April 29, 2017
Final Stats
CLAREMONT, Calif. - In another inspiring come back, #4 San Diego created their second upset in the WCC Championships by defeating #2 Pepperdine and earning their fourth consecutive Championship title. They defeated Pepperdine in a 4-3 decision.
Pepperdine took an early 3-1 lead in the Final Round of the WCC Championship. They took the doubles point and two more singles points, but their wins stopped there. Slowly but confidently, the Toreros crept up on the Waves match by match.
"These boys had so much fight today it's hard to put into words," said Head Coach Ryan Keckley. "They had their backs against the wall and just continued to play tough, resilient tennis. We let the doubles point slip away from us, but we didn't let the negativity carry over into singles."
Joel Gamerov was the first point that USD put on the scoreboard. He defeated Jack Van Slyke 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 6 spot. No. 94 Filip Vittek was the next big win for San Diego on court No. 1. He defeated Guilherme Hadlich and started the Torero turnaround with a score of 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Alexandros Araouzos, at the No. 6 position, tied up the match with a win over Dane Esses in the third set, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
The final match point was down to a battle on court three between Joshua Page and Lautaro Pane. Page defeated his Wave competitor 7-6, 1-6, 6-3. Page not only clinched a win for USD, but clinched the match point that gave the Toreros their fourth WCC Championship title in a row.
"We battled tooth and nail until we found ourselves in a position to turn the tides of the match," said Coach Keckley. "Our upperclassmen continue to lead the way. I am so proud of each one of these guys as they all played a vital role into today's come from behind win. Page handled the moment better than I have ever seen him before. With all eyes on him, he stepped up to the plate and hit one out of the park for this team. He will remember that clinch for a long time."
The young Torero team have won a spot in the NCAA tournament in May. They end their regular season with a 17-10 overall and 9-3 in conference play.
