SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Santa Clara women's tennis team knew it had a considerable challenge on its hands with No. 9-ranked Pepperdine visiting Degheri Tennis Center Friday.
In a match delayed two hours due to rain, the Broncos were upended 4-0 by the Waves (18-2, 8-0) who remained undefeated in West Coast Conference play by winning their ninth-straight contest.
Despite the loss, Santa Clara (11-9, 4-4) remains in good position to advance to next week's WCC Championships, which features the top six regular season finishers. The Broncos are tied for fourth with San Francisco with one match left as they play host to Loyola Marymount Saturday.
After capturing the double point, the Waves picked up three singles wins with the Broncos unable to extend those matches.
Pepperdine closed out the match when Luisa Stefani, the fifth-ranked player in the nation, defeated Daniella Silva 6-2, 6-1 on the No. 1 court and Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai downed Nabila Farah 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 5 position.
"They are very good," head coach Ben Cabell said. "I thought we played well in doubles. We were competitive. The takeaway for us was we can play, but to beat teams at that level there are a couple things we need to do better. But I thought it was a good showing."
Pepperdine came up with its first singles win when Santa Clara's Delphine Rouvillois had to retire with an apparent knee injury before a point was scored in her No. 2 singles match vs. Laura Gulbe.
"After that happened everybody's concentration was not where it should be as you can expect," Cabell said.
The Broncos were competitive in the three uncompleted singles matches.
Chelby Cooke won her first set 7-5 against Pepperdine's Matea Cutura and Zeina El Tawil trailed 6-5 in the opening set against the Waves' Michaela Capannolo. Madison Clarke lost her opening set 6-4 to Dzina Milovanovic, but trailed just 4-3 in the second.
The Broncos now look to close out the regular season with a win against the Lions.
Santa Clara will recognize Cooke and Rouvillois, both seniors, prior to the match, which starts at noon.
Parking & Admission: Admission is free to Degheri Tennis Center. Metered parking should be available in the Leavey Center lot (free on Saturday and Sunday), which is adjacent to the tennis center. Click here for a campus map and parking information.
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