No. 8 Pepperdine Women’s Tennis competed in the Freeman Memorial Tournament on Jan. 12-14, in Las Vegas. The Waves had eight singles and five doubles victories in the tournament.
Graduate Lisa Zaar started off the tournament with an upset by defeating the No. 2 singles player in the nation, Oklahoma State junior Ange Oby Kajuru, in two sets. Junior Savannah Broadus, senior Nikki Redelijk, senior Janice Tjen and freshman Vivian Yang all also won their singles match on the first day.
“It’s a great tournament where we got to bond as a team and play good competition before we start our dual season,” Head coach Per Nilsson wrote in a Jan. 15 email to the Graphic. “It told us where we were a little after the holiday break.”
The No. 4 doubles team of Broadus and Tjen also started off the tournament with a 6-2 victory over UNLV seniors Zita Kovacs and Salsha Asher.
On the second day, Zaar and Broadus followed up their performance with two more victories. Zaar defeated No. 38 Florida graduate Carly Briggs 6-2 in the first set and 6-0 to secure the win. Meanwhile, Broadus beat No. 13 Oklahoma State sophomore Anastasiya Komar as she won the second and third set to secure a victory.
Broadus and Tjen’s doubles team also won again, this time beating No. 38 Florida freshmen Malwina Rowinska and Qavia Lopez 6-2. This victory advanced the duo to the doubles final where they played No. 6 Oklahoma State duo of Oby Kajuru and Omar.
On the final day of the tournament, the Waves took on Oklahoma State in the duos final, which turned out to be the highlight of the third day.
The Waves fell behind early as Oklahoma State went up 2-0 to start the match. Despite this start, Pepperdine didn’t back down as Broadus and Tjen battled back and went on to win the match 7-5, securing a top-10 doubles victory.
The Waves’ next matches will be in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend tournament, where they will play San Diego State on Jan. 26, and either LMU or LSU on Jan. 27, both at Ralph-Straus Tennis Center.
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