Pepperdine University Athletics

Women's Tennis 3/21/2026 7:00:00 PM

No. 2 Women's Tennis Records 7-0 Victory Over Cal Poly

MALIBU, Calif. — No. 2 Pepperdine women's tennis (12-4, 3-0 WCC) cruised to a 7-0 victory at home against Cal Poly (7-6, 3-0 Big West) Saturday afternoon from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

Pepperdine won all six singles courts in two sets after securing the doubles point in a tiebreak on the final court.

The Waves close out their non-conference slate with a 9-4 record as the remaining four regular season matchups will take place against West Coast Conference opponents.

"This was another tough week with two good opponents for our team," said head coach Tassilo Schmid following the win. "We learned a lot about ourselves and what we need to improve on in the coming weeks. I'm really proud of the path that these girls are headed on for each other."

The Waves tinkered with the doubles lineup seeing Živa Falkner and Anastasiia Grechkina pairing up for the first time this season at the No. 1 position with Chantal Sauvant and Alexia Harmon playing as a tandem for the fourth time this season.

Cal Poly struck first in doubles, securing a win on court three.

Duru Söke and Shihomi Leong answered soon after, recording a 6-4 win on court two. Söke and Leong improved to 7-3 on the season and picked up their first win at the No. 2 position.

Falkner and Grechkina battled from down a break to force a tiebreak on court one, eventually securing the doubles point with a 7-4 victory in the tiebreak.

Söke earned the first win in singles play on court five, defeating Natalie Lynch 6-1 in both sets, pushing Pepperdine's lead to 2-0. Söke is now 10-0 on the season in singles and 5-0 at the No. 5 position.

Falkner earned a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win on court one next, taking down Kennedy Buntrock. Falkner moved to 5-6 on the season in singles, as her win put the Waves in a commanding 3-0 lead.

The match was then clinched on court two by Sonja Zhiyenbayeva, as she defeated Jessica MacCallum 6-1, 6-4. Zhiyenbayeva is now 11-2 on the season and 5-2 at the No. 2 position.

Playing out the remaining matches, Grechkina was next to secure her two-set win on court three. She defeated Candela Aparisi, 6-4, 6-1, improving her singles record to 6-5 this season.

Sauvant then earned her fourth straight singles win on court four, taking down Alexandra Ozerets, 6-3, 6-0. Sauvant is now 8-4 on the dual match season and 6-2 at the No. 4 position.

Leong rounded out the perfect mark in singles for the Waves, securing a 6-2, 6-3 win on court six over Sarah MacCallum. Leong is now 3-4 on the season in singles as her win gave the Waves their second 7-0 win of the campaign.

RESULTS

Doubles

1. Anastasiia Grechkina/Živa Falkner (PEPP) def. Kennedy Buntrock/Jessica MacCallum (CP) 7-6 (7-4)

2. Shihomi Leong/Duru Söke (PEPP) def. Natalie Lynch/Candela Aparisi (CP) 6-4

3. Amy Leather/Bonita Jakupovic-Kl (CP) def. Alexia Harmon/Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) 6-3

Order of finish: 3,2,1

Singles

1. No. 23 Živa Falkner (PEPP) def. Kennedy Buntrock (CP) 6-0, 6-1

2. No. 36 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) def. Jessica MacCallum (CP) 6-1, 6-4

3. No. 13 Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) def. Candela Aparisi (CP) 6-4, 6-1

4. Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Alexandra Ozerets (CP) 6-3, 6-0

5. No. 107 Duru Söke (PEPP) def. Natalie Lynch (CP) 6-1, 6-1

6. Shihomi Leong (PEPP) def. Sarah MacCallum (CP) 6-2, 6-3

Order of finish: 5,1,2,3,4,6

The Waves return to conference play next Sunday (Mar. 29), playing host to Portland at noon from Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S TENNIS

Pepperdine women's tennis has been a consistent powerhouse in the collegiate scene, reaching 40 NCAA Tournaments since 1982 including 28 straight appearances. Since 2018, the program has seen three national runner-ups between both singles and doubles while reaching an NCAA Regional as a team eight times in the past nine tournaments. The success at the conference level has been paramount with 33 WCC Championships including an active streak of 11 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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