Photo by: Sarah Otteman
ITA Honors #1 Lahey as Senior Player of the Year
5/25/2020 12:58:00 PM | Women's Tennis
TEMPE, Ariz. – Decorated Wave Ashley Lahey of the #13 Pepperdine women's tennis team was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Senior Player of the Year, the league announced Monday morning. Lahey is the first Pepperdine player to win the award in the storied history of Waves tennis.
SENIOR SURF REPORT
The top-ranked senior ended the 2020 dual season at 10-1 in singles, all coming on court one. With the exception of a two-week period in February, Lahey was ranked first for the entirety of the spring season.
In the 2019 fall season, Lahey went completely undefeated through three tournaments en route to winning three-straight championships: the 2019 Oracle/ITA Masters, Women's Collegiate Invitational and the 2019 ITA All-American Championships. The ITA also named her the Player of the Month for both October and November.
RISING TIDE
In her most recent season, Lahey garnered national attention as she became the first-ever Pepperdine women's tennis player to be ranked #1 in singles, as well as the second Wave to achieve the Southwest Region's Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership award and of course, the first to win the ITA Senior Player of the Year honor. A list of her current senior-season accomplishments include:
2020 ITA Senior Player of the Year
2020 ITA All-American
2020 ITA Southwest Region Arthur Ashe Award
2020 ITA Southwest Region Senior Player of the Year
2019 Oracle/ITA Masters Champion (fall)
2019 Women's Collegiate Invitational (fall)
2019 ITA All-American Champion (fall)
During the span of her junior year, Lahey earned a .703 winning percentage at 19-8 in singles and .742 at 26-9 in doubles. In the fall, she advanced into the ITA National Championships quarterfinals and the round of 32 in the spring 2019 NCAA National Singles Championships. Lahey was awarded the following:
2019 ITA Southwest Region Player to Watch
2019 All-WCC Singles first team
2019 All-WCC Doubles second team
2019 WCC All-Academic first team
2019 Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete
Lahey's sophomore season proved that she was only excelling as she bumped her career-high ranking to #3 (up from #11) in singles, amassing a 27-5 singles record and winning her second-straight Southwest Regional singles championship. She became the first ever Waves player to reach the NCAA Singles championship, where she finished as runner-up in 2018. Awards for the 2018-28 season include:
2018 NCAA Singles Championship runner-up
2018 ITA All-American
2018 ITA Collegiate All-Star Team
2018 All-WCC singles first team
2018 WCC All-Academic first team
2018 Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete
Lahey exploded into the collegiate tennis scene her freshman season, where she finished 2016-17 ranked at a then-career high #11 in the ITA singles rankings after posting a 32-7 singles record and winning the Southwest Regional singles title. Her freshman honors include:
2017 ITA All-American
2017 ITA Southwest Regional Player to Watch
2017 WCC Freshman of the Year
2017 All-WCC Singles first team
2017 All-WCC Doubles first team
2017 Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Of course, the senior is not leaving Malibu just yet. Lahey announced her return to Pepperdine after the cancellation of the remainder of the 2020 dual season back in early April. The #13 Waves will welcome her and #35 Jessica Failla "Back to the 'Bu" for one more season, as well as adding fresh Waves Lexi Ryngler, Nikki Redelijk and Shiori Fukuda for 2020-21.
Ashley Lahey is the @ITA_Tennis Senior Player of the Year!
— Pepperdine Women's Tennis (@WavesTennis) May 25, 2020
Was there ever any doubt?
🌊 Undefeated in the fall
🌊 3x tournament champ
🌊 10-1 in the spring
🌊 2x ITA POTM (fall)
🌊 Ranked #1 for most of '19-20
...and we get one more season with her...#WavesUp pic.twitter.com/22GQHUulnH
SENIOR SURF REPORT
The top-ranked senior ended the 2020 dual season at 10-1 in singles, all coming on court one. With the exception of a two-week period in February, Lahey was ranked first for the entirety of the spring season.
In the 2019 fall season, Lahey went completely undefeated through three tournaments en route to winning three-straight championships: the 2019 Oracle/ITA Masters, Women's Collegiate Invitational and the 2019 ITA All-American Championships. The ITA also named her the Player of the Month for both October and November.
RISING TIDE
In her most recent season, Lahey garnered national attention as she became the first-ever Pepperdine women's tennis player to be ranked #1 in singles, as well as the second Wave to achieve the Southwest Region's Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership award and of course, the first to win the ITA Senior Player of the Year honor. A list of her current senior-season accomplishments include:
2020 ITA Senior Player of the Year
2020 ITA All-American
2020 ITA Southwest Region Arthur Ashe Award
2020 ITA Southwest Region Senior Player of the Year
2019 Oracle/ITA Masters Champion (fall)
2019 Women's Collegiate Invitational (fall)
2019 ITA All-American Champion (fall)
During the span of her junior year, Lahey earned a .703 winning percentage at 19-8 in singles and .742 at 26-9 in doubles. In the fall, she advanced into the ITA National Championships quarterfinals and the round of 32 in the spring 2019 NCAA National Singles Championships. Lahey was awarded the following:
2019 ITA Southwest Region Player to Watch
2019 All-WCC Singles first team
2019 All-WCC Doubles second team
2019 WCC All-Academic first team
2019 Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete
Lahey's sophomore season proved that she was only excelling as she bumped her career-high ranking to #3 (up from #11) in singles, amassing a 27-5 singles record and winning her second-straight Southwest Regional singles championship. She became the first ever Waves player to reach the NCAA Singles championship, where she finished as runner-up in 2018. Awards for the 2018-28 season include:
2018 NCAA Singles Championship runner-up
2018 ITA All-American
2018 ITA Collegiate All-Star Team
2018 All-WCC singles first team
2018 WCC All-Academic first team
2018 Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete
Lahey exploded into the collegiate tennis scene her freshman season, where she finished 2016-17 ranked at a then-career high #11 in the ITA singles rankings after posting a 32-7 singles record and winning the Southwest Regional singles title. Her freshman honors include:
2017 ITA All-American
2017 ITA Southwest Regional Player to Watch
2017 WCC Freshman of the Year
2017 All-WCC Singles first team
2017 All-WCC Doubles first team
2017 Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Of course, the senior is not leaving Malibu just yet. Lahey announced her return to Pepperdine after the cancellation of the remainder of the 2020 dual season back in early April. The #13 Waves will welcome her and #35 Jessica Failla "Back to the 'Bu" for one more season, as well as adding fresh Waves Lexi Ryngler, Nikki Redelijk and Shiori Fukuda for 2020-21.
Hear from the #️⃣1️⃣ player in college tennis on her decision to come #Back2TheBu! ⬇️@ITA_Tennis | #WavesUp pic.twitter.com/JLOHVV4vy7
— Pepperdine Women's Tennis (@WavesTennis) April 8, 2020
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
