Pepperdine Sophomore Reaches Sweet 16 in NCAA Tennis Championship

sophomore Sebastian Fanselow defeated favored John Peers of Baylor University Thursday in the second round of the NCAA tennis singles championship in Palo Alto. He will face Tennessee's Tennys Sandgren at 1:30 p.m. today in a third-round match.

The following is from Pepperdine Sports Information's website:

Sebastian Fanselow of the Pepperdine men’s tennis team earned a spot in the Round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championship and became the Waves’ 78th All-American in program history.

Fanselow (Essen, Germany), who is ranked #28 in the Campbell/ITA Collegiate Rankings, defeated No. 19 John Peers of Baylor 6-2. 4-6, 6-2, for his second upset win of the tournament.

On Wednesday, in the first round, the sophomore knocked off No. 2 Alex Domijan in three sets.

In Thursday's second-round match, Fanselow broke Peers’ serve early on to control the first set and cruise to a 6-2 win. The momentum shifted in the second frame, however, as the Bear jumped to a 5-2 lead. After holding serve, Fanselow was able to fight off set point and earn the break, but Peers returned the favor and went on to win 6-4.

With the match still in the balance, Fanselow broke serve in the opening game of the third set to pace the remainder of the contest, and win once again by a score of 6-2.

On the other half of the bracket, Finn Tearney (Wellington, New Zealand), battled with fourth-ranked Blaz Rola of Ohio State. After falling behind 5-2 in the first frame, Tearney fought back to tie the set at five. The comeback was halted, however, and Rola went on to edge the sophomore Wave 7-5.  

With the momentum rolling in his favor, Rola was victorious in the second set to advance to the Round of 16.

Tearney, a two-time All-West Coast Conference singles player, finishes his sophomore campaign with a 27-11 record, and is ranked No. 43 on the Campbell/ITA singles poll.

Fanselow will meet No. 45 Tennys Sandgren of Tennessee in Friday's Round of 16 contest at 1:30 p.m.