The No. 41 nationally ranked Pepperdine women’s tennis team claimed its 22nd WCC crown on Sunday after defeating Saint Mary’s in the finals, 4-1.
The 2009 title marks the seventh consecutive championship win for the Pepperdine women. They have won 22 of the 24 WCC championships since the beginning of the event.
The Waves (13-11) fought for the doubles-point after Erin Young/Molly Aloia (SMC) notched the first win over Tania Rice/Zlotka Petrova (PEP) 8-1, on court 3. Anamika Bhargava/Alex Liles (PEP) finished second with a 8-4 victory over Alex Poorta/Claire Soper (SMC) on court 1. Pepperdine’s Andrea Oates/Alexandria Walters clinched the doubles point with an 8-6 win over Nienke Stribis/Anna Chikhikvishvili (SMC) on court 2.
The singles competition started out as a battle as the Gaels finished first with Young defeating Anne-Christine Voicu (PEP), 6-0, 6-0, on court 6. The team score was 1-1. Strijbis (SMC) followed suit with a 6-2, 6-2, straight set victory over Rice (PEP) on court 5, to give Saint Mary’s a 2-1 lead. Oates (PEP) answered back by defeating Sabina Gunnarsson (SMC), 6-3, 6-2, on court 4. The score was tied 2-2. Liles (PEP) came through in a second set tie-breaker on court 3 to defeat Soper (SMC) 6-4, 7-6 (7) to give the Pepperdine the lead at 3-1. The Waves No. 1 Bhargava clinched the match with a three set win on court 1 over Poorta (SMC), 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.
Pepperdine defeated Gonzaga (4-0) and San Francisco (4-0) in the earlier rounds.
ALL-WCC WAVES —
Senior Alex Liles, and sophomore Anamika Bhargava were selected to the first team for singles while freshman Ali Walters made the second team. Freshman Andrea Oates received an honorable mention. Liles and Bhargava were chosen to the first team for doubles.
Though only a sophomore, Bhargava has played the No. 1 position for Pepperdine all season. Bhargava clinched the WCC Conference Championship finals for Pepperdine with a three set win over Alex Poorta (USD), 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. Liles has had an excellent senior year with a 17-7 singles record playing No. 3 for the Waves. In doubles, Liles and Bhargava have been ranked as high as No. 49 nationally and hold a 19-5 record to date.
Walters and Oates are two outstanding freshmen who have been major contributors to the Waves success this season. Walters a transfer from UCLA, has an 8-7 record playing No. 2 for Pepperdine. Oates holds the best singles record on the team at 18-6 in the No. 3 spot. Both Walters and Oates won all of their WCC Championships matches last weekend.
PEPPERDINE IN THE POLLS — Pepperdine women's tennis team is ranked No. 41 in the latest ITA polls.
WALTERS IN THE POLLS —
COACH ESCUDERO —
Escudero has led Pepperdine to the NCAA post-season on 25 occasions including each of the last 21 seasons. The Waves have advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships on four occasions. Escudero directed Pepperdine’s 1984, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999 and 2000 squads to the top 10 final rankings. In addition, the Waves have won 20 of the last 21 WCC titles, including five in a row.
Escudero’s Pepperdine women tennis players have been named All-American 29 times, WCC Player of the Year four times and WCC Freshman of the Year six times. His student-athletes have also earned WCC All-Academic honors on 33 occasions.
During his tenure at Pepperdine, Escudero was selected the ITA’s District VIII Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1992, the ITA West Region Coach of the Year in 2006 and has been named WCC Coach of the Year three times.
COACH DOERNER —
Doerner is a familiar face to Pepperdine tennis, as he was a member of the men’s tennis team from 2002-03 through 2005-06 and was part of the squad that captured the 2006 NCAA championship.
Doerner was a standout on the court, as he was named an All-American in singles in 2006 and twice in doubles (2005 and 2006). He was named WCC’s Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006. Doerner ended his senior season ranked No. 14 in the ITA’s single rankings and a No. 2 national ranking in doubles with Andre Begemann.
