Friday, May 1
Malibu, Calif.
1:00 PM
Pepperdine University
vs
UC Santa Barbara
No. 11 Women's Tennis Begins NCAA Tournament Run at Home Against No. 50 UC Santa Barbara
4/30/2026 5:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. — No. 11 Pepperdine women's tennis (18-4, 7-0 WCC) begins its NCAA Tournament run Friday at 1 p.m. with a matchup with No. 50 UC Santa Barbara (17-8, 9-0 Big West) from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on the campus of Pepperdine University.
The Waves earned regional hosting duties as one of the top-ranked teams in the nation, with No. 30 Stanford and No. 38 BYU also set to contest the region. The Cardinal and Cougars will square off at 10 a.m. Friday in the other NCAA First Round matchup. The winners of Friday's matches will then advance to Saturday's Round of 32 match which is slated for 2 p.m.
Live video and live scoring for all three matches for the weekend can be found here.
Pepperdine secured an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament with a dominant showing at the West Coast Conference (WCC) Championship, defeating No. 51 San Diego by a score of 4-1 in the championship match. The Waves have now won 12 straight WCC Championships and have advanced to their 29th consecutive NCAA Tournament.
The Waves have enjoyed a successful season to the tune of an 18-4 overall record. Pepperdine swept the WCC major awards, as 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 honors.
Today's ITAÂ singles rankings featured Grechkina (No. 35), Falkner (No. 40), Zhiyenbayeva (No. 48) and Söke (No. 121), while Falkner and Zhiyenbayeva came in at No. 16 in the doubles rankings.
Pepperdine boasts a 35-8 overall record against UC Santa Barbara in its history, including a 22-4 mark in Malibu. The teams met twice during the spring 2025 campaign, with Pepperdine earning a 5-2 win in Santa Barbara before the Gauchos claimed a 4-2 win in Malibu.
The Gauchos posted a 9-0 record in Big West play before defeating Cal Poly 4-3 in the Big West Championship to clinch their spot in the NCAA Tournament. UCSB enters as the No. 50 ranked team in the ITA team rankings.
Pepperdine has reached the NCAA Round of 16 in eight of the past nine seasons. The Waves earned a first round victory over Wake Forest in the 2025 Tournament, before falling to regional host Tennessee in the following round.
NCAA Malibu Regional Schedule (Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)
Friday, May 1
Stanford vs. BYU — 10 a.m.
Pepperdine vs. UC Santa Barbara — 1 p.m.
Saturday, May 2
Match one winner vs. Match two winner — 2 p.m.
The winner of Saturday's match will advance into the NCAA Super Regional Round, slated for May 1-3 at the highest seed's site.
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 12Â 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.
The Waves earned regional hosting duties as one of the top-ranked teams in the nation, with No. 30 Stanford and No. 38 BYU also set to contest the region. The Cardinal and Cougars will square off at 10 a.m. Friday in the other NCAA First Round matchup. The winners of Friday's matches will then advance to Saturday's Round of 32 match which is slated for 2 p.m.
Live video and live scoring for all three matches for the weekend can be found here.
Pepperdine secured an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament with a dominant showing at the West Coast Conference (WCC) Championship, defeating No. 51 San Diego by a score of 4-1 in the championship match. The Waves have now won 12 straight WCC Championships and have advanced to their 29th consecutive NCAA Tournament.
The Waves have enjoyed a successful season to the tune of an 18-4 overall record. Pepperdine swept the WCC major awards, as 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 honors.
Today's ITAÂ singles rankings featured Grechkina (No. 35), Falkner (No. 40), Zhiyenbayeva (No. 48) and Söke (No. 121), while Falkner and Zhiyenbayeva came in at No. 16 in the doubles rankings.
Pepperdine boasts a 35-8 overall record against UC Santa Barbara in its history, including a 22-4 mark in Malibu. The teams met twice during the spring 2025 campaign, with Pepperdine earning a 5-2 win in Santa Barbara before the Gauchos claimed a 4-2 win in Malibu.
The Gauchos posted a 9-0 record in Big West play before defeating Cal Poly 4-3 in the Big West Championship to clinch their spot in the NCAA Tournament. UCSB enters as the No. 50 ranked team in the ITA team rankings.
Pepperdine has reached the NCAA Round of 16 in eight of the past nine seasons. The Waves earned a first round victory over Wake Forest in the 2025 Tournament, before falling to regional host Tennessee in the following round.
NCAA Malibu Regional Schedule (Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)
Friday, May 1
Stanford vs. BYU — 10 a.m.
Pepperdine vs. UC Santa Barbara — 1 p.m.
Saturday, May 2
Match one winner vs. Match two winner — 2 p.m.
The winner of Saturday's match will advance into the NCAA Super Regional Round, slated for May 1-3 at the highest seed's site.
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 12Â 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.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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