MALIBU, Calif. — No. 14 Pepperdine women's tennis (3-3) fell by a 4-3 scoreline Friday against No. 8 UCLA (5-2) from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

The Waves secured the doubles point early and earned singles wins from Alexia Harmon and Duru Söke, eventually falling in both third sets that were played.

Doubles moved quickly on all three courts, with the Waves falling on court two before Sonja Zhiyenbayeva and Živa Falkner also posted a 6-1 win at the No. 1 position. The pair defeated No. 62 Kate Fakih/Olivia Center of the Bruins for their first ranked victory, moving to 2-0 on the season.

Shihomi Leong and Söke then clinched the doubles point for the Waves, picking up a 6-2 win on court three. Leong and Söke improved to 2-1 on the season together with the victory.

Harmon posted a quick (6-1, 6-1) victory on court four to begin singles play, increasing the Waves lead to 2-0 in the match. Harmon improved to 3-2 on the season while earning her first win at the No. 4 position of the campaign. The Bruins took the match on court one just after to get on the board.

The teams once again traded points with a pair of matches finishing within moments of each other, beginning with Duru Söke claiming a straight set win on court five for the Waves. Söke defeated UCLA's Ahmani Guichard by a 6-2, 6-2 mark, improving to 3-0 on the season. UCLA took the match on court six right after, bringing the score to 3-2 in favor of the Waves.

With the remaining two matches going to a third set, the Bruins evened up the match with a win on court two, having it come down to UCLA's No. 122 Kate Fakih and Chantal Suavant, who were still in the second set with all other matches completed. 

Sauvant won the first set 6-4, before Fakih answered with a 6-2 triumph in the second. With both players breaking back and forth in the third set, Fakih was able to secure a 6-4 win, giving UCLA the 4-3 victory. All three of Pepperdine's defeats this season have now come by a 4-3 scoreline.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 49 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva/Živa Falkner (PEPP) def. No. 62 Kate Fakih/Olivia Center (UCLA): 6-1
2. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer/Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) def. Alexia Harmon/Chantal Sauvant (PEPP): 6-1
3. Shihomi Leong/Duru Söke (PEPP) def. Mayu Crossley/Kayla Chung (UCLA): 6-2
Order of finish: 2,1,3

Singles
1. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. No. 57 Živa Falkner (PEPP): 6-3, 6-3
2. No. 49 Mayu Crossley (UCLA) def. Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP): 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
3. No. 122 Kate Fakih (UCLA) def. Chantal Sauvant (PEPP): 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Bianca Fernandez (UCLA): 6-1, 6-1
5. Duru Söke (PEPP) def. Ahmani Guichard (UCLA): 6-2, 6-2
6. Olivia Center (UCLA) def. Shihomi Leong (PEPP): 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish: 4,1,5,6,2,3

The Waves return Sunday, hosting No. 6 USC at noon from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

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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