No. 11 Women's Tennis Set to Host NCAA Regional; Will Take on UCSB in First Round
4/27/2026 2:45:00 PM | Women's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. — No. 11 Pepperdine women's tennis will host an NCAA Regional this weekend to begin the NCAA Tournament, with first and second round contests set for Friday and Saturday in Malibu.
Pepperdine will take on No. 50 UC Santa Barbara in their first round matchup, set for 1 p.m. Friday from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. No. 36 BYU and No. 29 Stanford will play at 10 a.m. Friday in the other Round of 64 matchup.
The two winners from Friday will then square off Saturday at 2 p.m. for a spot in the NCAA Super Regionals, set for the following weekend.
The full NCAA Tournament bracket can be found here.
The Waves won their 12th consecutive West Coast Conference (WCC) Tournament this past weekend to clinch an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, with the top-16 teams in the country now set to host regional rounds. Pepperdine defeated No. 51 San Diego 4-1 this past Saturday to claim the conference title.
Živa Falkner was named WCC Co-Player of the Year for her efforts at the No.1 singles and doubles position for the Waves. In addition, Sonja Zhiyenbayeva received WCC Freshman of the Year and Tassilo Schmid was named WCC Coach of the Year.
Falkner, Zhiyenbayeva and Anastasiia Grechkina were All-WCC First Team singles selections, while Chantal Sauvant and Duru Söke landed on the All-WCC Second Team. Alexia Harmon also received honorable mention recognition in singles, giving Pepperdine's entire singles lineup all-conference laurels.
In doubles, Falkner and Zhiyenbayeva plus Grechkina and Sauvant were named All-WCC First Team. Söke and Shihomi Leong were also named to the Second Team.
Pepperdine has now reached 29 straight NCAA Tournaments and 41 overall. The Waves have advanced into a Super Regional in eight of the past nine seasons.
The Waves have posted a 35-8 overall record against UC Santa Barbara, most recently splitting a pair of matches in 2025.
Live scoring and streaming for all three matches this weekend can be found here.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S TENNIS
Pepperdine women's tennis has been a consistent powerhouse in the collegiate scene, reaching 41 NCAA Tournaments since 1982 including 29 straight appearances. Since 2018, the program has seen three national runner-ups between both singles and doubles while reaching an NCAA Super Regional as a team eight times in the past nine tournaments. The success at the conference level has been paramount with 34 WCC Championships including an active streak of 12 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.
Pepperdine will take on No. 50 UC Santa Barbara in their first round matchup, set for 1 p.m. Friday from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. No. 36 BYU and No. 29 Stanford will play at 10 a.m. Friday in the other Round of 64 matchup.
The two winners from Friday will then square off Saturday at 2 p.m. for a spot in the NCAA Super Regionals, set for the following weekend.
The full NCAA Tournament bracket can be found here.
The Waves won their 12th consecutive West Coast Conference (WCC) Tournament this past weekend to clinch an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, with the top-16 teams in the country now set to host regional rounds. Pepperdine defeated No. 51 San Diego 4-1 this past Saturday to claim the conference title.
Živa Falkner was named WCC Co-Player of the Year for her efforts at the No.1 singles and doubles position for the Waves. In addition, Sonja Zhiyenbayeva received WCC Freshman of the Year and Tassilo Schmid was named WCC Coach of the Year.
Falkner, Zhiyenbayeva and Anastasiia Grechkina were All-WCC First Team singles selections, while Chantal Sauvant and Duru Söke landed on the All-WCC Second Team. Alexia Harmon also received honorable mention recognition in singles, giving Pepperdine's entire singles lineup all-conference laurels.
In doubles, Falkner and Zhiyenbayeva plus Grechkina and Sauvant were named All-WCC First Team. Söke and Shihomi Leong were also named to the Second Team.
Pepperdine has now reached 29 straight NCAA Tournaments and 41 overall. The Waves have advanced into a Super Regional in eight of the past nine seasons.
The Waves have posted a 35-8 overall record against UC Santa Barbara, most recently splitting a pair of matches in 2025.
Live scoring and streaming for all three matches this weekend can be found here.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S TENNIS
Pepperdine women's tennis has been a consistent powerhouse in the collegiate scene, reaching 41 NCAA Tournaments since 1982 including 29 straight appearances. Since 2018, the program has seen three national runner-ups between both singles and doubles while reaching an NCAA Super Regional as a team eight times in the past nine tournaments. The success at the conference level has been paramount with 34 WCC Championships including an active streak of 12 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.
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