SEATTLE, Wash. — The Pepperdine women's tennis team wrapped up its three-match stint at the ITA Division I Indoor Team National Championships with a 4-2 win over #16 USC in the consolation draw on Sunday afternoon.
Freshman Jasmine Conway clinched her first collegiate match for the Waves (4-2) with her 7-6 (8), 6-2 win at the sixth position to give Pepperdine its 13th-straight win over USC (5-3). Although USC won the doubles point, the top half of the Waves' lineup answered the call as Janice Tjen, #15 Lisa Zaar and #6 Savannah Broadus won in straight sets.
After the Trojans won the doubles point at the second and third positions, the Waves immediately flipped the script in singles play. Five Pepperdine players recorded first-set wins — and three of those were decided by a break or more.
For the third time at the ITA Indoor Nationals, Tjen made quick work of her opponent at the third position. Of her three wins this weekend, Sunday's was the quickest: In both sets of her 6-1, 6-1 win, Tjen dropped the second game against #90 Naomi Cheong, then rattled off the next five games each time to emerge victorious. On match point, Tjen's serve caught Cheong off-balance, setting up a forehand return from Tjen at the service line that was virtually unhittable.
Moments after Tjen's win, Zaar picked up her third win over a ranked opponent of the weekend with her win over #52 Snow Han. Both players traded breaks in the first two games of the first set, then Zaar held serve on deuce point in the sixth game to make the score even at three games apiece. The fifth-year Pepperdine senior would break Han in the next game, then win the next two to take the first set 6-3. In the next game, Zaar went up a break on Han's double ault, yet Han broke back in the next game. From there, Zaar rattled off the next six points to go up 4-1, then she dealt the knockout blow by breaking Han on deuce point in the sixth game en route to winning 6-3, 6-1.
Despite the Trojans earning another singles win on the fifth line, Conway's resolve in a marathon first set paid off, as the freshman held off McKenna Koenig when the Trojan redshirt junior clawed back into the match.
Conway won the first break point opportunity, then consolidated the break to go up 3-0, then the match was played on serve until Koenig broke Conway for 4-3 in the seventh game. Conway broke back on deuce point in the next game, yet Koenig broke Conway and consolidated the break in a pivotal tenth game. That win was a sign of things to come. The match was played on serve — including a big hold on deciding point from Koenig in the 12th game — which sent the first set into a tiebreak.
Like she had done earlier in the set, Conway bolted out to a 3-0 lead before Koenig made a big push to tie the score at 4-4 off a Conway double fault. Neither player was able to gain separation on the other until Conway broke Koenig for 8-8 before winning the next two points to cap off the 7-6 (8) first-set win.
Playing with all the momentum from gutting out her first-set win, Conway broke Koenig in the first game and consolidated the break. Although Koenig answered by holding serve on deuce point in the next game, the match was played on serve until Conway broke Koenig on deuce point in the seventh game to take a 5-2 lead. In the final game, Conway went up 40-15 then rocketed an ace down the line to clinch Pepperdine's 4-2 victory.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #15 Lisa Zaar (PEPP) def. #52 Snow Han (USC), 6-3, 6-1
2. #6 Savannah Broadus (PEPP) def. #20 Emma Charney (USC), 6-3, 6-3
3. Janice Tjen (PEPP) def. #90 Naomi Cheong (USC), 6-1, 6-1
4. #106 Nikki Redelijk (PEPP) vs. #95 Eryn Cayetano (USC), 6-4, 1-6, 2-1, unfinished
5. #103 Grace Piper (USC) def. #89 Anna Campana (PEPP), 6-2, 7-5
6. Jasmine Conway (PEPP) def. McKenna Koenig (USC), 7-6 (8), 6-2
Order of finish: 3,1,5,2,6*
Doubles
1. #4 Savannah Broadus/Janice Tjen (PEPP) vs. #15 Eryn Cayetano/Emma Charney (USC), 4-2, unfinished
2. McKenna Koenig/Lily Fairclough (USC) def. Lisa Zaar/Jasmine Conway (PEPP), 6-1
3. #52 Parker Fry/Grace Piper (USC) def. Nikki Redelijk/Vivian Yang (PEPP), 6-3
Order of finish: 2,3
UP NEXT: After a week off, Pepperdine heads to the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. to take on #14 Auburn on Friday, Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. PT.
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