MALIBU, Calif. — Saturday's match between the #3 Pepperdine women's tennis team and the #9 USC Trojans was billed as a top-10 matchup, yet the Waves made quick work of the Trojans in a 4-0 sweep.
The win was not only the Waves' 14th consecutive victory over their crosstown rivals, but also the 200th win for head coach Per Nilsson, who has a 200-44 (.820) record in 10 seasons at the helm of the Pepperdine women's tennis program. Pepperdine now has a 10-3 record, while USC falls to 12-5.
For the sixth straight match, the Waves won the doubles point with convincing wins on all three courts. Jasmine Conway and Lisa Zaar went up a break early, then extended their lead to 4-0 before McKenna Koenig and Lily Fairclough broke the Waves in the fifth game. Although the Trojans consolidated the break, then broke the Waves in the seventh game, Pepperdine broke back and held serve for a 6-3 victory — the duo's sixth-straight win.
In a battle between two top-15 doubles teams on court one, #2 Savannah Broadus and Janice Tjen broke #15 Emma Charney and Eryn Cayetano on deuce point, then consolidated the break for a 2-0 lead. But Charney and Cayetano played their way back into the match by winning the next three games. In the sixth game, the Waves' duo held serve, then won a pivotal break point to take a 4-3 lead that they wouldn't relinquish. On deuce point in the ninth game, the Trojans served to Tjen, whose pair of forehands capped off a 6-3 win to clinch the doubles point.
Pepperdine made singles play look easy: The Waves won three first sets, won three straight-set matches and, at the time Nikki Redelijk clinched the match on court five, the Waves were either up or tied in two of the remaining three singles matches.
Tjen didn't let her foot off the gas pedal in singles. The Pepperdine senior sped through her first set against #61 Grace Piper, blanking the Trojan 6-0. In the second set, #58 Tjen and Piper were close until Tjen held on deuce point in the 10th game, broke Piper, then held serve for a 6-0, 7-5 win — her ninth-straight singles victory.
Elsewhere in singles, #6 Zaar won her first set 6-1, then needed to dig deep to shake off #93 Snow Han in straight sets. Han went up a break in the first set, but Zaar clawed back to break a 4-4 tie with Han in the eighth game before holding serve and breaking Han on deuce point for the 6-1, 6-4 win at the first position. With the win, Zaar is now 10-3 against ranked opponents this spring.
Finally on court five, #99 Redelijk clinched for the Waves for the first time all season with her straight-set win over Lily Fairclough. Redelijk won the first set 6-3, but Fairclough made things close in the second. The USC freshman went up a break early in the second set and took a 3-1 lead heading into the fifth game, but Redelijk rallied back to put the match back on serve. Tied 5-5 in the tenth game, Redelijk held serve for a pivotal win, then she broke Fairclough for the match when Fairclough returned a Redelijk forehand long.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #6 Lisa Zaar (PEPP) def. #93 Snow Han (USC) 6-1, 6-4
2. #8 Savannah Broadus (PEPP) vs. #28 Emma Charney (USC) 0-6, 6-4, 4-1, unfinished
3. #58 Janice Tjen (PEPP) def. #61 Grace Piper (USC) 6-0, 7-5
4. #108 Eryn Cayetano (USC) vs. #86 Anna Campana (PEPP) 6-3, 6-5, unfinished
5. #99 Nikki Redelijk (PEPP) def. Lily Fairclough (USC) 6-3, 7-5
6. Vivian Yang (PEPP) vs. McKenna Koenig (USC) 4-6, 6-4, unfinished
Order of finish: 3,1,5*
Doubles
1. #2 Savannah Broadus/Janice Tjen (PEPP) def. #15 Eryn Cayetano/Emma Charney (USC) 6-3
2. Nikki Redelijk/Vivian Yang (PEPP) vs. #42 Parker Fry/Grace Piper (USC) 5-3, unfinished
3. Lisa Zaar/Jasmine Conway (PEPP) def. McKenna Koenig/Lily Fairclough (USC) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,1
UP NEXT: Pepperdine hits the road for matches against San Francisco and #56 UC Santa Barbara next Friday and Saturday, respectively.
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