May 26, 2018 Final Stats
Tournament Central | Results
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. â€" For the first time in Pepperdine women's tennis program history, the Waves will send two competitors into the NCAA Singles Championships semifinal round. With wins in the quarterfinals on Saturday at Wake Forest Tennis Complex, both senior Mayar Sherif and sophomore Ashley Lahey collected wins to advance to the Final Four.
Lahey and Sherif each won in three sets, becoming the third and fourth players in Pepperdine women's tennis history to the semifinal round respectively. Luisa Stefani advanced to the semifinal in 2016, while Noelle Porter (Radnoti) was the first-ever to accomplish the feat in 1989. Stefani fell in a three-set quarterfinal bout this afternoon.
Pepperdine is the only team this season to send two to the round, the last time being in 2012 when Stanford sent two to the semifinals and then on to the finals for an all-Cardinal final.
 | RESULTS |
NCAA Singles Championships #17 Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine) def. #13 Andrea Lazaro (Florida International) â€" 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
#22 Mayar Sherif (Pepperdine) def. #11 Astra Sharma (Vanderbilt) â€" 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (5)
#7 Arianne Hartono (Mississippi) def. #27 Luisa Stefani (Pepperdine) â€" 2-6, 6-4, 2-6
| TOMORROW |
NCAA Singles Championships Quarterfinals #17 Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine) vs. #10 Fernanda Contreras (Vanderbilt) â€" TBD
#22 Mayar Sherif (Pepperdine) vs. #7 Arianne Hartono (Mississippi) â€" TBD
| MATCH RECAPS |
Despite weather delays that caused three matches that started at 10:30 a.m. PT to finish at 2:30 p.m. PT, the Waves triumphed in the NCAA Singles Championship quarterfinal round.
Ashley Lahey and Mayar Sherif highlighted the long day with a pair of wins. #17 Lahey finished first against #13 Andrea Lazaro of Florida International. The two split 7-5, 5-7 sets to open the match before moving inside due to rain with a 3-1 Lahey lead in the third. The Wave would be just as resilient on the indoor courts as she downed her opponent with a 6-3 final set win to earn her spot in the Final Four.
#22 Sherif would have a battle on her hands as well, facing #11 Astra Sharma of Vanderbilt. She split sets 6-2, 2-6 to reach a third. After Sherif posted a 4-1 lead, Sharma rallied back to tie the set at 4-4 and eventually again at 6-6. In the tiebreak, Sherif gained the early edge, once again pulling ahead 4-1. This time, Sharma would be unable to close the gap as Sherif prevailed for a 7-6 (5) final set score.
Luisa Stefani finished first on the day. After splitting the first two sets 2-6 and 6-4, #7 Arianna Hartono of Mississippi rallied in the third to win the overall match on a 6-2 final set score. This is the third season Stefani has been in the tournament, with her best finish being in the semifinal round in 2016.
The wins from Ashley Lahey and Mayar Sherif has sent the third and fourth Waves in Pepperdine women's tennis history into the semifinals.
| NOTABLES |
- This is the first time in Pepperdine women's tennis history that the Waves have sent two to the NCAA Singles Championship semifinals. Ashley Lahey and Mayar Sherif are the third and fourth Waves to have ever accomplished this feat on the women's side.
- This is the first time since the 2012 season that one team has sent two competitors into the semifinal round. The last was Stanford which resulted in an all-Cardinal final that year.
- This was the first time since 2011 that there have been three singles competitors from one program reach the NCAA Singles Championships quarterfinals. In 2011, Stanford had three competing and one went on to reach the finals.
- This was the first time Pepperdine has had more than two players reach the round of 16.
- The three Waves were the 7th, 8th and 9th Waves to ever reach the NCAA Singles Championships quarterfinals.
- Pepperdine's four to start the NCAA Singles Championships are the most-ever in program history.
- The highest seed entering the semifinals is #7 Arianne Hartono of Mississippi, Sherif's opponent.
- All three Waves, Mayar Sherif, Ashley Lahey and Luisa Stefani, will finish the 2018 season as ITA All-Americans in singles. This is Stefani's third-straight season as an All-American in singles and it is the second honor for both Sherif and Lahey.
- Mayar Sherif has won her last 18-consecutive matches. She has posted a 34-5 overall record this season, with an 11-3 output against ranked opponents.
- Ashley Lahey has gone 26-4 overall this season with a 12-3 record against ranked competition and seven wins in her last seven matches.
- Luisa Stefani has collected a 16-4 overall record this season with a 8-3 output against ranked opposition.
| NEXT UP |
Tomorrow, the Waves will continue with the NCAA Singles Championships.
| FOLLOW |
Follow @WavesTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to PepperdineWaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
