ORLANDO, Florida – Two Pepperdine student-athletes began the NCAA women's tennis singles tournament on Sunday, with Jessica Failla advancing to the second round.
 
Failla edged Denver's Anna Riedmiller by winning a pair of tiebreakers, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4). Failla is making her second appearance in the NCAA singles event with the Waves. She fell in the first round in 2019.
 
Ashley Lahey was given a tough draw as she faced North Carolina State's Anna Rogers, the sixth overall seed, in the first round. Rogers prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. It was the final match in one of the greatest tennis careers in Pepperdine history. Lahey was a three-time All-American, the 2021 West Coast Conference Player of the Year, a 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-American first teamer and an NCAA singles finalist in 2018.
 
Both players were back on the court less than 24 hours after a grueling week in the team tournament, which saw the Waves defeat Michigan, UCLA and North Carolina before falling in the national championship match to Texas on Saturday. It was the first time in program history that Pepperdine advanced past the quarterfinals.
 
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Failla takes on Old Dominion's Yulia Starodubsteva in Monday's second round. She'll be pulling double-duty, as the doubles tournament begins on Monday. Failla and Shiori Fukuda meet the national 5-8 seeded team of Jaeda Daniel and Adriana Reami of North Carolina State.
 
The men's tennis doubles tournament also begins on Monday and Pepperdine's team of Guy Den Ouden and Adrian Oetzbach face Florida's Sam Riffice and Duarte Vale.
 
Times for Monday's matches have not yet been set.