MALIBU, Calif. — No. 6 Pepperdine women's tennis (11-3, 3-0 WCC) earned a 4-1 win at home Sunday afternoon over No. 15 Cal (6-3, 3-1 ACC) from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

The win marked the eighth consecutive victory for the Waves, who have now earned a pair of wins over the Bears this season.

Pepperdine is now 8-1 against ranked opponents this season and sits at 6-1 against opponents ranked within the top-15.

Duru Söke clinched the match with a singles win on five, joining Alexia Harmon and Živa Falkner who had previously won on their respective courts. Söke and Shihomi Leong clinched the doubles point in a tiebreak after Anastasiia Grechkina and Chantal Sauvant had won their doubles matchup.

"This was a great week for our program," noted head coach Tassilo Schmid following the match. "Beating both Ohio State and Cal in one week is not easy. I give credit to our girls as they have made a big jump in trusting each other and competing for every point. We did a really good job staying calm in big moments today and focusing on our execution. Back to work for us tomorrow."

Grechkina and Sauvant picked up a 6-3 win on court two to begin doubles play, improving the tandem to 7-1 on the season.

Söke and Leong then went to a tiebreak at flight three just as Falkner and Sonja Zhiyenbayeva forced a tiebreak on one. Söke and Leong eventually improved to 6-2 on the season, winning the tiebreak 7-5 to secure the doubles point for the Waves. The match on one was abandoned before either side prevailed.

The doubles point gave the Waves momentum, as they had dropped the doubles point to the Bears the week prior.

Harmon won her first set on court six by a 7-5 mark, with her opponent then retiring which gave Pepperdine an early 2-0 advantage.

The Bears answered with a straight set win at the No. 2 position, bringing the scoreline to 2-1 in favor of the Waves, with Pepperdine winning four of the six first sets altogether.

Falkner earned her second-highest ranked win at the No. 1 position next, besting No. 11 Berta Passola Folch to put Pepperdine ahead 3-1. Falkner's win was by a 6-3, 6-4 mark.

Minutes later, Söke clinched the match for the Waves while earning her first ranked victory of the season. She defeated No. 92 Naomi Xu, improving to 8-0 on the season.

Zhiyenbayeva saw her match abandoned at the No. 3 position, after winning the first set 6-4 against No. 57 Mao Mushika.

Sauvant had dropped the first set 7-5 on court four, but was ahead 4-1 in the second set when the match was abandoned. 

The Waves have now outscored their opponents 27-4 across their past six matches, dropping just three singles matches over that span.

RESULTS
Singles
1. No. 43 Živa Falkner (PEPP) def. No. 11 Berta Passola Folch (CAL): 6-3, 6-4
2. No. 55 Johanna Svendsen (CAL) def. No. 10 Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP): 6-3, 6-2
3. No. 122 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) ABN vs. No. 57 Mao Mushika (CAL): 6-4, 3-4
4. Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) ABN vs. Mille Johanna Moerk (CAL): 5-7, 4-1
5. Duru Söke (PEPP) def. No. 92 Naomi Xu (CAL): 6-3, 6-2
6. Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Anya Murthy (CAL) 7-5, ret.
Order of finish: 6,2,1,5

Doubles
1. No. 26 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva/Živa Falkner (PEPP) ABN vs. No. 76 Johanna Svendsen/Mao Mushika (CAL): 6-6 (5-6)
2. Anastasiia Grechkina/Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Sophie Hernandez/Berta Passola Folch (CAL): 6-3
3. Duru Söke/Shihomi Leong (PEPP) def. Naomi Xu/Mille Johanna Moerk (CAL): 7-6 (7-5)
Order of finish: 2,3

Pepperdine remains home to host No. 14 NC State Thursday, with match time set for 2 p.m. 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.
 
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women's tennis news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineWTEN.