SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Pepperdine women's tennis players Savannah Broadus and Janice Tjen moved on to the second round of singles and doubles after the first day of the ITA National Fall Championships, held at Barnes Tennis Center on Wednesday.
Broadus (Carrollton, Texas) beat Florida junior Emily De Oliviera in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, then the nation's No. 1 doubles team of Broadus and Tjen (Jakarta, Indonesia) advanced to the second round of doubles play with a 6-2, 6-3 win over #53 Abby Forbes and Reilly Tran of North Carolina. Thursday's second round starts with Broadus' singles match at 9 a.m., followed by the doubles match at 4:30 p.m.
In her singles match, Broadus struck first by breaking De Oliviera immediately, then holding serve in the next game to take a 2-0 lead. But De Oliviera answered by winning the next two games to tie the first set at 2-2, yet Broadus broke back with four quick points in the next game. Trailing 4-3 later in the set, Broadus held serve, then rattled off four-straight points to break De Oliviera in the next set to take a 5-3 advantage. She held serve to take the first match 6-4.
Broadus didn't relent in the second game. The junior broke De Oliviera on deuce point, then won the next game on an ace to consolidate the break. De Oliviera held serve, then broke Broadus, but the Pepperdine junior broke back and consolidated the break to take a 4-2 lead. From there, Broadus didn't look back and routed De Oliviera 6-4, 6-2.
With the win, Broadus will take on #25 Sarah Hamner of South Carolina tomorrow at 9 a.m.
Later in doubles, the Waves squared off against Forbes and Tran of North Carolina — the defending NCAA team champions. The match was played on serve until Broadus and Tjen broke the Tar Heels to take a 3-2 lead. The Waves consolidated the break and faced little resistance in the first set; the Waves didn't face deuce point from there on out in a 6-2 first-set win.
The second set was more competitive than the first. Both teams held serve until the Waves won the first break point of the match to take a 4-3 lead. Pepperdine held serve, then broke North Carolina one last time. Facing deuce point, Tran and Tjen traded volleys at the service line before an acrobatic backhand from Tjen caught Tran off balance. Tjen's overhead smash finished off the Tar Heels for Pepperdine's 6-2, 6-4 win — the team's second over a ranked opponent this fall.
With the win, Broadus and Tjen will play Natasha Subhash and Hibah Shaikh of Virginia at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. The Cavaliers upset California's ninth-ranked duo of Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm in the first round on Wednesday.
RESULTS
Singles First Round
#23 Savannah Broadus (PEPP) def. Emily De Oliviera (FLA) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles First Round
#1 Savannah Broadus/Janice Tjen (PEPP) def. #53 Abby Forbes/Reilly Tran (UNC), 6-2, 6-3
THURSDAY'S MATCHES
Singles Second Round
#23 Savannah Broadus (PEPP) vs. #25 Sarah Hamner (SCAR), 9 a.m.
Doubles Second Round
#1 Savannah Broadus/Janice Tjen (PEPP) vs. Natasha Subhash/Hibah Shaikh (UVA), 4:30 p.m.
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