Pepperdine University
Washington
Washington Schools on Deck for Pepperdine Women's Tennis
4/3/2025 11:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. — In one of the most important weeks of the regular season, the No. 23 Pepperdine women's tennis team will play at No. 21 Washington this Friday before hosting the current West Coast Conference leader No. 59 Washington State on Sunday.
Both matches will start at noon. Admission to Sunday's match at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center is free to the public. If available, all live stream and live stat links can be found on the women's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
MATCH 17: #23 Pepperdine (8-8, 2-0 WCC) at #21 Washington (14-2, 7-1 Big Ten) | Friday, April 4 | Noon | Bill Quillian Tennis Stadium | Seattle, Wash.
MATCH 18: #23 Pepperdine (8-8, 2-0 WCC) vs. #59 Washington State (13-5, 3-0 WCC) | Sunday, April 6 | Noon | Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center | Malibu, Calif.
SCOUTING THE WAVES
Nobody predicted this in January, but this week is crucial for the Waves' postseason aspirations.
Ranked 23rd in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls, the Pepperdine Waves will need quality wins to move into the top 16 and ensure home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Facing the No. 21 Washington Huskies will give the Waves one more chance at a resume-building win.
Even if the Waves go 2-0 this week, they might need some help. Pepperdine will need to win out and hope for attrition in the Power-4 conferences to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for a ninth consecutive year.
Interim head coach Tassilo Schmid and the Waves are coming off an emotional 4-2 road win over LMU. The Waves needed a third-set comeback from Sebastianna Scilipoti to clinch the match over the Lions, who arguably saved their best performance of the season for the PCH Cup rivalry match. Sunday's win was the Waves' 82nd consecutive WCC win and the 25th-straight win over their crosstown rivals.
In that win over LMU, freshman Alexia Harmon notched her team-best 10th dual-match win. She and sophomore Vivian Yang lead the team with three-match win streaks heading into this week. As for Yang, she picked her first career win atop the Waves' singles lineup with her 6-2, 7-5 victory over Stefania Rogozinski-Dzik. She and freshman Anastasiia Grechkina have nine dual match wins this year.
Pepperdine has two players and one doubles team in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings: No. 12 Savannah Broadus, No. 87 Grechkina, plus the nation's eighth-ranked doubles team of Broadus and Yang, who made the NCAA Doubles Championship this past fall. Pepperdine is the only team outside the Power-4 ranks with multiple top-100 singles players and a top-10 doubles team.
ACROSS THE NET
Both Apple Cup rivals are enjoying some of the best seasons in recent memory.
Ranked No. 21 in the latest ITA polls, the Washington Huskies are on a five-match win streak heading into April. With a 14-2 record and its two losses to UCLA and USC, the Huskies will look to pick up a third win against an LA-area school this week. However, Washington will also need a resume-bolstering win; its 4-1 win over then-No. 24 UCLA is the team's only top-25 win.
While Washington has one nationally ranked singles player in Arizona transfer No. 110 Reece Carter, all six players in the lineup have winning records. Fortunately for Washington, the team is on a hot streak: Alexia Jacobs and Carina Syrtveit are on six-match win streaks at the third and sixth positions, respectively, while Erika Matsuda has won her last four matches at the second position. Plus the Huskies are experienced; Syrtveit is the lone freshman on a team with four upperclassmen in the lineup.
Doubles play has been a strong suit for the Huskies, who have taken the doubles point in 12 of the 16 matches this year. Carter and Jacobs rank 51st in the nation and have a 9-4 record atop the doubles lineup. All three of Washington's doubles pairings have winning records.
Then on Sunday, Pepperdine will go for its 83rd consecutive conference dual match win — a streak dating back to 2015 — but its first against Washington State in conference play. With a 13-5 record and a league-leading 3-0 mark in WCC play, the conference newcomers are experiencing their best season under fourth-year head coach Raquel Atawo.
However, Sunday's match against Pepperdine will be one of the biggest matches of the year for Washington State. The Cougars have a 2-4 record against Power-4 opponents and just one top-50 win — a 5-2 neutral-site win over Wichita State — and have yet to face the best teams in the WCC. At 59th in the national rankings, Washington State needs more quality wins to sneak into the tournament.
The Cougars have one of the best 1-2 punches in singles play, led by juniors Eva Alvarez Sande and Maxine Murphy. Both women have won 80% of their matches in dual-match play, and Murphy comes into this weekend on a four-match win streak. Elyse Tse, who plays at the third position, also has a four-match-win streak to lead the team.
In doubles, Washington State has one nationally ranked pairing: No. 40 Alvarez Sande and Murphy. The duo has a 17-8 record and is currently the third-highest-ranked WCC team in the national polls. WSU has winning records at the top two doubles positions thanks to them and their No. 2 team of Chisato Kanemaki and Tse, yet the third doubles position has been a work in progress for the Cougars.
The Waves lead the all-time series against Washington and Washington State. Pepperdine leads the all-time series 14-0 over Washington and 2-0 over Washington State. This will be the first time the Waves face both Apple Cup rivals in the same season.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Waves host UC Santa Barbara for Senior Day next Thursday, April 10. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. All pertinent information can be found on the women's tennis team's schedule page on pepperdinewaves.com.
Players Mentioned
