By Lindsey Besecker
Assistant Sports Editor
At the opening of the 2002 season, the Pepperdine women’s tennis team holds a No. 20 national ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and a 1-1 record.
“Our goal is to get back into the top 15,” freshman Ceyda Keyman said.
But with a loss on Wednesday afternoon to No. 11 Fresno State, the Waves will have to work extra hard to crack the top 15.
The Waves will have a chance to redeem themselves against UCLA this Saturday. They then host No. 1 Stanford Feb. 2 in an 11 a.m. match, followed on Feb. 3 by a match with No. 8 Arizona State at noon at the Ralph Strauss Tennis Center.
“UCLA and USC are our biggest rivals,” Keyman said. “To beat Stanford would be amazing. That’s my coaches’ dream. Fresno and UCLA are big games; they are very important to us.”
Fresno won the crucial doubles point to edge the Waves by a count of 4-3.
Fresno’s Kim Niggemeyer defeated freshman Veronica Koksva 6-3, 6-2. Chloe Carlotti of Fresno overcame sophomore Charlotte Vernaz 6-2, 6-3.
The Bulldogs’ Simone Jardim defeated Pepperdine freshman Karin Schlapbach 6-4, 6-4. Fellow freshman Alexandra Kujawska overtook Fresno’s Lucia Tallo 6-2, 6-1. Junior Monika Horvath defeated Bulldog Chantel Wiggins 7-6, 3-6, 6-3. In the other singles match, freshman Anna Andersson defeated Fresno’s Ewa Grusiecka 6-2, 7-5.
In doubles action, Fresno took all three sets. Jarim and Niggemeyer teamed up to defeat Pepperdine’s Kujawska and Schlapbach 9-8. Fresno’s Carlotti and Tallo overcame Keyman and Vernaz 9-8. The Bulldogs’ Courtney Jantz and Wiggins beat Pepperdine’s Andersson and Koksva 8-4.
Earlier this week, the Waves traveled to USD Sunday to face the Toreros on the USD West Courts. Pepperdine came away with a 7-0 win, only losing one set in the match. They opened the season at 1-0 while the Toreros dropped to 0-1.
“We haven’t lost to San Diego in the past 14 years,” Keyman said. “We wanted to keep that legacy going. The first match is always the hardest, and (as freshmen) we had no idea what to expect. It is just another source of motivation.”
The team showed that they have the ability to prevail, even as a young team, in the USD match. Pepperdine, the defending WCC champs, swept the doubles and singles sets.
In doubles action, Kujawska teamed up with Schlapbach to defeat a USD team of Paola Arrongiz and Catherine Heppell, 8-3.
Keyman and Vernaz defeated Livensay and Rapp 8-2.
“It is always a dilemma who’s going to play with who, and the coach went with who we thought,” Keyman said. “If something goes wrong then we switch. Tennis is an individual sport, but doubles is like a team sport. I love doubles.”
In singles play, Kujawska played No. 1 singles, defeating Arrongoiz 6-4, 6-2. Vernaz overcame Heppell 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Schlapbach also came away with a victory, downing Livensay 6-3, 6-4.
Koksva won her match, defeating the Toreros’ Rapp 6-3, 6-2. Keyman routed Anne Seppi 6-0, 6-0.
Last season, the Toreros finished third in the WCC with a 12-9 record. The Waves finished ranked No. 20 with an 18-9 record last season, losing in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.
And, just like against USD, the Waves roster has shown that they have the skill to pull it off.
The Waves return three letter-winners to this year’s team. Horvath, Vernaz, and senior Paola Valencia, a two-time All-American, make up the returning team.
Six freshmen comprise the rest of the team. Andersson, Stephanie Karlick, Keyman, Koksva, Kujawska, and Schlapbach fill out the rest of the roster for the Waves.
“We all get along very well. From the beginning we clicked,” Keyman said. “(The older girls) tell us how everybody plays. It’s a good team. We are known as the international team because there is nobody from the United States. Despite the fact that we come from different places, we are all able to become one.”
As the season progresses, the Waves will gain experience and improve as a team. The matches against Fresno and USD provided the team with a great start to the season.
“Our goals are to definitely make it up to the top 15 and to play well in NCAA,” Keyman said. “Basically we want to do the best we can and stay strong as a team. We want to look back and say ‘Wow, that was a great season.’ I’ll feel like a winner if I can look back and say that.
“I want to be able to complete the season proud to represent Pepperdine and be a part of a team like this one.”
January 24, 2002