Pepperdine Waves Crash Over Bulldogs for First NCAA Title

©Colette Lewis 2006
Palo Alto CA--

Andre Begemann clinched his school's first ever NCAA title with a come-from-behind singles win over Matic Omerzel at No. 4, but his contribution at No. 1 doubles was just as instrumental in the second-ranked Waves' 4-2 victory over Georgia on a chilly evening at Taube Tennis Center.

Begemann and Scott Doerner grabbed the key doubles point for the Waves, defeating the defending NCAA doubles champions John Isner and Antonio Ruiz 9-7. Ivor Lovrak and Pedro Rico had earlier taken their match in the No. 2 slot.

"Last time we played Georgia, we lost the doubles point," said Lovrak of his team's loss in the finals of the ITA Team Indoor in February. "Everyone knows there's six great singles players on the court, their team and our team," said Begemann, "so knowing we only needed three more, not four more, made a huge difference for us."

When top seed Georgia took the first set in five of the six singles, they still had hope of overcoming the doubles loss just as they had done against Baylor in Monday night's semifinal.

"We actually had a chance," said Georgia head coach Manny Diaz, "up until we got broken at 4-all in the third at No. 4 singles."

Pepperdine took a 3-0 lead when No. 6 Omar Altmann and No. 3 Lovrak won their contests, but Georgia fought back with No. 1 John Isner and No. 5 Colin Purcell getting wins. The two remaining matches featured Omerzel, Georgia's hero in the Baylor semifinal, against Begemann and Bulldog Luis Flores versus Pedro Rico at No. 2. When Omerzel took a 6-2, 4-2 lead, Georgia still had a chance, but when Begemann took a second set tiebreak to force a third set, the momentum shifted in the Waves favor.

"I knew what I had to do, I had to come in," said Begemann, a sophomore from Germany. "I had to move great and I knew that was the way I could beat him. I fought on every point, I stayed in the match and I believed in myself."

Adam Steinberg was also a believer, and in only his fourth year as head coach guided his team to a NCAA record 36 victories and the national title.

"Wow, this is a dream come true," said Steinberg. "I know it's a cliche, but to win Pepperdine's first national championship ever, with all the great teams and the great tradition that we have...to win it for a small school like ours means the world to me and the guys."

There was another NCAA championship first recorded Tuesday night when Lovrak, a senior and the tournament's Most Valuable Performer, became the first player to win a championship with two different teams, since the current format was adopted in 1977. Lovrak was on the 2004 championship team at Baylor.

For Georgia, it was a disappointing end to a magical season, but Diaz, only minutes after the loss, was able to recount many of the year's highlights.

"We won the National Indoors, we won the regular season in the SEC and went undefeated all the way up to the finals. We've had a great year, and that's what I told my guys. I'm very proud of them. They left it all on the court, but Pepperdine was just the better team out there."

"We knew everything was against us, that everyone thought Georgia was going to win," said Steinberg. "But you go through a whole season and you win as many matches as we did, you grow up and you just believe. We believed going through this whole tournament that we were going to become champs."