Friday, February 8
Seattle, Wash.
9:00 a.m. PT
Pepperdine University
4
vs
3
Syracuse
Photo by: Sarah Otteman
#7 Pepperdine Thrills with 4-3 Win over #10 Syracuse at ITA Indoors
2/8/2019 5:47:00 PM | Women's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. – The #7 Pepperdine women's tennis team opened the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in exciting fashion on Friday morning, prevailing with a 4-3 victory over #10 Syracuse in the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
The match started with singles and while the Waves (3-0) collected three wins, so did the Orange (4-3), forcing a call for doubles action. After losing a bit of ground on select courts, the Waves battled back to overcome the opposition, seeing wins from #1 Ashley Lahey and Evgeniya Levashova on court one and a clinch from Dzina Milovanovic and Daria Kuczer on court three for the overall victory.
Pepperdine will continue on to a quarterfinal match against #3 Duke tomorrow at a time still to be determined.
RESULTS
Singles
1: #48 Gabrila Knutson (CUSE) def. Ashley Lahey (PEPP) – 6-2, 6-1
2: #13 Evgeniya Levashova (PEPP) def. Sofya Golubovskaya (CUSE) – 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
3: #67 Miranda Ramirez (CUSE) def. #52 Jessica Failla (PEPP) – 6-1, 5-7, 4-6
4: Adrijana Lekaj (PEPP) def. Guzal Yusupova (CUSE) – 6-1, 6-3
5: Satsuki Takamura (PEPP) def. Dina Hegab (CUSE) – 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
6: Ester Liba Mesh (CUSE) def. Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) – 4-6, 6-2, 6-7 (5)
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 3, 6, 2, 5
Doubles
1: #1 Ashley Lahey/Evgeniya Levashova (PEPP) vs. Gabrila Knutson/Miranda Ramirez (CUSE) – 7-5
2: #12 Jessica Failla/Anastasia Iamachkine (PEPP) vs. Sofya Golubovskaya/Maria Tritou (CUSE) – 4-4, unfinished
3: Dzina Milovanovic/Daria Kuczer (PEPP) vs. Guzal Yusupova/Dina Hegab (CUSE) – 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3*
NOTABLES
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The match started with singles action and #10 Syracuse drew first blood after #48 Gabria Knutson defeated Ashley Lahey on court one. The Waves then countered after Adrijana Lekaj put down Guzal Yupova The Orange came back to pull ahead with three-set wins on courts three and six to put the Waves on defense.
Pepperdine came to play, though, and #13 Evgeniya Levashova bested her opponents on court two, Sofya Golubovskaya with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 battle to close the gap. Freshman Satsuki Takamura then once again took a big victory over Dina Hegab on court five, coming back from a 5-7 first set loss to win 6-3, 6-3.
After the 3-3 tied score, each side went on to doubles. #1 Lahey and Levashova were the first to strike on court one, bating Knutson and Ramirez 7-5. Senior Dzina Milovanovic and freshman Daria Kuczer then paired up on court three to battle through a 6-4 victory over Yuzupova and Hegab.
ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
The ITA Division I National Women's Team Indoor Championship is in its 32nd year of existence. Fifteen teams qualified for the event by winning their respective 2019 ITA Kick-Off Weekend four-team regional, while University of Washington received an automatic bid as the host site. The teams will compete in a single-elimination tournament over a four-day span to crown a national indoor champion. Each team is guaranteed three matches at the event.
Last year, North Carolina and Pepperdine faced off in the final. The Tar Heels took the victory with a 4-2 win.
NEXT UP
Next, the Waves challenge #3 Duke on Saturday in the Nordstrom Tennis Center at a time to be determined.
FOLLOW
Follow the Waves all season @WavesTennis on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check for schedules, results and recaps on www.PepperdineWaves.com
The match started with singles and while the Waves (3-0) collected three wins, so did the Orange (4-3), forcing a call for doubles action. After losing a bit of ground on select courts, the Waves battled back to overcome the opposition, seeing wins from #1 Ashley Lahey and Evgeniya Levashova on court one and a clinch from Dzina Milovanovic and Daria Kuczer on court three for the overall victory.
Pepperdine will continue on to a quarterfinal match against #3 Duke tomorrow at a time still to be determined.
RESULTS
Singles
1: #48 Gabrila Knutson (CUSE) def. Ashley Lahey (PEPP) – 6-2, 6-1
2: #13 Evgeniya Levashova (PEPP) def. Sofya Golubovskaya (CUSE) – 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
3: #67 Miranda Ramirez (CUSE) def. #52 Jessica Failla (PEPP) – 6-1, 5-7, 4-6
4: Adrijana Lekaj (PEPP) def. Guzal Yusupova (CUSE) – 6-1, 6-3
5: Satsuki Takamura (PEPP) def. Dina Hegab (CUSE) – 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
6: Ester Liba Mesh (CUSE) def. Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) – 4-6, 6-2, 6-7 (5)
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 3, 6, 2, 5
Doubles
1: #1 Ashley Lahey/Evgeniya Levashova (PEPP) vs. Gabrila Knutson/Miranda Ramirez (CUSE) – 7-5
2: #12 Jessica Failla/Anastasia Iamachkine (PEPP) vs. Sofya Golubovskaya/Maria Tritou (CUSE) – 4-4, unfinished
3: Dzina Milovanovic/Daria Kuczer (PEPP) vs. Guzal Yusupova/Dina Hegab (CUSE) – 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3*
NOTABLES
- Last year, Pepperdine reached the ITA National Team Indoor Championships final, falling just short to North Carolina.
- This match was the Waves' first contested match of the dual season as all others have been straight-sweeps.
- It was also the first match of the dual season the Waves played singles first, relying on the doubles clinch for victory.
- Pepperdine has posted a 37-2 record at home the past four seasons, including the current campaign.
- Satsuki Takamura, Adrijana Lekaj and Evgeniya Levashova are the three Waves who have won singles matches in every single dual match this season for perfect 3-0 singles records.
- Ashley Lahey and Evgeniya Levashova are currently ranked #1 in the Oracle/ITA doubles rankings. The duo has posted three dual wins this season including today's and have gone 12-2 overall.
- The Waves are now 9-3 in dual singles action and 6-0 in doubles play collectively. In doubles, Pepperdine has gone 10-2 against ranked opponents, while they are an even 18-18 in singles matches against ranked team competition.
- Lekaj and Levashova lead the Waves with 16 wins overall this season.
- Anastasia Iamachkine has also reached the double-digit singles win mark with 10 this season, all from tournament play.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The match started with singles action and #10 Syracuse drew first blood after #48 Gabria Knutson defeated Ashley Lahey on court one. The Waves then countered after Adrijana Lekaj put down Guzal Yupova The Orange came back to pull ahead with three-set wins on courts three and six to put the Waves on defense.
Pepperdine came to play, though, and #13 Evgeniya Levashova bested her opponents on court two, Sofya Golubovskaya with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 battle to close the gap. Freshman Satsuki Takamura then once again took a big victory over Dina Hegab on court five, coming back from a 5-7 first set loss to win 6-3, 6-3.
After the 3-3 tied score, each side went on to doubles. #1 Lahey and Levashova were the first to strike on court one, bating Knutson and Ramirez 7-5. Senior Dzina Milovanovic and freshman Daria Kuczer then paired up on court three to battle through a 6-4 victory over Yuzupova and Hegab.
ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
The ITA Division I National Women's Team Indoor Championship is in its 32nd year of existence. Fifteen teams qualified for the event by winning their respective 2019 ITA Kick-Off Weekend four-team regional, while University of Washington received an automatic bid as the host site. The teams will compete in a single-elimination tournament over a four-day span to crown a national indoor champion. Each team is guaranteed three matches at the event.
Last year, North Carolina and Pepperdine faced off in the final. The Tar Heels took the victory with a 4-2 win.
NEXT UP
Next, the Waves challenge #3 Duke on Saturday in the Nordstrom Tennis Center at a time to be determined.
FOLLOW
Follow the Waves all season @WavesTennis on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check for schedules, results and recaps on www.PepperdineWaves.com
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
