SAN BRUNO, Calif. — No. 10 Pepperdine women's tennis has swept the West Coast Conference (WCC) weekly awards for the third time this season, announced today by the conference.
Alexia Harmon has been named WCC Singles Player of the Week,
Sonja Zhiyenbayeva earned her fourth WCC Freshman of the Week honor, while
Duru Söke and
Shihomi Leong received WCC Doubles Team of the Week.
Harmon went 2-0 on the week in singles against No. 8 UCLA and No. 6 USC, earning her first weekly recognition of the season from the conference. She began the week at the No. 4 position with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Bianca Fernandez of the Bruins, before clinching the Pepperdine upset victory over No. 6 USC, taking down Krisha Mahendran (6-2, 6-3) on court five. Harmon improved to 4-2 on the dual match season with the victories.
Zhiyenbayeva earns her fourth WCC Freshman of the Week honor, after claiming a doubles and singles win on the week. She teamed up with
Živa Falkner at the No. 1 doubles position against the Bruins, taking down No. 62 Kate Fakih/Olivia Center, 6-1, to help the Waves earn the doubles point. At flight two singles against the Trojans, Zhiyenbayeva cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Immi Haddad as the Waves posted a 4-0 win. The freshman now sits at 6-1 on the season in singles.
Söke and Leong picked up a pair of key doubles victories for the Waves, improving to 3-0 on the season as a pair. They clinched the doubles point against UCLA at the No. 3 position, picking up a 6-2 win over Mayu Crossley/Kayla Chung. With the doubles point coming down to their court once again against USC, Söke and Leong came through again with a 7-5 triumph over Emma Charney/Immi Haddad. The weekly award recognitions marked the first of the season for the duo, as the Waves have seen three different pairs receive WCC Doubles Team of the Week.
WCC Weekly Awards (Feb. 24)
Singles – Alexia Harmon, So., Pepperdine
Doubles - Duru Söke, So., and Shihomi Leong, Fr., Pepperdine
Freshman - Sonja Zhiyenbayeva, Fr., Pepperdine
The Waves will hit the road to begin conference play next, heading to Washington State for a matchup on Tuesday, Mar. 3 at 11 a.m.
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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