MALIBU, Calif. — For a moment, it felt like deja vu for the Pepperdine women's tennis team.
Trailing 5-1 in the tiebreak against USC's Snow Han and Emma Charney, Waves veterans Lisa Zaar and Anna Campana regrouped and assessed the situation on court three. Here they were with the doubles point on the line, playing against 11-seed USC in the Super Regional in front of the biggest crowd the Waves have had all season. Less than a week ago, the duo lost the doubles point to Arizona State in a match where the Waves let several match points slip away.
This time, however, Zaar and Campana wanted things to be different. They didn't want to leave the court with any regrets. And this was their shot at redemption.
"I told Anna, 'Hey, if we keep them at five, we're good. If they get to six, we're in trouble,'" Zaar recalled. "The whole time, I was telling myself four points was nothing. We could do this."
One by one, Zaar and Campana clawed their way back into the match. Zaar's overhead at the net staved off that critical sixth point. Two Trojan returns went wide, then another overhead from Zaar tied the score at five all. All of a sudden, Campana and Zaar were back in the match.
"We were active at the net and that gave us some confidence," Zaar said. "We put some pressure on them and they got a little tight. It was huge winning that one for us, and for all the team, to start singles with a little head start."
In the first point after the changeover, Zaar's serve was too much to handle for USC, and the Waves went up 7-6. With the Trojans back to serve on the next point, the Trojans mishandled Campana's backhand return, which erred high and wide.
Pepperdine's comeback was complete.
"After we lost the doubles point after ASU, Lisa and I were wondering what would've happened if we really went for it," Campana said. "We had some regrets, but we told ourselves that win or lose, we wouldn't have any regrets this time."
Winning the doubles point proved to be pivotal. From that point forward, the Waves played with an undeniable air of confidence about them as all six Pepperdine players won their first sets. In between points during her first set, Campana took in the scene and realized Pepperdine wasn't letting the match slip away.
"When I was looking around, I knew we had it in the bag," Campana said. "We're playing for a spot in the elite eight, but I didn't feel any pressure at all. Everyone had each other's backs. It was definitely a group effort, and I think everyone who was watching that could see it too."
Of the six singles matches, Savannah Broadus' match on court three was the most lopsided at first. Squaring off against Eryn Cayetano for the first time this season, Broadus blazed through her first set with a 6-0 win before the crowd settled in for singles play. Broadus has been known to overwhelm her opponents early and often — her last nine singles wins have been in straight sets — and her brisk approach was by design this time too.
"We call it 'putting up the wall' where we go out there and be super solid," Broadus said, recalling her first set. "In the huddle after doubles, [Associate Head Coach] Pete Billingham was like, 'We're acting like we've just lost the doubles point, we're going to go out there and take care of business.'"
Yet Vivian Yang got the Waves on the board first on court six. Playing in just her third postseason match, the freshman from Auckland, New Zealand beat McKenna Koenig 6-2, 6-0 to give her a perfect 3-0 record in the NCAA Tournament. Yang and Koenig's match was on serve for the first four games before Yang won 10 consecutive games down the stretch for the victory.
"I told her before the match that no matter who was on the other side of the net, she was going to crush them," Campana said of Yang. "I told her, 'Just go and play your game, believe in yourself, and whatever happens, happens.'"
"I love Viv. Her energy is unreal. I'm super happy for her, and she really deserves it."
Up 2-0 and with leads across the board, Pepperdine's duo of Broadus and Zaar were eventually tasked with finishing the match. Both players went up 3-0 in their first sets, playing side-by-side for the crowd at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
In a battle between fifth-year seniors on court one, Zaar capped off her first set by breaking Snow Han for her 6-1 win. The second set was tougher, albeit not by much. Zaar's second match was on serve through four games before the Pepperdine veteran broke open her match by taking a 5-2 lead. Although Han held serve in the eighth game, the victory only prolonged the inevitable. Zaar went up 40-15 in the final game, then Han's return of serve went long to cap off Zaar's 6-1, 6-3 victory — her third over Han this season.
"For me playing Snow again, we know how each other plays," Zaar said. "It's never easy playing the same opponents over and over again. Yes, I have the upper hand in terms of wins. But that's when you can get beaten — you could get relaxed and think it's going to go the same way again."
The attention turned to Broadus from that point forward. Although Broadus' first set was lopsided, Cayetano played the Pepperdine junior closer in the second set: Broadus went up a break, yet Cayetano battled back to put the match on serve before the Pepperdine junior broke Cayetano in the fifth game to reclaim the lead.
"She raised her level in the second set, which I expected," Broadus said. "I wanted to keep the foundation of the first set, but because she was playing better I wanted to be more aggressive and take chances when they presented themselves."
Cayetano wouldn't go out without a fight. Playing in her final collegiate match, the USC senior dug herself out of a 5-2 hole to tie the second set at five games all before Broadus made one final push. She held serve in the eleventh game, then took a big lead with Cayetano serving.
"I knew she was feeling it," Broadus said. "We were both nervous because we both wanted to make it to Stillwater, so we were feeling it on both sides. But I kept my composure and enjoyed the moment a little more. I was getting so excited and so giddy."
Up 40-love, Broadus knew the moment was hers. Cayetano fought off match point, then Broadus told herself she wanted to put together a solid point and give Cayetano a chance to miss.
Cayetano did miss. Broadus raised both arms, turned towards the crowd and the celebration began.
The win meant a little bit extra for the Waves — especially for one Wave watching from afar. Pepperdine played without head coach Per Nilsson, who missed the match due to minor health concerns from earlier in the week. Although the team didn't know Nilsson was going to miss the match until warmups, they got a lift from Pepperdine men's tennis Associate Head Coach Tassilo Schmid, who took Nilsson's place on the court.
"I would say we dedicated that match and that win for Per," Broadus said. "We wanted to let him know that after all of the work he put into us this season, we were going to show him that we could do it."
"But having Tass on court was so much fun. It was so different, but it was so much fun," Broadus added. "In singles, his energy was unreal. He definitely did right by Per by being there."
With the win, Pepperdine will face the winner between 3-seed Michigan and Miami (FL), who play in Ann Arbor on Saturday. The Waves have now won 15 consecutive dual matches against the Trojans, whose season ends with a 20-9 record.
Next week will be Pepperdine's third quarterfinal appearance in four years. Save for Zaar and Nikki Redelijk, who were on Pepperdine's 2021 NCAA runner-up team, the quarterfinals will be the furthest everyone on the team has gone in the postseason before. But they aren't taking the opportunity for granted — especially after how last year's close loss to Texas in the Super Regionals went.
"After losing in the Sweet Sixteen last year, making it to the quarterfinals this year makes it feel so much more special," Broadus said. "You are part of the elite programs in the country when you make it to the final site. I'm so, so happy. I can't put it into words how grateful, thankful, proud and excited I am to play at the final site."
"I told everyone before the match that I'd never made the final site before, and that I really wanted to make it," Campana added. "Just going and having that experience is going to be unreal. Win or lose, it'll be an experience we'll never forget. Everyone on the team is going to value it and enjoy being there. We have fun with each other and the energy is so high whenever we're on the court together — and it makes it so much easier knowing that the girls playing next to you want you to win as much as you want to see them succeed too."
RESULTS
Singles
1. #15 Lisa Zaar (PEPP) def. #99 Snow Han (USC) 6-1, 6-3
2. #39 Janice Tjen (PEPP) vs. #33 Emma Charney (USC) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
3. #12 Savannah Broadus (PEPP) def. #97 Eryn Cayetano (USC) 6-0, 7-5
4. #86 Anna Campana (PEPP) vs. #60 Grace Piper (USC) 6-4, 2-6, unfinished
5. #80 Nikki Redelijk (PEPP) vs. Immi Haddad (USC) 6-3, 4-2, unfinished
6. Vivian Yang (PEPP) def. McKenna Koenig (USC) 6-2, 6-0
Order of finish: 6,1,3*
Doubles
1. Eryn Cayetano/Lily Fairclough (USC) def. #2 Savannah Broadus/Janice Tjen (PEPP) 6-3
2. Nikki Redelijk/Vivian Yang (PEPP) def. #60 Grace Piper/Parker Fry (USC) 6-4
3. Anna Campana/Lisa Zaar (PEPP) def. Emma Charney/Snow Han (USC) 7-6 (6)
Order of finish: 1,2,3*
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