WACO, Texas — No. 21 Pepperdine women's tennis (1-0) picked up a 4-1 victory over Illinois (0-1) to begin the 2026 dual match campaign from Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center on the campus of Baylor University.
The Waves dropped just three sets across the match, with three newcomers earning their first collegiate dual match victories between doubles and singles. Pepperdine has now won five of its last seven matches against Big Ten opponents dating back to the 2024 spring season.
"I'm really proud of the girls," said head coach
Tassilo Schmid following the match. "Flying out here and playing indoors is not an easy task. They have handled the first match of the season really well and we are looking forward to getting better on Sunday against Texas."
The Waves earned the doubles point with wins from a pair of new partners, as
Anastasiia Grechkina paired up with newcomer
Chantal Sauvant while
Liam Oved and
Shihomi Leong teamed up on court three. Grechkina and Sauvant logged a 6-4 win on court two, with Oved and Leong recording a 6-3 victory to secure the doubles point.
Moving to singles,
Alexia Harmon set the tone early for the Waves, with a convincing (6-2, 6-2) victory at flight five to push Pepperdine ahead 2-0. After dropping a match on court one, Grechkina continued her dominant run in singles dating back to the fall, winning a second set tiebreak after claiming the first set, 6-2.
Leong (6-3) and Sauvant (7-6) each won their first sets of collegiate singles action, with both matches ending unfinished as
Sonja Zhiyenbayeva clinched the victory for the Waves. Also competing in her first collegiate dual match, Zhiyenbayeva prevailed in three sets (6-3, 4-6, 6-2) on court three, giving the Waves the 4-1 victory.
FULL RESULTS
Doubles
1.
Duru Söke/
Živa Falkner (PEPP) DNF vs. Tess Bucher/Alice Xu (ILL): 3-5
2.
Anastasiia Grechkina/
Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Kimiko Cooper/McKenna Schaefbeauer (ILL): 6-4
3.
Shihomi Leong/
Liam Oved (PEPP) def. Lizzie Isyanov/Rose Seccia (ILL): 6-3
Order of finish: 3,2
Singles
1. McKenna Schaefbauer (ILL) def.
Živa Falkner (PEPP): 6-4, 7-5
2. No. 7
Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) def. Kimiko Cooper (ILL): 6-2, 7-6(4)
3.
Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) def. Tess Bucher (ILL): 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
4.
Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) DNF vs. Ariel Madatali (ILL): 7-6(2), 2-3
5.
Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Lizzie Isyanov (ILL): 6-2, 6-2
6.
Shihomi Leong (PEPP) DNF vs. Alice Xu (ILL): 6-3, 4-6
Order of finish: 5,1,2,3
The Waves will head to Austin next, taking on No. 12 Texas on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S TENNIS
Pepperdine women's tennis has been a consistent powerhouse in the collegiate scene, reaching 40 NCAA Tournaments since 1982 including 28 straight appearances. Since 2018, the program has seen three national runner-ups between both singles and doubles while reaching an NCAA Regional as a team eight times in the past nine tournaments. The success at the conference level has been paramount with 33 WCC Championships including an active streak of 11 consecutive conference titles. With its 24 total All-Americans, the program has also consistently sent players to the pro circuit following their time in Malibu.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women's tennis news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineWTEN.
