Malibu, CA -- The LIU Brooklyn women's tennis team fell to No. 12 Pepperdine in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon, falling to the host Waves, 4-0. With the loss, the Blackbirds complete the 2016-17 season with a 13-6 overall record, including a perfect 5-0 record in the Northeast Conference.
 
LIU, facing off against two nationally-ranked doubles team and four nationally-ranked singles players, performed well throughout the afternoon.
 
In doubles, the Waves took an early lead winning in the No. 3 spot over Jennifer Gogova and Isabella Wagener, 6-1. The matches at Nos. 1 and 2 finished nearly simultaneously. At No. 1, freshman Ana Leonte and sophomore Anna Grigoryan were facing off against the No. 8 ranked team in the nation of Christine Maddox and Mayar Sherif, and took three games from their opponents before falling, 6-3. And at No. 2 doubles, freshman Sasha Bollweg and sophomore Malin Leysen were taking on the No. 53 ranked team of Luisa Stefani and Jean Runglerdkriangkrai, but fell, 6-2.
 
Up 1-0 heading into singles, the Waves used wins from three top 40 ranked players to take the team match. At No. 3 singles, Gogova fell to No. 37 ranked Sherif, 6-0, 6-2 to make it 2-0. Pepperdine took a 3-0 lead when No. 14 ranked Luisa Stefani defeated Grigoryan in the top singles spot, 6-1, 6-3. The match was clinched in the No. 2 singles spot, where Bollweg was battling back in the second set, but fell to No. 19 Ashley Lahey, 6-1, 6-4.
 
The Blackbirds were faring better at the bottom of the lineup when the match was called because of the clinched win. At No. 4 singles, Leysen was knotted up with No. 97 Laura Gulbe in the second set, 2-6, 2-2. Leonte was also holding her own at No. 5, down 2-6, 3-4 when it was called.
 
Senior Isabella Wagener played one of the best matches of her LIU career, and was about to win the second set when the match was called. The captain fell in the first, 2-6, but was dominating in the second set, and led Dzina Milovanovic, 5-1 when the match was called.
 
With the win, No. 12 seed Pepperdine advances to the second round of NCAAs to face off against No. 23 UCLA, Saturday, May 13 at 12 p.m. The Blackbirds conclude their Northeast Conference championship season with a 13-6 overall record.
 
No. 12 Pepperdine vs. LIU Brooklyn
 
Doubles
No. 1: No. 8 Christine Maddox/Mayar Sherif (PEPP) def. Anna Grigoryan/Ana Leonte (LIU) – 6-3
No. 2: No. 53 Luisa Stefani/Jean Runglerdkriangkrai (PEPP) def. Malin Leysen/Sasha Bollweg (LIU) – 6-2
No. 3: Ashley Lahey/Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) def. Jennifer Gogova/Isabella Wagener (LIU) – 6-1
 
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2* (all matches were played to completion)
 
Singles
No. 1: No. 14 Luisa Stefani (PEPP) def. Anna Grigoryan (LIU) – 6-1, 6-3
No. 2: No. 19 Ashley Lahey (PEPP) def. Sasha Bollweg (LIU) – 6-1, 6-4
No. 3: No. 37 Mayar Sherif (PEPP) def. Jennifer Gogova (LIU) – 6-0, 6-2
No. 4: No. 97 Laura Gulbe (PEPP) vs. Malin Leysen (LIU) – 6-2, 2-2, unfinished
No. 5: Jean Runglerdkriangkrai (PEPP) vs. Ana Leonte (LIU) – 6-2, 4-3, unfinished
No. 6: Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) vs. Isabella Wagener (LIU) – 6-2, 1-5, unfinished
 
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*