MALIBU, Calif. — The No. 8 Pepperdine women's tennis team was picked first in the West Coast Conference preseason poll, plus Savannah Broadus, Janice Tjen and Lisa Zaar all made the conference's preseason team, which was announced Tuesday.
The Waves, who have won the past 11 regular-season titles and nine conference tournament titles, earned eight of the nine first-place votes. San Diego and LMU not only rounded out the top three team rankings, but also were responsible for the other three preseason team selections. Aside from a narrow, 4-3 win over San Diego last season, the Waves didn't yield a single match to WCC opponents. Pepperdine has not lost a WCC dual match in eight years.
Broadus, Tjen and Zaar comprise one of the best top-three singles lineups in the nation. All three were all first-team WCC selections last year, all three have been All-Americans at least once in their careers and Tjen is the reigning WCC Player of the Year. In singles, Broadus and Zaar went a perfect 6-0 in WCC play, while Tjen went 5-1.
In the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, Broadus is ranked 21st in singles and Tjen is 96th. The duo, which spent the majority of last season as the nation's top-ranked doubles team, is ranked fourth in doubles after fall play.
The No. 8 Waves will kick off the season at the Freeman Memorial Tournament, held in Las Vegas, Nev. from Jan. 12-14.
2024 WCC Preseason Poll
1. Pepperdine - 64 points (8 First Place Votes)
2. San Diego - 57 (1 FPV)
3. LMU - 50
4. San Francisco - 40
5. Portland - 33
6. Saint Mary's – 25
7. Gonzaga - 24
8. Pacific - 23
9. Santa Clara - 8
2024 WCC Preseason Team
Savannah Broadus, Pepperdine
Elizabeth Goldsmith, San Diego
Claudia De Las Heras , San Diego
Stefania Rogozinska, LMU
Janice Tjen, Pepperdine
Lisa Zaar, Pepperdine
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