JANE LEE
Assistant Sports Editor
Strong competition keeps pouring in for the No.-28 Pepperdine women’s tennis team, but Head Coach Gualberto Escudero’s Waves just keep on rolling and rolling.
The team, undefeated on the season with a record of 4-0, captured victories against Rice University and Long Beach State at the Ralphs-Strauss Tennis Center this past week.
The Waves began the weekend Friday afternoon by sweeping Rice 7-0.
Pepperdine won the doubles point after the No.-22 doubles team of sophomore Sylvia Kosakowski and senior Merve Asimigil defeated No.-30 Blair DiSesa and Alanna Rodgers 8-4, and the Wave duo of sophomore Bianca Dulgheru and junior Eva Dickes beat Kimberly Patenaude and Medeja Egic 9-7.
Registering singles wins to give the Waves the 7-0 victory were Dulgheru, Kosakowski, Dickes, Asimigil, junior Caroline Raba and senior Natalie Braverman.
“It’s still the beginning of the season, so it’s great to see their effort out on the court,” Escudero said. “We knew Rice had great talent, but we knew that Long Beach was going to be our first true test of the season.”
Despite losses in the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions, the Waves surpassed that test, grabbing a 6-1 victory over Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon.
In doubles play, Braverman and Raba recorded a victory in the No. 3 position after defeating Krystina Katayama and Rachael Porsz 8-3, but it was not enough to win the point as the No. 1 and No. 2 positions faced tough competition from the 49ers.
“We knew they had a strong doubles team,” Escudero said, “so we had a nice talk after that, and it was a good way to get the singles players pumped up for their matches.”
Sure enough, the Waves came back in victorious fashion, bringing down each of their opponents in singles to pick up the win for the Waves.
Braverman, Dickes and Kosakowski all captured their fourth straight victory in singles. Also grabbing wins for the team were Dulgheru, Raba and Asimigil.
In response to the big victory, Escudero explained his team’s keys to success against the 49ers.
“We were mentally ready to play a team we thought was better than us,” he said. “Also, we already had three matches under our belt and, although the plan kind of backfired, we used more players in doubles.”
The Waves were scheduled to take a break from dual meets to compete in the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis. next week, but for the first time in about 15 years, Pepperdine was not invited.
Escudero said the event usually hosts the Top 20 teams in the country, so his Waves just missed out.
“This is the first time in awhile we haven’t gone, but it gives us time to rest up and also get some extra conditioning in to prepare for the upcoming competition,” he said.
The Waves will host Fresno State and UCLA on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11, respectively.
“I’m proud of the girls so far,” Escudero said, “and I know they will continue to live up to my expectations.”
02-02-2006
