MALIBU, Calif. – Locked in a tight battle until the end, No. 27 Stanford women's tennis fell late to No. 5 Pepperdine, 4-2, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Stanford won the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead after taking two of the three matches. The pair of Emily Arbuthnott and Angelica Blake leveled the tally at 1-1 with a 6-2 win on court two, while Sara Choy and Emma Higuchi secured the advantage with a 6-4 triumph on court three.
Pepperdine rallied to take a 2-1 lead in singles, but the match was immediately tied again after a 6-2, 6-2 singles win on court six by Higuchi. Michaela Gordon and Blake each took one set at the top two singles positions, respectively, but the Waves were able to secure the two third-set wins to clinch the match and advance in the tournament.
The Cardinal finishes the season with a 15-5 overall record.
The NCAA singles and doubles championships begin May 23 in Orlando, Florida.
No. 5 Pepperdine 4, No. 27 Stanford 2
DOUBLES
1) Lahey/Zarr (PEPP) d. Gordon/Niluka Madurawe (STAN), 6-3
2) Arbuthnott/Blake (STAN) d. Fakuda/Pachkaleva (PEPP), 6-2
3) Choy/Higuchi (STAN) d. Failla/Iamachkine (PEPP), 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
SINGLES
1) No. 77 Ashley Lahey (PEPP) d. No. 34 Michaela Gordon (STAN), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
2) No. 21 Jessica Failla (PEPP) d. No. 111 Angelica Blake (STAN), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
3) No. 89 Taisiya Pachkaleva (PEPP) d. Emily Arbuthnott (STAN), 6-1, 6-1
4) No. 118 Shiori Fukuda (PEPP) d. Ana Geller (STAN), 6-1, 7-5
5) Sara Choy (STAN) vs. Lisa Zaar (PEPP), 7-6 (5), 3-6 susp.
6) Emma Higuchi (STAN) d. Lexi Ryngler (PEPP), 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 6, 2, 1