LAKE NONA, Florida – The fifth-ranked Pepperdine women's tennis team took down top-ranked and previously unbeaten North Carolina with another 4-3 thriller to propel the Waves into the NCAA championship match for the first time in program history, set for Saturday, May 22 at 2:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. ET against #2 Texas.
Freshman
Taisiya Pachkaleva was on the hot seat this match, earning the clinch point on court three with a 7-6(3), 6-3 win.
RESULTS
#5 Pepperdine 4, #1 North Carolina 3
Singles
1. #2 Sara Daavettila (NC) def.
#77 Lahey, Ashley (PEPP) 6-4, 6-4
2. #41 Alexa Graham (NC) def.
#21 Failla, Jessica (PEPP) 6-2, 6-3
3.
#89 Pachkaleva, Taisiya (PEPP) def. #27 Cameron Morra (NC) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3*
4.
#118 Fukuda, Shiori (PEPP) def. #97 Elizabeth Scotty (NC) 6-2, 6-3
5.
Zaar, Lisa (PEPP) def. #32 Makenna Jones (NC) 6-4, 6-3
6. #36 Fiona Crawley (NC) def.
Redelijk, Nikki (PEPP) 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 2,4,6,1,5,3
Doubles
1. #2 Sara Daavettila/Cameron Morra (NC) def.
Zaar, Lisa/Lahey, Ashley (PEPP) 6-4
2.
Fukuda, Shiori/Pachkaleva, Taisiya (PEPP) def. #4 Elizabeth Scotty/Makenna Jones (NC) 7-5*
3.
Iamachkine,Anastasia/Failla, Jessica (PEPP) def. #34 Alle Sanford/Reilly Tran (NC) 6-4
Order of finish: 3,1,2
RECAP
Earlier this season, the Waves fell to the Tarheels 4-1 in the ITA Indoors. The NCAA semifinal match was a different story, however, as a fresh lineup and confidence fueled Pepperdine, beginning with doubles.
The Waves struggled some with doubles play all season, but through the past few matches, one could never tell. On court three,
Anastasia Iamachkine and
Jessica Failla earned the first win of the evening with a 6-4 drilling of the #34-ranked doubles team Alle Sanford and Reilly Tran. A stumble on court one put all attention on court two, where
Shiori Fukuda and
Taisiya Pachkaleva went game-for-game with the fourth-ranked pair of Elizabeth Scotty and Makenna Jones. The teams tied it up at five-all, but the Waves duo grinded out the lead at 6-5 and didn't look back for the 7-5 win and the first team point of the evening.
In singles, Pepperdine and North Carolina split the opening sets at three courts apiece. After a fall on court two, Fukuda's win did not require a tripe-set thriller as she won swiftly at 6-3, 6-3, besting #97 Elizabeth Scotty on court four.
The Waves were down 2-3 after losses on court six and one, but
Lisa Zaar took matters into her own hands, defeating #32 Makenna Jones- daughter of Pepperdine men's tennis great Kelly Jones, who won two NCAA Doubles Championships in 1984 and 1985- at 6-4, 6-3 for the three-all score.
Pachkaleva, who also helped clinch the doubles point with Fukuda, took a less dramatic match on court three after needing a tiebreaker to win the first set at 7-6(3). The freshman was up 5-0 before #27 Cameron Morra felt the pressure and won three-straight sets before the Wave put the Tarheel to rest on a deciding point at 6-3.
UP NEXT
The Waves (25-3) will take on the Longhorns (30-1) in the NCAA National Championship match on Saturday, May 22. Texas has previously won two NCAA titles in 1993 and 1995, as it will be the fifth time for the Longhorns in the final round overall.
In the shortened 2020 season, the Waves crushed then-#4 Texas 7-0 in Malibu in a massive upset. Over the past six seasons, Pepperdine has gone 4-0 against UT.
The match will be aired on the Tennis Channel with updates and highlights on Twitter at @WavesTennis.
