MALIBU, California – The #5 Pepperdine women's tennis program returns home for a single match this weekend, taking on Saint Mary's on Saturday afternoon in a West Coast Conference contest.
MATCH 18: #5 Pepperdine (13-4, 3-0 WCC) vs. Saint Mary's (7-6, 2-1 WCC, at LMU on Fri.) | Saturday, April 2 | 12:00 p.m. | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif.
SERIES HISTORY: Pepperdine holds a 23-4 all-time advantage against the Gaels, including an 8-1 record in Malibu. Pepperdine's lone loss to the Gaels at home came in 2018. The Waves are currently on an eight-match winning streak against SMC.
COVERAGE: Links to live video and stats are available at PepperdineWaves.com. Scores will be updated periodically on Twitter at @WavesTennis.
WAVES IN THE RANKINGS: As a team, Pepperdine is ranked fifth in the ITA computer ratings and fifth in the Tennis Channel/USTA college poll.
SCOUTING THE WAVES: Pepperdine had its seven-match win streak snapped by #14 California on Tuesday in Berkeley, 4-3. Prior to that, the Waves swept San Francisco on Monday in the Bay Area, 4-0. The 17th-ranked duo of Victoria Flores and Lisa Zaar was named the WCC Doubles Team of the Week also on Tuesday, marking the third consecutive week the Waves have earned that honor. Pepperdine is represented in the ITA individual rankings by #9 Shiori Fukuda, #17 Zaar, #36 Taisiya Pachkaleva, #51 Flores, #79 Janice Tjen, #82 Savannah Broadus, #98 Nikki Redelijk, #16 Broadus/Tjen and #43 Flores/Tjen.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The Gaels are currently riding a four-match winning streak heading into this weekend's Southern California road trip, having most recently defeated Santa Clara and San Francisco last weekend in WCC play. Saint Mary's has dropped matches to UC Santa Barbara, USC and Stanford, all common opponents of the Waves. Mariia Kozyreva is ranked 49th by the ITA in singles, while the doubles pair of Jordan Harris and Kozyreva is ranked 36th.
FOLLOW: Follow @WavesTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
