Pepperdine University
Saint Mary's
Waves Edge Saint Mary's, Remain Undefeated in Conference Play
3/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 27, 2011
MALIBU, Calif. - In a rematch of last year's West Coast Conference Championship final, the #30 Pepperdine women's tennis team faced off with #45 Saint Mary's. The Waves avenged last season's loss with a 4-3 win today on the courts of the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
"It was really good for us to win today," commented head coach Gualberto Escudero. "Saint Mary's is a good team, and we expect to see them again at the WCC championships. Hopefully history will repeat itself in April."
Pepperdine improves its record to 8-6 and 2-0 in league action. The loss was the first blemish on the Gaels' 3-1 conference record, as they fell to 6-7 overall.
After the Waves won the doubles point, the Gaels made a run in singles play to keep the score close. It all came down to the match between senior Anamika Bhargava (Collierville, Tenn./Houston HS) and Anna Chkhikvishvili. After a three-set standoff, Bhargava came out on top to put the fourth and final point on the board for the home team.
Beginning in doubles, #29-ranked pair Bhargava and Marie Zalameda (Los Angeles, Calif./Beverly Hills HS) got the Waves off on the right foot with a 8-2 win over #48-ranked Catherine Isip and Laurie Gingras.
Pepperdine needed another win to clinch the doubles point, and had just broken the Gaels' serve on court three to tie the match at five. On court two, the Waves had fallen behind a break and were down 5-3. The deficit was erased however, as Ale Granillo (Pachuca, Mexico/Instituto Hidalgo) and Khunpak Issara (Bangkok, Thailand/World Study Centre) won five of the next six games with win the match 8-6 and give the Waves the early lead.
On court three, Andrea Oates (Pretoria, South Africa/Pretoria Girls HS) and Arianna Colffer (Corona, Calif./Buena Vista) played a great match, but were edged in the tiebreaker to lose 9-8.
In singles, Oates gave Pepperdine a 2-0 lead with a win in the No. 6 spot. She was too tough for Alita Fisher, and did not allow a single game in her straight-set triumph.
The Gaels battled back with wins on courts one and two to tie the team score at two.
Issara put Pepperdine back ahead with a three-set win over Claire Soper. After dropping the first set, Issara blanked Soper in the second. In the deciding frame, Issara won 6-3.
Once again, however, SMC answered with its third singles win of the day over on court four.
With just one match left to decide the winner, all eyes were on Bhargava and Chkhikvishvili, who had just begun their third set.
After holding serve to open the frame, Bhargava got her first break to take a 2-0 lead. Both players held the next time around, but well constructed points earned the home-court player her second break of the set. Up 5-1 on serve, Bhargava won once again to claim the match and put Pepperdine on top of Saint Mary's 4-3.
Next week the Waves hit the road for a pair of away contests. First up is a 1:30 p.m. dual with WCC foe Loyola Marymount on Thurs., March 31. Pepperdine wraps up the week at Fresno State on Sat., April 2.
#30 Pepperdine 4, #45 Saint Mary's (CA) 3
Singles competition
1. #52 Alex Poorta (SMC) def. Arianna Colffer (PEP) 6-0, 6-3
2. #88 Catherine Isip (SMC) def. Ale Granillo (PEP) 6-4, 6-2
3. Anamika Bhargava (PEP) def. Anna Chkhikvishvili (SMC) 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
4. Jenny Jullien (SMC) def. Marie Zalameda (PEP) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
5. Khunpak Issara (PEP) def. Claire Soper (SMC) 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
6. Andrea Oates (PEP) def. Alita Fisher (SMC) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #29 Anamika Bhargava/Marie Zalameda (PEP) def. #48 Catherine Isip/Laurie Gingras (SMC) 8-2
2. Ale Granillo/Khunpak Issara (PEP) def. Alex Poorta/Anna Chkhikvishvili (SMC) 8-6
3. Jenny Jullien/Claire Soper (SMC) def. Arianna Colffer/Andrea Oates (PEP) 9-8 (7-3)
Match Notes:
Saint Mary's (CA) 7-6, 4-0 WCC; National ranking #45
Pepperdine 8-6, 2-0 WCC; National ranking #30
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,2,1,5,4,3)
Players Mentioned
