MALIBU, California – Fresh off of a third consecutive trip to the NCAA quarterfinals, the #9 Pepperdine women's tennis program opens its 2023 dual season at home with the ITA Kick-Off Weekend as Clemson, Memphis and Columbia come to Malibu.
With two wins this weekend, the Waves would clinch a trip to Seattle, Washington for the 2023 ITA National Team Indoor Championships from February 10-13.
MATCH 1: #9 Pepperdine vs Clemson (4-0) | Saturday, January 28 | 10 a.m. PT | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif.
MATCH 2: #9 Pepperdine vs Memphis (0-3) OR Columbia (1-1) | Sunday, January 29 | 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. PT | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif.
COVERAGE
All home matches will be live-streamed via Playsight and can be found on PepperdineWaves.com. Fans can click
HERE for the Tournament Central page, where scores will be updated over the weekend. Scores will be updated periodically on the web and on Twitter at @WavesTennis.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance is free to each home match at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center this spring.
SERIES HISTORY
Pepperdine has not beaten Clemson, though the teams have not played since 2005 and the earliest meeting between the schools was in 1981. In five matches, this will be the fourth time the schools have squared off in Malibu.
Columbia visited Malibu last January for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, falling to the Waves 4-0 in the first round. This was the only previous time Pepperdine has faced the Ivy League school.
Pepperdine has only faced Memphis once, falling 4-3 on the road in 2014.
SCOUTING THE WAVES
Head coach
Per Nilsson has a mixture of returners and newcomers at his disposal this season, as the Waves have four returners from last season's NCAA quarterfinalist squad and three newcomers.
Lisa Zaar (Stockholm, Sweden) was an ITA Singles All-American in 2022 after a run to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship. The senior was an All-WCC first team selection in both singles and doubles last season. One of the most decorated players in school history, Zaar holds the second-highest overall career winning percentage in Pepperdine history, winning nearly 82% of her matches (77-17). Her 38 overall wins last season placed her fourth in the all-time ranks for overall single-season wins. Following her three ranked wins at the Freeman Memorial Championship, Zaar was named the West Coast Conference singles player of the week on Tuesday.
#21
Savannah Broadus (Carrollton, Texas), an ITA Doubles All-American, had one of the best rookie seasons by any Wave in 2022. The West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and ITA Southwest Regional Rookie of the Year went 36-4 last season, good for second place on the overall single-season wins percentage list (.900). She holds the school record for most dual wins at the #2 spot in the lineup, winning 22 matches last season. Those 22 dual victories gave her second place on the single-season dual wins list.
#12
Janice Tjen (Jakarta, Indonesia) was an ITA Doubles All-American in 2022 with Broadus after a run to the semifinals at the NCAA Doubles Championship. The junior was an All-WCC first team pick in singles and doubles in her first season as a Wave. Tjen was 21-2 in the dual season and ended the spring on a 15-match winning streak, taking down #5 Cam Morra from North Carolina in the NCAA quarterfinal match. Her and Broadus begin the spring season ranked #4 in doubles by the ITA. After a pair of wins last weekend at the Freeman Memorial Championship, Broadus and Tjen were named the WCC doubles team of the week on Tuesday.
Nikki Redelijk (Windermere, Fla.) finished the 2022 campaign ranked #112 by the ITA in singles. She had an overall record of 22-9, including an 11-4 mark in dual play. The junior went a perfect 6-0 in WCC play and earned the clinch point in Pepperdine's road win over #16 UCLA in April 2022.
Three graduate students join the fold this spring, as
Bunyawi Thamchaiwat (Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand),
Carolyn Campana (Hillsborough, Calif.) and
Anna Campana (Hillsborough, Calif.) are poised to make their Pepperdine dual season debut on Sunday. Thamchaiwat was an ITA All-American in singles at Oklahoma State in 2021 and played her 2022 season at San Diego State.
Carolyn Campana, the older sister of Anna, played at Wake Forest from 2019-22 and was also an ITA All-American in singles in 2021.
Anna Campana also started her career at Wake Forest and was a mainstay in the Demon Deacons lineup throughout her career.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Clemson has rattled off four consecutive wins to start the season, having not dropped a point thus far to College of Charleston, UNC Greensboro, Presbyterian and Wofford. The doubles pair of Samantha Buyckx and Jenna Thompson is ranked 50th in the ITA doubles rankings. Thompson, Sophia Hatton, Eleni Louka and Cristina Medvedeva have each won a pair of singles matches.
Columbia kicked off their spring with a split last weekend, falling to Old Dominion before rebounding to beat Morgan State. No Lions are ranked by the ITA.
Memphis has struggled thus far, dropping three consecutive matches to Power Five opponents on the road in Purdue, Alabama and Ole Miss. No Tigers are ranked by the ITA.
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