SAN BRUNO, Calif. — No. 23 Pepperdine women's tennis earned a clean sweep of the three weekly West Coast Conference awards, announced today by the conference.
Transfer
Živa Falkner was named Singles Player of the Week, freshman
Sonja Zhiyenbayeva received Freshman of the Week, while the duo of sophomore
Anastasiia Grechkina and graduate student
Chantal Sauvant took home Double Team of the Week.
The quartet helped the Waves to a 2-0 start to the season this past week, defeating Illinois 4-1 to open the campaign before upsetting No. 12 Texas in Austin by a score of 5-2.
Falkner earns singles player of the week after earning her first collegiate singles victory over the Longhorns' No. 2 Carmen Herea. The upset victory clinched the match for the Waves at flight one, as she dropped the first set 6-0 before storming back to win (0-6, 6-2, 6-4).
Zhiyenbayeva earns the first WCC Freshman of the Week as the award was introduced ahead of this dual match season. She went 2-0 on the week in singles at flight three, while earning her first collegiate doubles victory against Illinois. Against the Fighting Illini, her and
Alexia Harmon earned a 6-3 win at flight three doubles, before defeating Tess Bucher (6-3, 4-6, 6-2) in singles. Returning at No. 12 Texas, Zhiyenbayeva picked up a (2-6, 6-3, 6-3) victory over Eszter Meri, which gave the Waves a pivotal 3-2 lead in the match.
At No. 2 doubles on the week, Grechkina and Sauvant combined for a 2-0 record in their first two matches as a pair. Against Illinois, the duo earned a 6-4 win over McKenna Schaefbauer/Kimiko Cooper to clinch the doubles point for the Waves. At No. 12 Texas, they picked up another 6-4 win, defeating Christasha McNeil /Salma Drugdova, improving to 2-0 on the young season. Grechkina received the award for the fourth time in her career, as her and Harmon earned it on three occasions during the 2025 campaign.
WCC Weekly Awards (Jan. 20, 2026)
Singles Player – Živa Falkner, Tr., Pepperdine
Freshman - Sonja Zhiyenbayeva, Fr., Pepperdine
Doubles Team - Anastasiia Grechkina, So., and Chantal Sauvant, Gr., Pepperdine
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.
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