SAN BRUNO, Calif. — Pepperdine women's tennis has been selected at No. 1 in the Preseason West Coast Conference (WCC) Poll, announced today. Sophomores Anastasiia Grechkina and Alexia Harmon were also named to the All-WCC Preseason Team.

The Waves enter 2026 as the preseason favorites after winning their 11th consecutive WCC title this past spring. The Waves received eight of a possible nine first place votes from head coaches around the league. 

Grechkina & Harmon make up one-third of the six-member all-conference preseason team, with San Diego and Washington State also having two honorees.

Anastasiia Grechkina, Sophomore (Moscow, Russia)
Grechkina had a standout freshman campaign for the Waves this past season, earning All-WCC First Team recognition in both doubles and singles. Totaling a 16-7 singles record and 15-9 doubles mark, she earned a pair of WCC Singles Player of the Week honors and two WCC Doubles Team of the Week honors. Grechkina had a strong fall campaign for the Waves, winning the singles title at the Battle of the Bay and the ITA Southwest Regional, earning a singles berth into the NCAA Tournament. She went on to upset the No. 9 player in the country in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, as Grechkina now sits at No. 7 in the most recent ITA singles rankings and No. 78 in doubles.

Alexia Harmon, Sophomore (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Harmon also burst onto the scene as a key contributor for the Waves this past season, earning WCC Co-Freshman of the Year honors while being named to the All-WCC First Team in doubles and All-WCC Second Team in singles. She posted a 19-5 singles dual match record to lead the Waves this past season, winning 12 of her final 14 matches to help propel the Waves to the WCC title and second round of the NCAA Tournament. She enters the spring ranked No. 78 in the most recent ITA doubles rankings, alongside Grechkina.

Pepperdine went 15-12 this past spring, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating No. 37 Wake Forest in the opening round. As a team, Pepperdine finished in the top 25 in the year-end ITA rankings for the 12th straight year.

The Waves were selected at No. 21 in the preseason ITA team rankings released earlier this week, and will begin the season next Friday (Jan. 16) against Illinois in Waco, Texas at 9 a.m. PT.

2026 Women's Tennis Preseason Poll
1. Pepperdine - 80 points (8)
2. San Diego - 74 (2)
3. Washington State - 65
4. LMU - 54
5. Gonzaga - 44
6. Saint Mary's - 40
7. Portland - 33
8. Santa Clara - 32
9. Pacific - 17
10. Seattle U - 11

2026 Women's Tennis Preseason Team
Anastasiia Grechkina, Pepperdine
Alexia Harmon, Pepperdine
Charlotte Keitel, San Diego
Maxine Murphy, Washington State
Hannah Read, San Diego
Eva Alvarez Sande, Washington State

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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