TEMPE, Ariz. — The #15 Pepperdine women's tennis team tried mounting a comeback in singles, yet the Arizona State Sun Devils took the doubles point en route to upsetting the Waves 4-2 in Tempe on Saturday afternoon.
The Waves (1-3) got straight-set singles matches from #61 Vivian Yang and #112 Alexia Harmon in the middle of the lineup. However, the Sun Devils (3-2) clinched the match in short succession with straight-set wins of their own on courts six and one.
Although the Pepperdine Waves were bolstered by the return of freshman Duru Soke in doubles, Arizona State took big leads early on all three courts and took the doubles point with two lopsided wins.
In singles play, the Waves rallied by winning three first sets, including #112 Harmon's first-set war with Karin Altori on court five. In a close first set, Harmon bounced back after being broken on deuce point in the eighth game to break Altori for a 6-5 lead. That late break-point ended up being the difference in the first set, as Harmon served out the match for a 7-5 first-set win. From there, the freshman quickly went up a break in the second set and rattled off four consecutive games to win her match 7-5, 6-1.
Moments later, sophomore #61 Yang tied the score with her straight-set win over Lily Taylor on court four. An early break point win in the first set was the difference for Yang, who served out the 6-4 first-set win. Then in the second, Yang broke Taylor in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead before capping off her 6-4, 6-3 win — her third straight win of the spring so far.
Unfortunately for Pepperdine, the Sun Devils wrapped up the match shortly after Yang got off court. In a ranked battle atop the lineup, #47 Sara Svetac clinched the match with a 7-5, 6-4 win over #13 Savannah Broadus.
From here, Pepperdine will travel to Evanston, Ill. for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoor Championships, held from Feb. 7-11. The Waves' first-round opponent will be announced on Tuesday at 9 a.m. PT. All schedule updates can be found on the Pepperdine women's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #47 Sara Svetac (ASU) def. #13 Savannah Broadus (PEPP) 7-5, 6-4
2. #24 Emilija Tverijonaite (ASU) vs. Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) 2-6, 6-0, 4-5, unfinished
3. Patricija Spaka (ASU) def. #90 Liam Oved (PEPP) 6-2, 6-2
4. #61 Vivian Yang (PEPP) def. Lily Taylor (ASU) 6-4, 6-3
5. #112 Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Karin Altori (ASU) 7-5, 6-1
6. Karsyn Evans (ASU) def. Taylor Goetz (PEPP) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 3,5,4,6,1*
Doubles
1. Patricija Spaka/Lily Taylor (ASU) vs. #14 Savannah Broadus/Vivian Yang (PEPP) 5-2, unfinished
2. Sara Svetac/Karin Altori (ASU) def. Alexia Harmon/Duru Soke (PEPP) 6-2
3. Aiya Nupbay/Emilija Tverijonaite (ASU) def. Anastasiia Grechkina/Taylor Goetz (PEPP) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,2*
