STILLWATER, Okla. — Less than 24 hours removed from their epic, come-from-behind three-set win in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championships, Pepperdine's Savannah Broadus and Janice Tjen cruised past Auburn's Ariana Arseneault and DJ Bennett with a straight set 6-3, 6-4 win.
Unlike the regular-season meeting between the two teams, which needed a tiebreaker to determine a winner, Wednesday's NCAA Tournament match was a convincing Pepperdine rout. Broadus and Tjen were never broken, plus they never faced a deuce point during a service game in the first set.
Pepperdine looked the part of the 1-seed from the get-go. Early in the first set with Tjen back to serve, the Waves posted a love hold in the third game before going on to break the Tigers for a 3-1 lead. That breakpoint was all it took to take care of the Tigers in the first set. From that point forward, the match was played on serve — albeit without Auburn finally holding on the deciding point in the sixth game — and the Waves would take the first set on a love hold with Broadus back to serve.
To Auburn's credit, the second set was a closer affair. Five games in the second set reached a deciding point, but the Waves were never broken on a deuce point en route to their 6-4 second-set win.
The Tigers forced the first deciding point of the set in the second game, yet Broadus held serve on an ace to keep the match on serve. After turning her ankle late in the first set, Auburn's Ariana Arseneault persevered in her first service game of the second set by winning the third game on an ace before the Tigers forced another deciding point in the fourth game. Once again, the Waves held serve on deuce point to keep the match on serve. Finally, Pepperdine turned the tide by breaking the Tigers for a 3-2 lead before consolidating the break.
With a 5-3 lead, Broadus and Tjen had a chance to break the Tigers for the match, however, the Auburn duo resisted one more time to hold serve. Broadus served for the match in the tenth and final game, which the Waves won handily for the 6-3. 6-4 victory. The top-seeded Waves were already All-Americans heading into the tournament, yet the duo further established their status as All-Americans with the win.
Tomorrow, the Waves will face their toughest test of the postseason: North Carolina's defending national championship team of Fiona Crawley and Carson Tanguilig. A 5-8 seed in the tournament and the sixth-ranked team in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls, the Tar Heels reached the quarterfinals with their 6-2, 6-2 win over Florida State's Vic Allen and Millie Bissett on Wednesday. Thursday's quarterfinal is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT/11:30 a.m. PT.
RESULTS
Doubles Round of 16
#2 Savannah Broadus/Janice Tjen def. #15 Ariana Arseneault/DJ Bennett (AUBURN), 6-3, 6-4
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