No. 11 Women's Tennis Upsets No. 6 Oklahoma, Advances to NCAA Quarterfinals

Friday, May 8

Norman, Okla.

3:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM CT

Pepperdine University

University of Oklahoma

No. 11 Women's Tennis Upsets No. 6 Oklahoma, Advances to NCAA Quarterfinals

5/8/2026 11:16:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Erin Bean & Greg Bintz, Pepperdine Athletics

NORMAN, Okla. – The No. 11 Pepperdine women's tennis team went into the NCAA Super Regional on Friday night and upset the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners, 4-3, to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals. The Waves extended their 10-match win streak and improved to 8-0 on the road this season while notching a fifth victory over a top-10 squad this season (13-2 overall against ranked opponents this season).

In a six-hour juggernaut, Sonja Zhiyenbayeva clinched the match in a thrilling three-set victory. The freshman phenom overcame a 7-5 loss in the first set and defeated Edda Mamedova 7-6, 6-4.

"This team is special," said first-year Head Coach Tassilo Schmid. "We talked about never giving up and trusting the way we compete. I am so proud of them. Beating Oklahoma in Norman is very tough and that was another statement from the girls. We keep the dance going."

The Waves have now punched their ticket into the NCAA Quarterfinals for the seventh time in the past 10 seasons. Pepperdine will travel to Athens, Georgia for the NCAA Championship May 15-17. Quarterfinal match details will be available following tomorrow's super regional matchup between the Buckeyes and Commodores, set for 10 a.m. PT in Columbus, Ohio.

Pepperdine secured the doubles point with decisive victories at No. 1 and No. 2. The Sooners took the first doubles match on No. 3, as Julia Garcia Ruiz and Salakthip defeated Duru Söke and Shihomi Leong 6-1. Anastasiia Grechkina and Chantal Sauvant balanced the score in commanding fashion, taking court two over Evialina Laskevich and Edda Mamedova by a score of 6-3. Following the trend of the NCAA Round of 32, the doubles point was decided by Živa Falkner and Sonja Zhiyenbayeva on court one. Facing the No. 1 doubles team in Division I, Oklahoma's Roisin Gilheany and Gloriana Nahum, No. 16 duo Falkner and Zhiyenbayeva stormed back for the Waves to a 7-5 victory, giving Pepperdine a 1-0 advantage heading to singles. Falkner and Zhiyenbayeva improved to 13-1 on the year as a duo.

Inclement weather came in and stole the Waves' thunder, as Oklahoma and Pepperdine waited three hours to return to the court for singles following a lightning delay.

Oklahoma claimed two consecutive points on courts three and five as Garcia Ruiz and Noel defeated Grechkina and Soke, respectively in straight sets.

THE SILENCER #WAVESWIN | @PepperdineWaves pic.twitter.com/HQYvj3ajUY
— Pepperdine Women's Tennis (@PepperdineWTEN) May 9, 2026

On the other hand, court four was all Waves. Sauvant sprinted to a straight-sets victory over Ounmuang. The graduate from Heidelberg, Germany recorded a 6-1 first set victory and battled through a gritty set two (6-4).

With the match locked at 2-2, Alexia Harmon turned in one of her best performances of the season on flight six. The sophomore overpowered Nahum 6-2 in set one and then returned to win the second set 7-5.

Falkner fell on court one to No. 10 Laskevich in three sets (3-6, 6-4, 2-6).

It all came down to Zhiyenhayeva on flight two. The freshman faced a 1-0 deficit after the first set (5-7) but rallied to win set two, pushing through a tiebreaker to force one final set. Just after the clock struck midnight in Norman, she rallied from down 4-3 to win 6-4, letting out a scream of joy as her teammates mobbed her in celebration.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 16 Živa Falkner/Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) def. No. 1 Roisin Gilheany/Gloriana Nahum (OKLA): 7-5
2. Anastasiia Grechkina/Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. No. 20 Evialina Laskevich/Edda Mamedova (OKLA): 6-3
3. Julia Garcia Ruiz/Salakthip Ounmuang (OKLA) def. Shihomi Leong/Duru Söke (PEPP): 6-1
Order of finish: 3,2,1

Singles
1. No. 10 Evialina Laskevich (OKLA) def. No. 40 Živa Falkner (PEPP): 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
2. No. 48 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) def. No. 37 Edda Mamedova def. : 5-7, 7-6, 6-4
3. No. 60 Julia Garcia Ruiz (OKLA) def. No. 35 Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP): 6-1, 6-2
4. Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Salakthip Ounmuang (OKLA): 6-1, 6-4
5. Chloe Noel (OKLA) def. No. 121 Duru Söke (PEPP): 6-3, 6-1
6. Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Gloriana Nahum (OKLA): 6-2, 7-5
Order of finish: 3,5,4,6,1,2

Pepperdine will await its NCAA Quarterfinal matchup, pending the result of tomorrow's contest between No. 4 Ohio State and No. 14 Vanderbilt.

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.

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To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women's tennis news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineWTEN.