MALIBU, Calif. — No. 2 Pepperdine women's tennis (11-4, 3-0 WCC) fell by a narrow 4-3 mark to No. 14 NC State (13-5, 5-1 ACC) Thursday afternoon from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

The Waves saw their eight-match winning streak snapped, as the Wolfpack claimed singles wins on courts 1-3 after taking the doubles point.

Chantal Sauvant, Duru Söke and Alexia Harmon each earned singles wins for the Waves in the effort.

Doubles play began with an upset on court one, as Sonja Zhiyenbayeva and Živa Falkner took down No. 2 Victoria Osuigwe/Gabriella Broadfoot, who entered play with a 13-2 record this season. Falkner and Zhiyenbayeva won 6-3, improving to 7-1 on the season together.

The Wolfpack eventually claimed the doubles point, taking the two matches on courts two and three.

Pepperdine answered immediately on the singles courts, with Söke posting a 6-0, 6-4 victory at the No. 5 position. Söke continued her dominance in singles this season, as she is now 9-0 with just one set dropped in 11 matches.

NC State took the next match in two sets on court one, but Alexia Harmon answered with a victory on court six to even the match at 2-2. Harmon defeated Jasmine Conway 6-3, 6-3, extending her winning streak to nine straight in singles play. Harmon leads the Waves with 11 singles victories on the season, sitting at 11-2 overall.

The teams continued to trade points, as NC State grabbed a 3-2 advantage with a two-set win on court three. 

Chantal Sauvant evened the match soon after at 3-3, defeating No. 51 Lavinia Tanasie 6-4, 7-6(3) as Sauvant earned her first career ranked singles victory. Her win came at the No. 4 position and improved her singles record this season to 7-4.

Minutes after Sauvant's win, NC State was able to secure the victory with a third-set victory on court two. Zhiyenbayeva saved four match points after trailing 0-40 while down 0-5 in the third set, with No. 48 Gabriella Broadfoot eventually clinching with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 scoreline.

All four of Pepperdine's losses this season have now come by a 4-3 scoreline.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 15 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva/Živa Falkner (PEPP) def. No. 2 Victoria Osuigwe/Gabriella Broadfoot (NCSU): 6-3
2. No. 80 Anna Zyryanova/Jasmine Conway (NCSU) def. Anastasiia Grechkina/Chantal Sauvant (PEPP): 6-4
3. Mia Slama/Lavinia Tanasie (NCSU) def. Duru Söke/Shihomi Leong (PEPP): 7-5
Order of finish: 1,2,3

Singles
1. No. 44 Mia Slama (NCSU) def. No. 23 Živa Falkner (PEPP): 6-4, 6-2
2. No. 48 Gabriella Broadfoot (NCSU) def. No. 36 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP): 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
3. No. 65 Anna Zyryanova (NCSU) def. No. 13 Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP): 6-4, 7-5
4. Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. No. 51 Lavinia Tanasie (NCSU): 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
5. No. 107 Duru Söke (PEPP) def. Victoria Osuigwe (NCSU): 6-0, 6-4
6. Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Jasmine Conway (NCSU): 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 5,1,6,3,4,2

The Waves return Saturday for their final non-conference test, hosting Cal Poly at 1 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.
 
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