MALIBU, Calif. - The 12th-ranked Pepperdine women’s tennis team defeated LIU Brooklyn and UCLA to win the first two rounds of the NCAA Women's Tennis National Championship and advance to the NCAA Round of 16.
Pepperdine defeated LIU Brooklyn 4-0 in the opening round before defeating the Bruins 4-1 in the second round. The Waves have now won 18-straight matches, including 13 by sweeps.
Against LIU Brooklyn, all three Waves doubles teams earned wins thanks to the first and second doubles pairs finishing at the same time after the third pair of Ashley Lahey and Dzina Milovanovic took the first doubles win.
With the 1-0 advantage heading into singles action, the Waves had the momentum and garnered first set wins on all six courts. No. 37-ranked Sherif won the first singles match of the day for Pepperdine with a 6-0, 6-2 victory on court three. No. 14-ranked Stefani then put down Anna Grigoryan with a 6-1, 6-3 final mark to put the Waves in a position to clinch. No. 19-ranked Lahey would deliver the final blow with a 6-1, 6-4 result in the No. 2 position to clinch the 4-0 sweep for the Waves.
Against UCLA, after falling behind with a doubles point loss, the Waves rallied with first-set wins on four-of-six singles courts to gain momentum.
Sophomore Dzina Milovanovic tied the dual with a dominating pair of 6-2 set wins over Kristin Wiley to even the playing field. Luisa Stefani fought hard with No. 5-ranked Ena Shibahara, taking the first set 7-6 (5) before crushing the opposition 6-2 in the second set to put the Waves up 2-1.
The Waves’ 19th-ranked freshman Ashley Lahey was also battling hard in the No. 2 singles position, winning the first set 6-2 over Terri Fleming before falling 4-6 in the second. She then rolled over her competition in the third set for a 6-1 win to put the Waves in clinching territory for Runglerdkriangkrai to deliver the final win.
After going up 3-1 on the day, the match on court five was coming to a close. Senior Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai battled back from a 4-6 loss in set one to win the second 6-2 and force a third set for her team. She then dominated Gabby Andrews in the third set en route to another 6-2 victory to clinch her final home match as a Wave.
The win sends the Waves to Athens, Ga. for the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships round of 16 on May 19 at 1 p.m. against the winner of No. 5 Georgia and No. 30 NC State.
NCAA Round One
No. 12 Pepperdine vs. LIU Brooklyn
Singles
No. 1: No. 14 Luisa Stefani (PEPP) def. Anna Grigoryan (LIU) – 6-1, 6-3
No. 2: No. 19 Ashley Lahey (PEPP) def. Sasha Bollweg (LIU) – 6-1, 6-4
No. 3: No. 37 Mayar Sherif (PEPP) def. Jennifer Gogova (LIU) – 6-0, 6-2
No. 4: No. 97 Laura Gulbe (PEPP) vs. Malin Leysen (LIU) – 6-2, 2-2, unfinished
No. 5: Jean Runglerdkriangkrai (PEPP) vs. Ana Leonte (LIU) – 6-2, 4-3, unfinished
No. 6: Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) vs. Isabella Wagener (LIU) – 6-2, 1-5, unfinished
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*
Doubles
No. 1: No. 8 Christine Maddox/Mayar Sherif (PEPP) def. Anna Grigoryan/Ana Leonte (LIU) – 6-3
No. 2: No. 53 Luisa Stefani/Jean Runglerdkriangkrai (PEPP) def. Malin Leysen/Sasha Bollweg (LIU) – 6-2
No. 3: Ashley Lahey/Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) def. Jenniver Gogova/Isabella Wagener (LIU) – 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2* (all matches were played to completion)
NCAA Round Two:
No. 12 Pepperdine 4, No. 23 UCLA 1
Singles
No. 1: No. 14 Luisa Stefani (PEPP) def. No. 5 Ena Shibahara (UCLA) – 7-6 (5), 6-2
No. 2: No. 19 Ashley Lahey (PEPP) def. Terri Fleming (UCLA) – 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
No. 3: No. 37 Mayar Sherif (PEPP) vs. Jada Hart (UCLA) – 7-5, 3-4
No. 4: No. 97 Laura Gulbe (PEPP) vs. Alaina Miller (UCLA) – 3-6, 6-4, 3-0
No. 5: Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai (PEPP) def. Gabby Andrews (UCLA) – 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
No. 6: Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) def. Kristin Wiley (UCLA) – 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 1, 2, 5*
Doubles
No. 1: No. 8 Christine Maddox/Mayar Sherif (PEPP) def. No. 32 Jada Hart/Terri Fleming (UCLA) – 6-3
No. 2: No. 58 Gabby Andrews/Alaina Miller (UCLA) def. No. 53 Luisa Stefani/Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai (PEPP) – 6-3
No. 3: Ena Shibahara/Kristin Wiley (UCLA) def. Dzina Milovanovic/Ashley Lahey (PEPP) - 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3*