Junior Anamika Bhargava and sophomore Alexandria Walters represented the Pepperdine women’s tennis team in the prestigious Riviera/ITA All-American Championships on Oct. 3 in Los Angeles showcasing their talent on a national stage.
Bhargava and Walters were among select company in a tournament featuring some of the nation’s top players.
“We were really excited to be invited to this tournament because it is such a big deal Walters said.
The level of play proved to be steep, and both women bowed out of the tournament in the first round. Bhargava lost to Aeriel Ellis of University of Texas, 6-1, 6-3, and Walters had a rough day as well, losing 6-1, 6-0 against Texas Christian University’s Kayla Duncan.
I was pretty disappointed with my performance considering I played well that whole week prior to the tournament Bhargava said. I did play a really good player but I still wish I could’ve done better. I have a lot of work to do and I’m glad I have a lot of time before the season to keep working hard.”
In doubles the Waves couldn’t overcome the powerful duo of junior Cameron Ellis and senior Naoko Ueshima from University of Georgia eventually losing 8-5 in the opening round. Bhargava and Walters plan to use the early exit as motivation to improve their games going into the spring season.
“We competed well as a team but we still need a lot of work Bhargava said. We both have been playing pretty solid the last week and we were winning most of the match but just at the end we lost it and started playing a different game from the beginning.”
Playing flat towards the end of the match proved to be a common theme.
“The team from Georgia [had] some strong players but we definitely had opportunities to close the match out Walters said.
What made it a little easier to swallow was the fact that Duncan and Ellis (Texas) both went on to win their fourth-round singles matches and earned spots in the main draw of the tournament.
This tournament concludes the Waves’ fall tournament schedule. The team will return to action Jan. 18, 2010, as Pepperdine plays host to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at the Ralphs-Straus tennis center at 1:30 p.m. in its home opener. University of San Francisco comes to town a few days later on Jan. 22, 2010, to open the WCC season for the Waves.
