Pepperdine University
ITA National Fall Championships
Broadus and Tjen Prepare for ITA National Fall Championships
10/31/2023 3:39:00 PM | Women's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. — The nation's top-ranked women's doubles team will defend its national title this week, as Pepperdine's Savannah Broadus and Janice Tjen begin play at the ITA National Fall Championships, held at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif. from Nov. 1-5.
In addition to playing in doubles, #23 Broadus (Carrollton, Texas) will compete in the ITA National Fall Championships in singles after being named the ITA Southwest Regional runner-up. She and Tjen (Jakarta, Indonesia) begin doubles play against North Carolina's Abby Forbes and Reilly Tran at 5 p.m. after Broadus will play Florida junior Emily De Oliviera in singles at 9 a.m.
All matches will be livestreamed via TrackTennis, plus Cracked Racquets will provide whip-around, color commentary on its YouTube channel. Links to both broadcasts and live stats can be found on the women's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
Broadus and Tjen are the reigning ITA Doubles National Fall Champions. Last year as the 6-seed, the duo faced little resistance until the quarterfinals, where they needed three sets to beat Chloe Beck and Cameron Morra of Duke. In the title match, Broadus and Tjen beat eventual NCAA champions Fiona Crawley and Carson Tanguilig 6-2, 7-6 (2).
Making her second appearance in the ITA National Fall Championships, Broadus aims to be the Waves' first ITA Fall Singles Champion since Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen won the title in 1990.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Playing in their first fall tournament, Broadus and Tjen did not disappoint as the nation's top-ranked doubles team during the ITA Southwest Regional. The duo rolled into the semifinals with little resistance, then beat USC's Grace Piper and Parker Fry in straight sets to make the finals.
In the finals, the duo nearly needed three sets to fend off UC Santa Barbara's No. 13 duo of Amelia Honer and Kira Reuter, but the Waves prevailed 6-4, 7-5 for their back-to-back Southwest Regional doubles title.
Broadus and Tjen have a perfect 5-0 record this season, yet they are the 2-seed this week. North Carolina's Elizabeth Scotty and Reese Brantmeier are the top seed in the field.
Meanwhile, in singles, Broadus earned her spot at fall nationals by reaching the ITA Southwest Regional finals. Although she fell in three sets to USC's Emma Charney, Broadus earned the region's second at-large bid. So far, Broadus has an 8-4 record with a 2-2 mark against nationally ranked singles players.
WEDNESDAY'S MATCHES
Singles First Round
#23 Broadus (PEPP) vs. De Oliviera (FLA), 9 a.m.
Doubles First Round
#1 Broadus/Tjen (PEPP) vs. #53 Forbes/Tran (UNC), 5 p.m.
FOLLOW: Follow @WavesTennis on Facebook and X for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
Players Mentioned
