Michigan
Pepperdine
Wolverines Come Up Short in First Round of NCAA Tournament
5/1/2026 7:34:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Baton Rouge, La. (LSU Tennis Complex)
Event: NCAA Tournament First Round
Score: Pepperdine 4, Michigan 2
Records: U-M (13-11), Pepperdine (18-9)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis team was thwarted in what would have been an epic comeback, but fell 4-2 to Pepperdine in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday (May 1) at the LSU Tennis Complex.
The Waves took the doubles point and won four of six first sets. With Pepperdine leading 3-0, Michigan won two straight singles matches to get within one, with third-set matches remaining on courts four and six.
At No. 6, Arnav Bhandari went up 2-0, but his opponent, David Fix, answered with a four-game run to take a 4-2 advantage. Bhandari held his next two times on serve, but Fix did as well to win 6-4 and clinch the match for Pepperdine.
Senior Nicholas Steiglehner's match at No. 4 was abandoned while tied at 5-5 in the third set at 40-40.
No. 49-ranked Edward Winter and Fix used a break to take down Max Dahlin and Pierce Shaya at No. 1 doubles, and Mert Oral and Nicholas Steiglehner went down a break and could not recover in a 6-3 loss at No. 3.
Alex Cairo fell 6-3, 6-2 at No. 5, while Bjorn Swenson lost 6-0, 7-6 (1) at No. 2.
Oral gave Michigan its first point of the day, defeating Aleska Pisaric in three sets. In the deciding set, Oral was in total control using a four-game run to take a 5-1 lead and closed out with a 6-2 decision.
On the next court over, Dahlin delivered another impressive performance, defeating Edward Winter, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1). Not only did Dahlin extend his singles win streak to 18, but he notched a pair of tiebreak wins to keep his unbeaten tiebreak run alive at 12-0.
The Wolverines end their season with a 13-11 overall record and will resume play in the fall with the NCAA individual season. Dahlin made conference history by winning the Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year Awards, and he was a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 – No. 7 Max Dahlin (U-M) d. Edward Winter (Pepperdine), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4)
No. 2 – Lasse Poertner (Pepperdine) d. No. 49 Bjorn Swenson (U-M), 6-0, 7-6 (1)
No. 3 – Mert Oral (U-M) d. Aleska Pisaric (Pepperdine), 6-3, 0-6, 6-2
No. 4 – Nicholas Steiglehner (U-M) vs. Gustavo Almeida (Pepperdine), 1-6, 6-4, 5-5 abandoned
No. 5 – Maxi Homberg (Pepperdine) d. Alex Cairo (U-M), 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 – David Fix (Pepperdine) d. Arnav Bhandari (U-M), 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 – No. 49 Edward Winter/David Fix (Pepperdine) d. Max Dahlin/Pierce Shaya (U-M), 6-4
No. 2 – Bjorn Swenson/Alex Cairo (U-M) vs. Lasse Poertner/Photos Photiades (Pepperdine) 3-5 abandoned
No. 3 – Maxi Homberg/Robin Boesckii (Pepperdine) d. Mert Oral/Nicholas Steiglehner (U-M), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3, Singles 4-2-3-1-6
Players Mentioned
