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Ashley Lahey (Photo courtesy of ITA, Dan Johnson)

Women's Tennis

Lahey Makes History with NCAA Singles Semifinal Victory

May 27, 2018

Final Stats

Tournament Central | Results

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. â€" Ashley Lahey of the Pepperdine women's tennis team made program-history on Saturday morning at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex, becoming the first ever Pepperdine women's tennis player to win an NCAA Singles Championship semifinal match and reach the final.

The sophomore defeated #10 Fernanda Contreras of Vanderbilt to accomplish the feat. Senior Mayar Sherif also made history as the fourth person in Pepperdine women's tennis program history to reach the semifinal match in the tournament. After a tough three set battle, Sherif fell to bow out of the tournament.

Lahey will face #7 Arianne Hartono of Ole Miss in the final tomorrow with the time still to be determined.

Pepperdine LogoRESULTS
NCAA Singles Championships

#17 Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine) def. #10 Fernanda Contreras (Vanderbilt) â€" 6-3, 6-3

#7 Arianne Hartono (Mississippi) def. #22 Mayar Sherif (Pepperdine) â€" 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2)

Pepperdine LogoTOMORROW
NCAA Singles Championships Final

#17 Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine) vs. #7 Arianne Hartono (Mississippi) â€" TBD

Pepperdine LogoMATCH RECAPS
Ashley Lahey and Mayar Sherif both got off to a good start in their respective semifinals, but Lahey would be the one to make history first. After securing a 6-3 first set win over #10 Fernanda Contreras of Vanderbilt, she used the momentum in the next set en route to another 6-3 victory. With the win, she became the first-ever in Pepperdine women's tennis program history to reach the NCAA Singles Championships final match.

Sherif opened her match by commanding a 6-2 victory in the first set. After she pulled ahead 4-1 in the second set, Arianne Hartono started to inch back in, tying the set and forcing a tiebreak. She won the second set after a 7-6 (5) tiebreak option. Sherif once again went ahead 3-0 in the third set, but the opposition was resilient and tied things up at 3's. The two then went point-for-point towards another 6-6 tiebreak option. This time, Hartono gained the early edge and ended the match with a 7-6 (2) set win.

Pepperdine LogoNOTABLES

  • Ashley Lahey is the first Pepperdine women's tennis player to ever reach the NCAA Singles Championship final.
  • 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.
  • The highest seed entering the semifinals is #7 Arianne Hartono of Mississippi, Sherif's opponent.
  • 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 closed her 18-match winning streak. She finished the season with a 34-6 overall record this season, with an 11-4 output against ranked opponents.
  • Ashley Lahey has gone 27-4 overall this season with a 13-3 record against ranked competition and eight wins in her last eight matches.

Pepperdine LogoNEXT UP
Tomorrow, the Waves will continue with the NCAA Singles Championships.

Pepperdine LogoFOLLOW
Follow @WavesTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to PepperdineWaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
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Players Mentioned

Mayar Sherif

Mayar Sherif

5' 11"
Junior
Ashley Lahey

Ashley Lahey

5' 11"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Mayar Sherif

Mayar Sherif

5' 11"
Junior
Ashley Lahey

Ashley Lahey

5' 11"
Junior