On Saturday the Waves dissolved the Mustangs’ four home game winning streak with a 5-2 victory. Pepperdine is still working to bring its record to .500 as the win places them at 7-8 on the season.
The Waves lost the first match in doubles but bounced back to win the next two and clinched the doubles point. The unstoppable duo of sophomore Anamika Bhargava and senior Alex Liles ranked 49th in the nation continued to dominate. On Saturday they defeated Steffi Wong and Brittany Blalock 8-0.
“Winning the doubles point was motivating Bhargava said. It seems like things are coming together.”
After the doubles point the Waves moved on to singles. With strong performances from Liles freshman Andrea Oates and junior Tania Rice the Waves had no problem securing a few crucial singles points and held their opponents to just two game wins.
“It was a nice match for me because I liked the [opponent’s] style of play and that always makes it easier Oates said. It was just a good day overall.”
Bhargava provided the Waves’ final win of the day as she defeated No.-7 Brittany Blalock (3-6 6-3 10-7). Every win is crucial for the Waves who are still missing three players – junior Jill Braverman and freshmen Zlatka Petrova and Anne-Christine Voicu – due to injury.
“Right now we are pretty shorthanded missing three of our top seven players said Assistant Coach Scott Doerner. We are excited to see some of the new girls step up. It’s good for them to have these opportunities to play and we want to see them come out and win. We are a little limp right now but we are still out there to win and play hard. We look forward to this week’s games.”
The Waves open a four game homestand this weekend against San Diego on Sunday at 1 p.m. and Fresno State on Monday at 1:30 p.m.