AUSTIN, Texas. — No. 21 Pepperdine women's tennis (2-0) earned a road ranked victory over No. 12 Texas (0-1) Sunday afternoon in Austin, by a score of 5-2.

After dropping the doubles point, the Waves stormed back and earned victories on five of six singles courts, highlighted by Živa Falkner clinching the match with a win over No. 2 Carmen Herea for her first collegiate singles victory. The match saw the first collegiate singles win for Falkner, Chantal Sauvant and Shihomi Leong as the Waves' newcomers have made an immediate mark on the collegiate scene.

The win marks Pepperdine's highest-ranked victory since taking down No. 3 Michigan in the 2024 NCAA Quarterfinals, as the Waves have taken down a pair of power-four programs this weekend to begin the dual match season.

"We knew going on the road to play Texas would be a major challenge and a true test for this young squad," said head coach Tassilo Schmid following the win. "Huge credit to what these girls accomplished this weekend, transitioning from indoors to outdoors is never easy. Today, they truly understood what it means to play for one another and fight for one another, and that's incredibly powerful. We'll have another big test next week, and we'll need to prepare really well to take another step in the right direction as a team."

Anastasiia Grechkina and Chantal Sauvant earned a 6-4 doubles victory on court two for the Waves, but the Longhorns were able to prevail with a tiebreak win on court one to secure the doubles point.

Dropping the first singles bout on court two, Alexia Harmon continued the strong start to her sophomore season with a straight set win on court five (7-5, 6-1) to get the Waves on the board.

Shihomi Leong evened the match with another two-set triumph for the Waves, claiming a (6-3, 6-4) victory for her first career collegiate singles win.

After dropping the first set, 2-6, Sonja Zhiyenbayeva battled back in her match at flight three. Zhiyenbayeva got back on track with a 6-3 win in the second set, before claiming the third set by the same mark.

Minutes later, Živa Falkner completed her comeback against No. 2 Carmen Herea to clinch the upset victory for both herself individually and for Pepperdine as a team. At flight one, Falkner dropped the first set 6-0, but never wavered and came right back with a 6-2 win in the second set. She got the pivotal break in the third, winning four straight points up 5-4 with Herea on serve to give the Waves the victory.

Chantal Sauvant then finished up at flight four with her first collegiate singles win. Sauvant took the first set by a score of 6-4, before falling 6-1 in set two. Putting the finishing touches on the match for the Waves, Sauvant secured a 6-3 third set triumph, giving the Pepperdine victory a 5-2 scoreline.

Harmon and Zhiyenbayeva have each began the campaign with a 2-0 singles mark through the season's opening weekend. In addition, all six Waves in the singles lineup have now earned a win through the first two matches.

Sauvant and Grechkina have paced the doubles pairings, improving to 2-0 as well with their victory today.

FULL RESULTS
Doubles
1. Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo/Anastasia Abbagnato (TEX) def. Živa Falkner/Duru Söke (PEPP) 7-6 (7-5)
2. Anastasiia Grechkina/Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Christasha McNeil/Salma Drugdova (TEX) 6-4
3. Carmen Herea/Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX) def. Alexia Harmon/Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) 6-3

Singles
1. Živa Falkner (PEPP) def. No. 2 Carmen Herea (TEX) 0-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Anastasia Abbagnato (TEX) def. No. 7 Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) 6-2, 6-4
3. Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) def. Eszter Meri (TEX) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Christasha McNeil (TEX) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
5. Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEX) 7-5, 6-1
6. Shihomi Leong (PEPP) def. Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX) 6-3, 6-4

Pepperdine will head to Knoxville, Tennessee next for ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Waves will take on Washington on Saturday at 9 a.m. ET and either Clemson or Tennessee on Sunday. The team to go 2-0 on the weekend will clinch a berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships held from Feb. 6-10 in Chicago.

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.