Friday, May 1
Malibu, Calif.
1:30 PM
Pepperdine University
4
vs
0
UC Santa Barbara
No. 11 Women's Tennis Defeats No. 50 UC Santa Barbara in First Round of NCAA Tournament
5/1/2026 6:50:00 PM | Women's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. — No. 11 Pepperdine women's tennis (19-4, 7-0 WCC) claimed a 4-0 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against No. 50 UC Santa Barbara (17-9, 9-0 Big West) Friday afternoon from the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
The Waves advance into the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and will match up with No. 30 Stanford tomorrow at 2 p.m.
Pepperdine did not drop a match in the contest, claiming the doubles point before seeing singles wins from Chantal Sauvant, Alexia Harmon and Sonja Zhiyenbayeva.
"The first round of NCAAs versus UCSB is not an easy draw," said head coach Tassilo Schmid. "They beat us last year at home and we took care of business today. We played a really good doubles point on all three courts and in singles we competed well. We're looking forward to another big battle tomorrow."
Anastasiia Grechkina and Sauvant got the winning started for the Waves, claiming a 6-1 victory on court two in doubles.
Shihomi Leong and Söke then clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win on court three. The Waves won a key deuce point on serve at 4-4 before getting a break to secure the victory.Â
Živa Falkner and Sonja Zhiyenbayeva went unfinished on court one while ahead 5-4.
Sauvant gave the Waves a 2-0 lead in the match, defeating Lily Pradkin, 6-3, 6-1, on court four.
Harmon then secured her win on court six, taking down Shanelle Iaconi, 6-1, 7-5, to put Pepperdine in a commanding 3-0 lead.
With simultaneous tiebreaks happening on courts three and five, it was Zhiyenbayeva who clinched the win for the Waves, defeating Emma Tutoveanu, 6-3, 7-6. Zhiyenbayeva claimed the tiebreak 7-5.
Söke saw her match go unfinished on five, while in the middle of a second set tiebreak. Söke had won her first set 6-1.
Falkner's match on court one was abandoned in the third set, along Grechkina's on court two in the second set.
Pepperdine has now reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 12 straight seasons. The Waves also now boast an eight-match winning streak dating back to March.
RESULTS
Doubles
   1   No. 16 Živa Falkner/Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) ABN vs. Caroline Beard/Ekua Youri (UCSB): 5-4
   2   Anastasiia Grechkina/Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Lily Pradkin/Shanelle Iaconi (UCSB): 6-1
   3   Duru Söke/Shihomi Leong (PEPP) def. My-Anh Holmes/Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB): 6-4
Order of finish: 2.3
Singles
   1   No. 40 Živa Falkner (PEPP) ABN vs. Ekua Youri (UCSB): 6-3, 5-7, 1-1
   2   No. 35 Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) ABN vs. Isabella Wong (UCSB): 6(5)-7, 5-4
   3   No. 48 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) def. Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB): 6-3, 7-6(5)
   4   Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Lily Pradkin (UCSB): 6-3, 6-1
   5   No. 121 Duru Söke (PEPP) ABN vs. Raphaelle Leroux (UCSB): 6-1, 6-6
   6   Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Shanelle Iaconi (UCSB): 6-1, 7-5
Order of finish: 4,6,3
The Waves will take on No. 30 Stanford tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Pepperdine defeated the Cardinal 4-1 earlier this season in Palo Alto.
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.
The Waves advance into the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and will match up with No. 30 Stanford tomorrow at 2 p.m.
Pepperdine did not drop a match in the contest, claiming the doubles point before seeing singles wins from Chantal Sauvant, Alexia Harmon and Sonja Zhiyenbayeva.
"The first round of NCAAs versus UCSB is not an easy draw," said head coach Tassilo Schmid. "They beat us last year at home and we took care of business today. We played a really good doubles point on all three courts and in singles we competed well. We're looking forward to another big battle tomorrow."
Anastasiia Grechkina and Sauvant got the winning started for the Waves, claiming a 6-1 victory on court two in doubles.
Shihomi Leong and Söke then clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win on court three. The Waves won a key deuce point on serve at 4-4 before getting a break to secure the victory.Â
Živa Falkner and Sonja Zhiyenbayeva went unfinished on court one while ahead 5-4.
Sauvant gave the Waves a 2-0 lead in the match, defeating Lily Pradkin, 6-3, 6-1, on court four.
Harmon then secured her win on court six, taking down Shanelle Iaconi, 6-1, 7-5, to put Pepperdine in a commanding 3-0 lead.
With simultaneous tiebreaks happening on courts three and five, it was Zhiyenbayeva who clinched the win for the Waves, defeating Emma Tutoveanu, 6-3, 7-6. Zhiyenbayeva claimed the tiebreak 7-5.
Söke saw her match go unfinished on five, while in the middle of a second set tiebreak. Söke had won her first set 6-1.
Falkner's match on court one was abandoned in the third set, along Grechkina's on court two in the second set.
Pepperdine has now reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 12 straight seasons. The Waves also now boast an eight-match winning streak dating back to March.
RESULTS
Doubles
   1   No. 16 Živa Falkner/Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) ABN vs. Caroline Beard/Ekua Youri (UCSB): 5-4
   2   Anastasiia Grechkina/Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Lily Pradkin/Shanelle Iaconi (UCSB): 6-1
   3   Duru Söke/Shihomi Leong (PEPP) def. My-Anh Holmes/Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB): 6-4
Order of finish: 2.3
Singles
   1   No. 40 Živa Falkner (PEPP) ABN vs. Ekua Youri (UCSB): 6-3, 5-7, 1-1
   2   No. 35 Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) ABN vs. Isabella Wong (UCSB): 6(5)-7, 5-4
   3   No. 48 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) def. Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB): 6-3, 7-6(5)
   4   Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Lily Pradkin (UCSB): 6-3, 6-1
   5   No. 121 Duru Söke (PEPP) ABN vs. Raphaelle Leroux (UCSB): 6-1, 6-6
   6   Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Shanelle Iaconi (UCSB): 6-1, 7-5
Order of finish: 4,6,3
The Waves will take on No. 30 Stanford tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Pepperdine defeated the Cardinal 4-1 earlier this season in Palo Alto.
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.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
