MALIBU, Calif. – Evgeniya Levashova of the Pepperdine women's tennis team had a dominant Oracle/ITA Masters semifinal performance on Saturday afternoon at the Malibu Racquet Club, winning her match to become the second Wave in four years to reach the tournament's title bout. 
 
The #41-ranked sophomore downed #18-ranked Kate Fahey with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 final line to achieve the feat.  Pepperdine men's tennis junior transfer Adrian Oetzbach also played in the men's consolation singles bracket, reaching the semifinal round before falling to a ranked West Coast Conference opponent.
 
RESULTS
Singles
SF: #41 Evgeniya Levashova (PEPP) def. #18 Kate Fahey (MICH) – 6-2, 1-6, 6-2            
 
Consolation Singles
QF: Adrian Oetzbach (PEPP) def. Andrew Ton (NAVY) – 6-4, 6-3
SF: #30 August Holmgren (USD) def. Adrian Oetzbach (PEPP) – 6-3, 6-2
 
TOMORROW -
Singles
F: #41 Evgeniya Levashova (PEPP) vs. #3 Estela Perez-Somarriba (MIAMI) – 11:30 a.m. 
 
PLAYS
Evgeniya Levashova set the tone in the opening set, as she burst out to a 4-0 advantage without contest.  Michigan's Kate Fahey was able to put a pair of points on the board, but the Wave was unstoppable as she finished out the set with a 6-2 win.  The opposition was able to gain an early lead in the second set and used it to amass a 6-1 win and send the match to a third decisive set.
 
In the final set, Levashova went head-to-head with Fahey from the beginning.  She gritted out two deuce points to pull ahead early, but her opponent countered with a point of her own.  The Wave then brought out the fire and some creative plays put her ahead 5-1.  Although Michigan's competitor was able to put another point on the board, Levashova showed no let-up in the final moments and defeated her opponents 6-2 in the final set to advance to the final.
 
Adrian Oetzbach came out strong in his opening match against Navy's Andrew Ton, setting the tone with a few big points to pull ahead.  He then used the momentum to win the first set 6-4.  In the second set, the Wave used his advantage to pull ahead early and continue on toward a 6-3 win to advance to the semifinals.
 
In his semifinal bout against #30 August Holmgren, a fellow West Coast Conference competitor from San Diego, the pair went point-for-point to open en route to a 3-3 tie.  Then, the opposition won the next point and used it to take the set 6-3.  In the second set, Holmgren was able to get the early edge and used the lead to amass a second set 6-2 victory and send Oetzbach out of the tournament.
 
ORACLE/ITA MASTERS
Invitations for the tournament go out to one man and one woman from each NCAA Division I conference to participate.  The singles champions earn automatic entry into the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, which will be held November 7-11, in Surprise, Ariz.
 
This is the second year in the four years since the tournament's inception that the Waves have sent a women's competitor to the final.  In 2016, Luisa Stefani did so as a sophomore.
 
COVERAGE
In addition to extensive coverage of the Waves' competitors on @PeppTennis (men) and @WavesTennis (women) on Twitter, the ITA will also be providing information @ITATennis and with the hashtag #OracleITAMasters. 
 
ESPNU & LIVE STREAM
The men's and women's singles finals on Sunday will be available to a national audience live via ESPN3 and on the ESPN App.  The matches will also air later on ESPNU on Monday, September 24 at 2 p.m. PT and Tuesday, September 25 at 2 p.m. PT. 
 
The women's singles final will kick off the live streaming coverage at 11:30 a.m. PT, with the men's singles championship slated for an approximate 2 p.m. PDT start.
   

NEXT UP
Next, the Pepperdine men will trek to Skillman, N.J. from September 29-October 8 to compete in the ITA All-American Championships.  The women will take part in the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships during the same time.  After hosting the prequalifying rounds in Malibu from September 29-October 1, before the Waves make the short trip to Pacific Palisades, Calif. for the qualifying round and main draw.
 
FOLLOW
Follow Pepperdine tennis on Facebook and Twitter @WavesTennis and @PeppTennis.  For all the recent schedules, updates and more, go to www.PepperdineWaves.com.