Friday, May 8
Norman, Okla.
3:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM CT
Pepperdine University
at
University of Oklahoma
No. 11 Women's Tennis Readies for NCAA Super Regional at No. 6 Oklahoma
5/6/2026 1:25:00 PM | Women's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. — No. 11 Pepperdine women's tennis (20-4, 7-0 WCC) will head to No. 6 Oklahoma (25-5, 13-2 SEC) for the NCAA Super Regionals, with the match set for Friday at 3 p.m. PT.
The match will be streamed live on CrackedRacquets YouTube, with live stats available here.
The NCAA Round of 16 matchup will see the winner advance to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga., held from May 15-17.
Pepperdine advanced into the Super Regional round with 4-0 victories over No. 50 UC Santa Barbara and No. 30 Stanford to open the NCAA Tournament at home in Malibu. The Waves have now reached the Super Regionals nine times in the past 10 seasons.
The Waves are currently riding a nine-match winning streak, which includes four postseason matches between the WCC and NCAA Tournaments, where Pepperdine has dropped just one point. Pepperdine has gone 12-2 this season against ranked opponents, including four victories against top-10 opponents.
Živa Falkner was named WCC Co-Player of the Year following the regular season while Sonja Zhiyenbayeva earned WCC Freshman of the Year. In addition, Tassilo Schmid claimed WCC Coach of the Year as the Waves swept the conference's major postseason awards.Â
Falkner and Zhiyenbayeca earned First Team All-WCC Singles honors as well, along with Anastasiia Grechkina. Chantal Sauvant and Duru Söke tabbed Second Team All-WCC Singles recognition, while Alexia Harmon was an honorable mention honoree.Â
All three of Pepperdine's doubles teams received all-conference laurels, as Zhiyenbayeva/Falkner and Grechkina/Sauvant were named to the All-WCC First Team. Söke and Shihomi Leong also took home Doubles All-WCC Second Team honors.
Three Waves have posted 15 singles wins on the season, featuring Harmon (15-2), Zhiyenbayeva (15-2) and Sauvant (15-4). Harmon has won 13 consecutive singles matches, as has Söke. who has maintained her unbeaten singles record to this point at 13-0.
In the ITA singles rankings, four Waves are featured including Grechkina (No. 35), Falkner (No. 40), Zhiyenbayeva (No. 48) and Söke (No. 121). Falkner and Zhiyenbayeva also feature in the doubles rankings at No. 18.
Pepperdine has gone 5-2 all-time against Oklahoma, featuring a 1-1 record in Norman. The two sides have met four times since 2020, splitting those four matchups evenly. The most recent meeting saw Pepperdine earn a 4-2 win in Malibu on March 24, 2023.
The Sooners enter play ranked No. 6 in the nation after earning wins over No. 40 Kansas and No. 26 SMU in the opening two rounds of the tournament. Oklahoma has gone 17-2 at home this season and was 13-2 in SEC play, falling 4-3 to No. 10 LSU in the SEC quarterfinals last month.
In singles, the Sooners have three players ranked within the top-60, featuring Evialina Laskevich (No. 10), Edda Mamedova (No. 37) and Julia Garcia Ruiz (No. 60). In doubles, Floriana Nahum and Roisin Gilheany enter as the No. 1 ranked doubles team in the country while Laskevich and Mamedova come in at No. 20.
The winner of the matchup will advance to the NCAA Championships held in Athena, Ga., from May 15-17. The winner will take on the victor of No. 3 Ohio State vs.No. 14 Vanderbilt in an NCAA quarterfinal matchup. The full NCAA bracket can be viewed here.Â
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 nine times in the past ten 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.Â
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women's tennis news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineWTEN.
The match will be streamed live on CrackedRacquets YouTube, with live stats available here.
The NCAA Round of 16 matchup will see the winner advance to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga., held from May 15-17.
Pepperdine advanced into the Super Regional round with 4-0 victories over No. 50 UC Santa Barbara and No. 30 Stanford to open the NCAA Tournament at home in Malibu. The Waves have now reached the Super Regionals nine times in the past 10 seasons.
The Waves are currently riding a nine-match winning streak, which includes four postseason matches between the WCC and NCAA Tournaments, where Pepperdine has dropped just one point. Pepperdine has gone 12-2 this season against ranked opponents, including four victories against top-10 opponents.
Živa Falkner was named WCC Co-Player of the Year following the regular season while Sonja Zhiyenbayeva earned WCC Freshman of the Year. In addition, Tassilo Schmid claimed WCC Coach of the Year as the Waves swept the conference's major postseason awards.Â
Falkner and Zhiyenbayeca earned First Team All-WCC Singles honors as well, along with Anastasiia Grechkina. Chantal Sauvant and Duru Söke tabbed Second Team All-WCC Singles recognition, while Alexia Harmon was an honorable mention honoree.Â
All three of Pepperdine's doubles teams received all-conference laurels, as Zhiyenbayeva/Falkner and Grechkina/Sauvant were named to the All-WCC First Team. Söke and Shihomi Leong also took home Doubles All-WCC Second Team honors.
Three Waves have posted 15 singles wins on the season, featuring Harmon (15-2), Zhiyenbayeva (15-2) and Sauvant (15-4). Harmon has won 13 consecutive singles matches, as has Söke. who has maintained her unbeaten singles record to this point at 13-0.
In the ITA singles rankings, four Waves are featured including Grechkina (No. 35), Falkner (No. 40), Zhiyenbayeva (No. 48) and Söke (No. 121). Falkner and Zhiyenbayeva also feature in the doubles rankings at No. 18.
Pepperdine has gone 5-2 all-time against Oklahoma, featuring a 1-1 record in Norman. The two sides have met four times since 2020, splitting those four matchups evenly. The most recent meeting saw Pepperdine earn a 4-2 win in Malibu on March 24, 2023.
The Sooners enter play ranked No. 6 in the nation after earning wins over No. 40 Kansas and No. 26 SMU in the opening two rounds of the tournament. Oklahoma has gone 17-2 at home this season and was 13-2 in SEC play, falling 4-3 to No. 10 LSU in the SEC quarterfinals last month.
In singles, the Sooners have three players ranked within the top-60, featuring Evialina Laskevich (No. 10), Edda Mamedova (No. 37) and Julia Garcia Ruiz (No. 60). In doubles, Floriana Nahum and Roisin Gilheany enter as the No. 1 ranked doubles team in the country while Laskevich and Mamedova come in at No. 20.
The winner of the matchup will advance to the NCAA Championships held in Athena, Ga., from May 15-17. The winner will take on the victor of No. 3 Ohio State vs.No. 14 Vanderbilt in an NCAA quarterfinal matchup. The full NCAA bracket can be viewed here.Â
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 nine times in the past ten 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.Â
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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