MALIBU, California – The #8 Pepperdine women's tennis program takes a trip to the Eastern Time Zone and will battle #16 Michigan and #4 Ohio State this weekend.
MATCH 8: #8 Pepperdine (5-2) vs #16 Michigan (5-2) | Friday, February 25 | 3:00 p.m. PT | Varsity Tennis Center | Ann Arbor, Mich.
MATCH 9: #8 Pepperdine (5-2) vs #4 Ohio State (5-3) | Sunday, February 27 | 9:00 a.m. PT | Ty Tucker Tennis Center | Columbus, Ohio
SERIES HISTORY: Pepperdine holds a 5-2 advantage all-time against Michigan, defeating the Wolverines both in 2020 and 2021. This is the fourth-straight year with a meeting between the two schools. This is the fourth all-time meeting with Ohio State. Pepperdine's lone win in the series came in 2001.
COVERAGE: Links to live video and stats for both matches can be found on PepperdineWaves.com.
WAVES IN THE RANKINGS
As a team, Pepperdine is ranked fifth in the Tennis Channel/USTA college poll and eighth in the ITA computer ratings.
SCOUTING THE WAVES
Pepperdine most recently competed in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, advancing all the way to the semifinals. The Waves defeated #17 Old Dominion 4-1 and #4 California 4-1 before falling to #8 Oklahoma in a classic, 4-2. Pepperdine deploys a formidable foe at the top of its lineup, with #16 Shiori Fukuda (Tokyo, Japan) and #8 Lisa Zaar (Stockholm, Sweden) combining to go a perfect 11-0 from the one and two positions, respectively. The 24th-ranked doubles pair of Savannah Broadus (Carrollton, Texas) and Janice Tjen (Jakarta, Indonesia) is also unblemished to this point in the young season, sporting a 6-0 record.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Michigan has won two straight, defeating Princeton and #4 California in its last two matches. The Wolverines have played three ranked matches this season, defeating #12 Georgia Tech before falling at home against #2 North Carolina. Michigan has posted three shutouts this season and is led by two players in the ITA rankings: Kari Miller (#11) and Andrea Cerdan (#81). Ohio State is 5-2 and a winner of three straight. Most recently, the Buckeyes defeated Kentucky at home on February 18. Ohio State, like Pepperdine, competed at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, falling to #2 North Carolina in the opening round before defeating #13 Florida and #14 Auburn, both by scores of 4-3. The Buckeyes have four players ranked by the ITA in singles: Irina Cantos Siemers (#6), Isabelle Boulais (#21), Sydni Ratliff (#77) and Lucia Marzal (#114).
FOLLOW: Follow @WavesTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
