MALIBU, California – The #8 Pepperdine women's tennis program will play in its sixth consecutive Sweet 16 match on Friday afternoon, as the Waves host #9 Miami (Fla.) in the NCAA Super Regional for a spot in the national quarterfinals next week.
Pepperdine is looking to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the ninth time in program history and the fifth time in the past six seasons.
MATCH 29: #8 Pepperdine (22-6) vs. #9 Miami (19-5) | Friday, May 13 | 1:00 p.m. | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif.
SERIES HISTORY: Pepperdine is 5-5 all-time against Hurricanes, but the teams have not met since 2006, a 6-1 Pepperdine loss in Coral Gables. The last meeting in Malibu came in 2004, and the last time the Waves defeated Miami was 1999. The schools have met twice in the NCAA Tournament, splitting the matches in 1985 and 1989.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: 2019 was the only previous year that the Super Regional format has been used, and the Waves have now hosted both years after defeating UCF 4-2 in the 2019 Supers. This is the 38th NCAA Tournament appearance for Pepperdine, as the Waves hold a 45-37 record all time. Last season's squad advanced to the national championship match, falling 4-3 to Texas. Pepperdine has only missed the NCAA Tournament twice in its history.
COVERAGE: Links to the Tournament Central page, along with live video and stats, will be available on PepperdineWaves.com. Scores will be updated periodically on Twitter at @WavesTennis.
TICKET/FAN INFO: E-tickets will be available for purchase and located here: www.pepperdinewaves.com/tickets/ All tickets available are general admission. Pre-order is strongly encouraged. All tickets are single-day sessions. The prices are $10 for general admission adult and $5 for children (ages 2-12), seniors (65+) and students with ID. Children under 2 are free of charge.
Fans can park in the Firestone Fieldhouse lot and walk up to the tennis facility. Handicapped parking is available for tennis matches in the Firestone Fieldhouse lot below the stairs. There is a ramp next to the parking lot that leads to the elevator. If assistance is needed in making your way to a venue, please contact Public Safety at 310-506-4442.
LOOKING AHEAD: The winner of Friday's match will advance to the NCAA quarterfinals on Friday, May 20 at either 1:00 p.m. PT or 5:00 p.m. PT against the winner of the Super Regional between #1 North Carolina and #16 Florida. The quarterfinals, semifinals and national championship will take place at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
WAVES IN THE RANKINGS: As a team, Pepperdine is ranked eighth in the ITA computer ratings and 10th in the Tennis Channel/USTA college poll.
SCOUTING THE WAVES: Pepperdine took care of business last weekend, defeating Denver 4-0 in the first round before taking down #19 USC for the 10th consecutive time, 4-1, in the second round. #85 Savannah Broadus won twice over the weekend and only dropped two games total. Pepperdine has only played one other Atlantic Coast Conference school this season, shutting out Notre Dame 4-0 in January at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Other Waves in the rankings include #15 Shiori Fukuda, #27 Lisa Zaar, #40 Taisiya Pachkaleva, #59 Victoria Flores, #91 Janice Tjen, #121 Nikki Redelijk, #42 Broadus/Tjen, #45 Flores/Zaar, #60 Flores/Tjen and #70 Broadus/Fukuda. The final ITA individual rankings of the season will be released on June 2.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Miami booked a ticket to its 14th Sweet 16 in the last 18 full seasons with a 4-1 win in the second round over in-state rival UCF last weekend. The Hurricanes dropped the doubles point but roared back to win four straight singles matches. In the loaded ACC, Miami finished tied for third in the regular season with a 10-3 conference record and advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Miami has players scattered throughout the rankings: #33 Daevenia Achong, #37 Eden Richardson, #92 Isabella Pfennig, #13 Achong/Richardson and #54 Diana Khodan/Maya Tahan. Achong leads the team with a 20-4 dual singles record from the top three positions, while Audrey Boch-Collins and Isabella Pfennig are both 17-4.
FOLLOW: Follow @WavesTennis on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
