MALIBU, Calif. – The sixth-ranked Pepperdine women's tennis team will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championship from May 3^rd through the 5th, the NCAA announced on Monday afternoon. In the opening round, the Waves take on Fairfield from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in Connecticut. It is the 36^th time for Pepperdine play for a national championship title.
 
Should Pepperdine win their first round, they will move on to play the winner of California (12-8, 6-4 Pac-12) and Long Beach State (17-5, 6-2 Big West) in the second round of championship play, also held in Malibu.


 
 
NCAA FIRST ROUND: Friday, May 3 | #6 Waves (21-3, 9-0 WCC) vs Fairfield (14-7, 5-1 MAAC) | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif. | 1 p.m. 
 
NCAA SECOND ROUND: Saturday, May 4 | #6 Waves (21-3, 9-0 WCC) vs winner of California/Long Beach State | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif. | 1 p.m.

TICKETING INFO: $10 for adults, $5 for children under 12. Not available for pre-sale. Students, faculty and staff granted free admission with school ID. 
 
ABOUT FAIRFIELD: The Stags and Waves have never met. Fairfield had only one loss in conference play coming in 4-3 fashion against MAAC-leader Quinnipiac. The Stags recently redeemed themselves, however, defeating Quinnipiac in the conference tournament similarly, 4-3. The Stags are not ranked, nor do they have any singles or doubles players in the rankings.
 
SERIES WITH #16 CAL: The Bears stand 33-7 with the Waves overall, with Pepperdine's last loss coming this season in a 4-3 heartbreaker back in February. Cal is currently ranked 16^th in the country after ending the regular season with a loss to 5^th-ranked Stanford and then dropping out of the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament by the hands of USC, 4-1. Ranked singles players for the Bears include #41 Julia Rosenqvist and #74 Anna Bright, while #17 Hana Mraz/Rosenqvist, #40 Bright/Jasie Dunk, #63 Mraz/Katerina Stloukalova and #88 Olivia Hauger/Stloukalova round out the ranked doubles teams.
 
SERIES WITH LONG BEACH STATE: The Waves hold only one loss to Long Beach State that came nearly seven years ago. LBSU most recently won the Big West tournament crown with a 4-3 win over Hawaii. The Beach has also recorded losses to WCC members San Diego and Loyola Marymount, both of whom lost to the Waves in the regular season. Long Beach has no ranked singles or doubles players.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The #6 Waves held their dominant reign of the West Coast Conference as they won 4-1 over Gonzaga to claim their 7^th-straight WCC title.
 
In the win, court two pair Ashley Lahey and Daria Kuczer snatched the doubles point, going 6-3 over Haruna Tsuruta and Kate Ketels to put Pepperdine up 1-0.
 
In singles, Anastasia Iamachkine finished first, swatting Ketels 6-1, 6-0. It was #96 Adrijana Lekaj who clinched for the Waves in her last-ever conference tournament, defeating Graciela Rosas 6-4, 6-1 on court two.
 
Lekaj and doubles partner Dzina Milovanovic were named to the All-Tournament doubles team, where #53 Jessica Failla and Iamachkine earned All-Tournament singles team honors.
 
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