#6 Waves Prep for NCAA Super Regional

MALIBU, Calif. – The #6 Pepperdine women's tennis team continues its run in the postseason on Friday afternoon, playing host to the 23^rd-ranked University of Central Florida in the NCAA Championship Super Regional to be held at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

NCAA SUPER REGIONAL: Friday, May 10 | #6 Waves (23-3, 9-0 WCC) vs #23 UCF (24-3, 6-0 American) | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif. | 1 p.m.

TICKETING INFO: Because the match is an NCAA Championship event, tickets will be required for entry. Tickets will only be sold on-site and will be priced at $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12.

ON THE KNIGHTS: Pepperdine and UCF have never met in the history of their respective tennis programs. The #23 Knights went unblemished in the American Athletic Conference this season, taking wins over the likes of #46 Southern Methodist and #45 South Florida in conference play. Their three losses all came from the hands of ranked opponents in #15 Florida State, #20 Northwestern and #12 Oklahoma State.

In UCF's NCAA first and second rounds, the Knights defeated #37 Alabama 4-0 and most recently an impressive upset of #11 Florida State, 4-1.

The Knights are home to two ranked singles players in #40 Valeriya Zeleva and #82 Ksenia Kuznetsova and one doubles pair, the 26^th-ranked Kuznetsova and Zeleva.

ITA RANKINGS: The Waves currently stand 6^th in the nation, playing home to three singles players and two doubles pairs. In singles, junior Ashley Lahey comes in at No. 37, followed by seniors Jessica Failla at No. 53 and Adrijana Lekaj at No. 102. Failla and freshman Anastasia Iamachkine sit at 41^st in doubles, as Lahey and freshman Daria Kuczer previously went unranked but have entered the countdown at No. 86.

LAST TIME OUT: The sixth-ranked Waves wiped 16^th-ranked California 4-0 in the second round of NCAA Championship play.the #41 doubles pair of Jessica Failla and Anastasia Iamachkine won first on court one, going 6-1 over Cal's Rosenqvist and Mraz, as court three pair Dzina Milovanovic and Adrijana Lekaj took another 6-1 win over Hauger and Stloukalova.

In singles, it was Iamachkine who recorded the first win, defeating Jasie Dunk in straight sets, 6-1 each. Current No. 37 Ashley Lahey stole a 7-5, 6-2 match over the 41^st-ranked Rosenqvist, as #53 Failla followed with a 6-3, 6-3 sweep over Stloukalova to clinch the match and advance the Waves into the super regional round.

NEXT UP: With a Pepperdine win, the Waves will head off to Orlando, Florida for the round of eight which is set to be held at the USTA National Campus at dates and times to be determined.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Since 1982, the Waves have advanced to the NCAA postseason 36 times, with the best finishes coming in six quarterfinals in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2016 and 2017 while keeping a 17-year streak in championship appearances dating back to 2002. Pepperdine currently stands 37-35 in championship play. Last season, the Waves finished their season in the round of 16.

WCC HISTORY: The Waves hold a dominant reign over the West Coast Conference, boasting a 28-3 record in WCC tournament play and currently sit on a win streak of seven tournament championships. Since the inception of the WCC Regular Season title, Pepperdine has taken the crown every single year, including going undefeated against all conference teams this season.

AWARDS:

2019 WCC SINGLES PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Ashley Lahey (x3)
Jessica Failla
Adrijana Lekaj

2019 ALL-WCC 1^ST TEAM SINGLES
Ashley Lahey
Adrijana Lekaj

2019 WCC DOUBLES PAIRS OF THE WEEK
Jessica Failla/Anastasia Iamachkine
Ashley Lahey/Anastasia Iamachkine
Ashley Lahey/Daria Kuczer (x2)

2019 ALL-WCC 2nd TEAM SINGLES
Dzina Milovanovic
Jessica Failla

2019 ALL-WCC HM SINGLES
Anastasia Iamachkine
Daria Kuczer

2019 ALL-WCC 2ND TEAM DOUBLES
Jessica Failla & Anastasia Iamachkine
Ashley Lahey & Daria Kuczer

FOLLOW: Keep up with all things Waves tennis on Twitter (@WavesTennis) and Facebook (\WavesTennis) as well as updates on PepperdineWaves.com.

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Players Mentioned

Jessica Failla

Anastasia Iamachkine

Daria Kuczer

Ashley Lahey

Adrijana Lekaj

Dzina Milovanovic

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