MALIBU, California – The #5 Pepperdine women's tennis program prepares for two of its most crucial matches this season, visiting #12 Oklahoma State and #2 Oklahoma on Easter weekend in nonconference action.
MATCH 22: #5 Pepperdine (17-4) vs. #12 Oklahoma State (16-3, vs. Oklahoma on Fri.) | Saturday, April 16 | 1:00 p.m. PT | Greenwood Tennis Center | Stillwater, Okla.
MATCH 23: #5 Pepperdine (17-4) vs. #2 Oklahoma (23-1, at Oklahoma State on Fri.) | Sunday, April 17 | 10:00 a.m. PT | Headington Family Tennis Center | Norman, Okla.
SERIES HISTORY: Pepperdine has met Oklahoma State seven times, winning three matches. This is the third consecutive season with a meeting between the schools. Prior to 2020, the teams had not met since 1991. In 2021, Pepperdine defeated the Cowgirls 4-0 in Malibu.
Pepperdine is 4-1 all-time against Oklahoma, with the only loss coming in February of 2022 in the semifinals at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, 4-2. The Waves registered wins against the Sooners in 1982, 1985, 1986 and 2020. This is the first meeting between the schools in Norman.
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 seventh in the Tennis Channel/USTA college poll.
SCOUTING THE WAVES: Pepperdine is on a four-match winning streak after a perfect 3-0 week that included wins at #16 UCLA, Gonzaga and Portland by a combined score of 15-3. Savannah Broadus and Shiori Fukuda were named the West Coast Conference Doubles Team of the Week after going 3-0 last week. As announced on Wednesday, the pair entered the ITA rankings at #54. The Waves are once again scattered throughout the latest edition of the ITA rankings with Fukuda (#13), Lisa Zaar (#22), Taisiya Pachkaleva (#46), Victoria Flores (#58), Broadus (#84), Nikki Redelijk (#100), Janice Tjen (#103), Broadus/Tjen (#23), Flores/Zaar (#24) and Flores/Tjen (#51).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Oklahoma State is on a five-match winning streak, most recently taking down Iowa State 4-3 and West Virginia 7-0 on the road last weekend. The Cowgirls have defeated Princeton and USC while falling to Ohio State, all common opponents of the Waves. OSU is represented in the ITA rankings by #27 Lisa Marie Rioux, #51 Mananchaya Sawangkaew, #14 Ayumi Miyamoto/Rioux and #52 Sawangkaew/Martina Zerulo.
Oklahoma has been one of the hottest teams in the country throughout the entirety of this season, maintaining its grip on the #2 ranking since the ITA Indoors. The Sooners hold a 12-match winning streak after defeating West Virginia and Iowa State this past weekend. Their lone loss came in the championship of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships to undefeated and consensus #1 North Carolina. Oklahoma boasts an astounding 14 ranked wins this season. Layne Sleeth (#14), Carmen Corley (#47), Ivana Corley (#76), Dana Guzman (#104), and Corley/Corley (#6) are Sooners ranked by the ITA.
FOLLOW: Follow @WavesTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
