Fifth-Ranked Waves Kick Off Season This Weekend

MALIBU, Calif. – The fifth-ranked Pepperdine women's tennis team opens up the 2021 dual season this weekend, hosting a regional of the 2021 ITA Kickoff Weekend. The winner of the event earns an automatic bid to the ITA National Indoors in February.

MATCH #1: #5 Pepperdine vs Wisconsin | Saturday, January 23 | 10 a.m. PT | RSTC | Malibu, Calif.

MATCH #2: #17 USC vs Denver | Saturday, January 23 | 2 p.m. PT | RSTC | Malibu, Calif.

CONSOLATION: Loser of match 1 & 2 | Sunday, January 24 | 10 a.m. PT | RSTC | Malibu, Calif.

CHAMPIONSHIP: Winner of match 1 & 2 | Sunday, January 24 | 2 p.m. PT | RSTC | Malibu, Calif.

COVERAGE: All matches will be live streamed via Playsight and can be found on PepperdineWaves.com. Scores will be updated periodically on the web and on Twitter at @WavesTennis.

ATTENDANCE: Per COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions set by LA County and the state of California, fans may not attend any matches or events on campus.

WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND
The Waves will open the weekend against Wisconsin on Saturday at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. Last season, the Badgers went 8-2 before the cancellation of matches.

After the Pepperdine-Wisconsin match, #17 USC and Denver will take the courts to determine the opponents for both the consolation and championship matches on Sunday.

SCOUTING THE WAVES
Three-time All-American Ashley Lahey remained the lone occupant of the ITA's top spot after a dominating 2019-20 season. In the fall of 2019, Lahey went undefeated and won three singles championships in the 2019 Oracle/ITA Masters, the 2019 Women's Collegiate Invitational and the 2019 ITA All-American Championships. Lahey did not play as many tournaments this fall, however this did not alter the ITA's perception of the #1 ranking, and has claimed the top spot since November 10, 2019 and was only knocked down to #2 for two weeks.

Graduate student Jessica Failla also chose to return for one more season after the abrupt end to this spring- a choice that rewarded her in the eyes of the ITA as Failla was given the #33 ranking heading into the 2021 dual season. The cancellation of last season did not stop Failla, however, as the SoCal-native played in several tournaments, winning the ITA Summer National Championships over San Diego's Solymar Colling.

Graduate transfer and 2020 All-American Shiori Fukuda begins her first season as a Wave ranked #12 nationally after being named the 2020 Big Ten Athlete of the Year at Ohio State. As a Buckeye, Fukuda finished her final season at #11.

Calabasas-native Lexi Ryngler earned her #45 spot after ascending to the semifinals in both the 2020 Oracle/ITA Masters and the 2020 USTA SoCal Sectionals. The Texas transfer finished the 2019-20 season ranked #53 as a Longhorn.

Freshman Taisiya Pachkaleva enters her first season in Malibu ranked second in the ITA's Newcomer rankings as well as #88 in overall singles. Pachkaleva recorded her highest ITF ranking at #32 in 2019 as well as #540 in WTA singles.

UP NEXT
With an automatic or at-large bid, the Waves will head to Stillwater, Oklahoma for the 2021 ITA National Team Indoors held at Oklahoma State. The championships are set to begin Friday, February 5 through Monday, February 8.

The following week, Pepperdine will invite #17 USC to Malibu again on Saturday, February 13 for a 1 p.m. match.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jessica Failla

Shiori Fukuda

Ashley Lahey

Taisiya Pachkaleva

Lexi Ryngler

Footer