LOS -- The impressive 2004 campaign came to a disappointing close today for the 18th-ranked BYU women's tennis team as the 37th-ranked Pepperdine Waves upset the Cougars in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in a tight 4-2 decision. Pepperdine will face No. 9 UCLA Saturday at 3:00 p.m. PST for the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
BYU's Barbora Zahnova and Sofia Holden held strong at the No. 1 doubles spot with a bold 8-1 win over Pepperdine's Caroline Raba and Charlotte Vernaz but Pepperdine jumped out to an early lead by taking the doubles point with wins on courts two and three.
Pepperdine gained its second match point when Lise Sissler posted a 6-3, 6-2 win over Cougar Sophomore Hadley MacFarlane at the No. 6 singles position. BYU answered back with wins from Lauren Jones at No. 2 and Rebecca Pike at No. 5. Jones and Pike took care of their opponents in straight sets.
The key matches were at Nos. 1 and 2 where Zahnova and Holden fought to take the lead for the Cougars. At No. 2, BYU's Holden was overmatched by Raba who claimed victory in straight sets. Zahnova's three-set push wasn't enough against Pepperdine's Natalie Braverman who clinched the match for the Waves in the final set with a 6-4 win over Zahnova.
The Cougars finish the season with a 22-6 overall record.
BYU 2, Pepperdine 4
Doubles:
(18) Holden/Zahnova (BYU) def. Raba/Vernaz (Pepp)8-1
Merve Asimgil/Braverman (Pepp) def. Jones/MacFarlane (BYU)9-8(4)
Dickes/Schlapbach (Pepp) def. Boulytcheva/Oswald (BYU)8-5
Pepperdine wins doubles point
Singles:
(27) Natalie Braverman (Pepp) def. (36) Barbara Zahnova (BYU)7-5, 3-6, 6-4*
Caroline Raba (Pepp) def. Sofia Holden (BYU)6-3, 6-4
Lauren Jones (BYU) def. (100) Charlotte Vernaz (Pepp)6-3, 7-6(4)
Olga Boulytcheva (BYU) vs. Karin Schlapbach (Pepp)DNF
Rebecca Pike (BYU) def. Eva Dickes (Pepperdine)6-4, 6-2
Lise Sissler (Pepp) def. Hadley MacFarlane (BYU)6-3, 6-2
*clinched the match