UC Irvine on Saturday and either UCLA or Alabama on Sunday.
