MALIBU, Calif. — Playing in her first match at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center, Pepperdine freshman Anastasiia Grechkina's three-set win clinched the women's tennis team's 4-1 win over Arizona during the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend on Saturday.
Grechkina's 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over #74 Midori Castillo not only was her first ranked singles victory, but also punched Pepperdine's ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the ninth year in a row. The Waves (1-2) will head to Illinois at either Northwestern or the University of Illinois to compete for the indoor national title from Feb. 7-11.
Saturday's win had extra significance for interim head coach Tassilo Schmid, who won his first dual match as a head coach at Pepperdine. No stranger to winning in Malibu, Schmid was an assistant coach on the Pepperdine men's tennis team staff for seven years before taking over the women's program in Dec. 2024.
Against the Wildcats, Grechkina clinched twice for Pepperdine thanks to her efforts in doubles with Taylor Goetz. On court one, #13 Savannah Broadus and Vivian Yang gave the Waves an early advantage with a 6-3 win over #52 Midori Castillo and Martyna Ostrzygalo. But the Wildcats countered with a win on court two, leaving it up to Grechkina and Goetz to decide the doubles point against Zoya Chulak and Danielle Tuhten.
The Wildcats made things interesting by trading break points with the Waves to keep the match on serve. With the score tied 4-4 and Arizona serving, a Grechkina forehand down the line and a Goetz backhand winner brought about break point. Although Arizona fought off a break point, Pepperdine broke the Wildcats for a 5-4 lead. With Grechkina back to serve, the Waves served out the match to win the doubles point, 6-4.
The start to singles play was close, as Arizona and Pepperdine won three first sets apiece. But as most matches were settling in, sophomore #61 Yang blazed through her first set with a 6-1 win. The second game was equally lopsided, as Yang broke Teja Tirunelveli early and didn't look back en route to a 6-1, 6-1 win — her second of the spring season so far.
Arizona got on the board with a win on court one, but Pepperdine increased its lead thanks to freshman #112 Alexia Harmon's straight-set win on court five over Danielle Tuhten.
Playing deliberate tennis, the difference between Harmon and Tuhten was serving and winning deciding points. After winning the first set 6-3, Harmon broke Tuhten on deciding point in the seventh game off a Tuhten double fault. After holding serve to take a 5-3 lead, Harmon put pressure on Tuhten to hold serve and extend the match. Yet Harmon broke Tuhten for the match after working her way up to the net, then capping her 6-3, 6-3 win with a crosscourt backhand on the ad-side.
With Pepperdine leading 3-1 and with the lead on two courts, Grechkina rebounded from her first-set loss to bring the Waves home. In the second set, Grechkina broke Castillo in the ninth game, then held on deciding point in the tenth game to win the second set 6-4.
But the final set belonged to Grechkina. The freshman broke Castillo early, then maintained a double-break lead throughout the rest of the match. Up 5-1 in the final set, Grechkina took a 40-15 set on Castillo before breaking the Arizona senior for the match with two forehands in her 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 win.
Pepperdine's first-round opponent at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships will be determined on Monday, Jan. 27. All schedule updates can be found on the women's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #50 Josie Usereau (ARIZ) def. #13 Savannah Broadus (PEPP) 6-3, 6-3
2. Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) def. #74 Midori Castillo (ARIZ) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
3. #90 Liam Oved (PEPP) vs. Martyna Ostrzygalo (ARIZ) 7-6 (7-2), 3-3, unfinished
4. #61 Vivian Yang (PEPP) def. Teja Tirunelveli (ARIZ) 6-1, 6-1
5. #112 Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Danielle Tuhten (ARIZ) 6-3, 6-3
6. Taylor Goetz (PEPP) vs. Tanvi Narendran (ARIZ) 5-7, 3-5, unfinished
Order of finish: 4,1,5,2*
Doubles
1. #13 Savannah Broadus/Vivian Yang (PEPP) def. #52 Midori Castillo/Martyna Ostrzygalo (ARIZ) 6-3
2. Belen Nevenhoven/Josie Usereau (ARIZ) def. #101 Alexia Harmon/Liam Oved (PEPP) 6-3
3. Anastasiia Grechkina/Taylor Goetz (PEPP) def. Zoya Chulak/Danielle Tuhten (ARIZ) 6-4
Order of finish: 1,2,3*
