Final Stats

SAN DIEGO - Alex Araouzos won his sixth straight match and provided the clinching point for San Diego in a dominating 4-0 victory against Pepperdine on Thursday afternoon.

Araouzos cruised through his first set, 6-0, but had to battle in the second to seal his sixth consecutive victory and the clinching point for the Toreros (11-8, 5-1 WCC). After holding a 6-5 lead, the Waves' (6-14, 2-4 WCC) Max Mendelsohn rallied to send the set to a tiebreaker. Araouzos regrouped and won the tiebreaker, 7-1.

"The boys competed great today against our biggest rival," said head coach Ryan Keckley. "This is always an emotional match for this squad. There is a lot of history against this Pepperdine team. As a coach, we talked through a lot of the nerves and got them to enjoy the time on court with each other today."

The Toreros jumped out to an early lead, winning the doubles point with convincing decisions at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Nico Borter and Pratt Keerasuntonpong improved to 4-1 this season with a 6-1 result at the No. 2 spot.

No. 73 August Holmgren and Joel Gamerov secured the doubles point with a 6-3 victory at No. 1. The duo improved to 11-6 overall in dual match play this season.

"We came out with improved energy and jumped on them early in singles and in doubles," said Keckley. "We are a tough team to beat when we earn that doubles point."

Gamerov made quick work of Dane Esses in singles play at the three-spot, 6-3, 6-4. He has won seven of his past 10 matches and improved to 9-4 when playing at No. 3.

David Norfeldt finished shortly after, defeating Lautaro Pane, 6-0, 6-4, to put the Toreros up 3-0 overall. Norfeldt is 6-1 in his past seven matches.

Araouzos provided the finishing touches on the victory by securing the decision at No. 6, 6-0, 7-6 (1).

Borter was leading 6-4, 5-4, at No. 4 before his match was halted when the Toreros clinched the victory. Also of note, Gui Osorio returned to the court after missing the past couple of weeks due to injury. His match at No. 2 was tied at one set apiece before it was stopped.

"It was great to have Gui back on court today," said Keckley. "He gave an extra spark that we have been looking for."

The Toreros will look to continue their momentum in their final home match of the season, Sunday at 1 p.m. against Loyola Marymount.