LOS ANGELES — Coaches and players come and go, but the best rivalry matches will always deliver. The 71st edition of Pepperdine women's tennis versus the USC Trojans was no exception.
Rallying back after dropping the doubles point, the #28 Pepperdine women's tennis team won its 16th straight match with a 4-2 victory over their crosstown rivals at David X. Marks Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon. The win not only extended Pepperdine's decade-long stretch of dominance over #21 USC, but also gave the Waves their first top-25 win of the season.
Freshman Duru Soke clinched the match for the Waves with her 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Maia Sung on court six. After the Trojans (5-2) took the doubles point, the Waves (5-7) bounced back with a straight-set win from Savannah Broadus and three-set victories from Anastasiia Grechkina and Sebastianna Scilipoti, which set up Soke's heroics.
At first, the match appeared to go the way of the Trojans. USC took the doubles point without the aid of their top doubles team of #9 Lily Fairclough and Grace Piper, who didn't finish their top-10 match against Pepperdine's #8 Broadus and Vivian Yang. Then in singles play, the Trojans and Waves won three sets apiece, setting the match up to be a marathon.
However, Pepperdine got on the board thanks to their senior leader and five-time All-American Savannah Broadus.
No stranger to the Pepperdine-USC rivalry, #16 Broadus broke #43 Grace Piper in the fifth game of the first set and didn't look back. Broadus got off court quickly in her 6-2, 6-1 win over the USC senior, which tied the score at one all for a considerable amount of time.
Although the Trojans put up another point with a straight-set win on court three, the top of the Waves' lineup came through again. Playing in her first match against USC, #52 Anastasiia Grechkina prevailed in three sets over Lily Fairclough. The Pepperdine freshman won 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 for her eighth win of the season while also preserving her perfect 3-0 record in three-set matches.
Not long after Grechkina's win, Sebastianna Scilipoti picked up her first collegiate singles win when the team needed her most. Scilipoti's 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win over #71 Jana Hossam at the fifth position put the Waves up 3-2.
With USC needing to win both remaining matches, Alexia Harmon and Soke answered the call. Late in their third sets, both freshmen held serve for 6-5 leads within moments of each other, putting pressure on the Trojans to stay alive.
Soke crossed the line first. The freshman quickly went up 40-0 on Sung to bring up match point. With Sung serving to Soke's backhand, the two players fell into a rhythm before Soke blasted a cross-court forehand to break Sung.
Pepperdine aims to continue its winning ways next Thursday at California. First serve is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #16 Savannah Broadus (PEPP) def. #43 Grace Piper (USC) 6-2, 6-1
2. #52 Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) def. Lily Fairclough (USC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
3. #53 Emma Charney (USC) def. #101 Vivian Yang (PEPP) 7-6 (4), 6-2
4. #63 Immi Haddad (USC) vs. Alexia Harmon (PEPP) 6-4, 3-6, 5-6 unfinished
5. Sebastianna Scilipoti (PEPP) def. #71 Jana Hossam (USC) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
6. Duru Soke (PEPP) def. Maia Sung (USC) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 5, 6*
Doubles
1. #9 Lily Fairclough/Grace Piper (USC) vs. #8 Savannah Broadus/Vivian Yang (PEPP), 5-4 unfinished
2. Sloane Morra/Jana Hossam (USC) def. #39 Anastasiia Grechinka/Alexia Harmon (PEPP) 6-3
3. Emma Charney/Parker Fry (USC) def. Duru Soke/Sebastianna Scilipoti (PEPP) 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2*
