The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Pepperdine
No. 12 Women’s Tennis drops season opener to No. 21 Pepperdine
01.18.2026 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns held a 2-0 lead before the Waves rallied for five singles matches on Sunday.
Austin – No. 12 Texas Women's Tennis was downed by No. 21 Pepperdine, 5-2, in the Longhorns' season opener on Sunday at the Texas Tennis Center.
Texas claimed the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 1 to take a 1-0 lead, and then followed with a singles victory by freshman Anastasia Abbagnato in her first collegiate match. However, Pepperdine claimed singles wins at Nos. 5, 6, 3 and 1 to clinch and added another at No. 4 as the match was played out.
In doubles, the combination of sophomore Carmen Herea and freshman Elizabeth Ionescu were off first the court with a 6-3 win over Alexia Harmon and Sonja Zhiyenbayeva at No. 3. Pepperdine evened doubles as freshman Christasha McNeil and sophomore Salma Drugdova fell to Anastasiia Grechkina and Chantal Sauvant, 6-4, at No. 2. That left the deciding match at No. 1 where Abbagnato and sophomore Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo came through with the clinch in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (5), against Ziva Falkner and Duru Soke.
Abbagnato then opened singles scoring and gave the Longhorns a 2-0 lead, not only with her first collegiate singles win, but doing so in impressive fashion against a top-10 opponent in No. 7 Anastasiia Grechkina, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 2.
However, just seconds later, Pepperdine got on the board as Anazagasty-Pursoo fell in her match to Harmon, 7-5, 6-1, at No. 5. That was followed as Ionescu came up short in her first collegiate match, 6-3, 6-4, to Shihomi Leong at No. 6.
The Longhorns had held first-set leads in two other matches, however the Waves rallied in both, first at No. 3 where Meri fell to Zhiyenbayeva, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, and then at No. 1 as Herea came up short against Falkner, 0-6, 6-2, 6-4, which clinched the overall match for Pepperdine.
That left the match at No. 4 that had also gone to three sets, but McNeil couldn't quite complete a comeback from a set down against Sauvant, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
The Longhorns will next host the ITA Kickoff Weekend from January 24-25 and will open against Arizona in the first round at 3 p.m. CT that Saturday, January 24.
#21 Pepperdine 5, #12 Texas 2
Singles – Order of Finish (2,5,6,3,1,4)
1. Ziva Falkner (PEPP) def. #2 Carmen Herea (TEX) 0-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Anastasia Abbagnato (TEX) def. #7 Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) 6-2, 6-4
3. Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) def. Eszter Meri (TEX) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Christasha McNeil (TEX) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
5. Alexia Harmon (PEPP) def. Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEX) 7-5, 6-1
6. Shihomi Leong (PEPP) def. Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,2,1)
1. Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo/Anastasia Abbagnato (TEX) def. Ziva Falkner/Duru Soke (PEPP) 7-6 (5)
2. Anastasiia Grechkina/Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) def. Christasha McNeil/Salma Drugdova (TEX) 6-4
3. Carmen Herea/Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX) def. Alexia Harmon/Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) 6-3
Individual Match Key Moments
(by order of finish)
Doubles No. 3: Herea/Ionescu (TEX) def. Harmon/Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) 6-3
After Pepperdine rallied from an early break, Texas closed on a 3-0 run including a deuce-point break.
Doubles No. 2: Grechkina/Sauvant (PEPP) def. McNeil/Drugdova (TEX) 6-4
Texas took a 4-1 lead, but Pepperdine went on a 5-0 run, including winning a deuce point on match point.
Doubles No. 1: Anazagasty-Pursoo/Abbagnato (TEX) def. Falkner/Soke (PEPP) 7-6 (5)
The teams split four deuce points with Texas taking a 5-3 lead on one for a break before Pepperdine broke back.
Tiebreaker: The Longhorns led 5-3 before the Waves tied it, but Texas took the last two points to win.
Singles No. 2: Abbagnato (TEX) def. Grechkina (PEPP) 6-2, 6-4
Set One: The first three games were breaks and Abbagnato finished on a 3-0 run including a break for 5-2.
Set Two: Abbagnato closed on another 3-0 run including a deuce-point hold for 4-4.
Singles No. 5: Harmon (PEPP) def. Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEX) 7-5, 6-1
Set One: Anazagasty-Pursoo built a 5-3 lead and had a set point, but Harmon broke and closed on a 4-0 run.
Set Two: Anazagasty-Pursoo held the opening game, but Harmon went on a 6-0 run.
Singles No. 6: Leong (PEPP) def. Ionescu (TEX) 6-3, 6-4
Set One: Ionescu broke on a deuce point for 3-3, but Leong won the next three games.
Set Two: Leong took a 4-2 lead, and although Ionescu evened it, Leong won the last two games, including the match on a deuce-point break.
Singles No. 3: Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) def. Meri (TEX) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Set One: Meri took a double break 3-0 lead on the way to a 6-2 win.
Set Two: Zhiyenbayeva went on a 4-0 run to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead.
Set Three: Zhiyenbayeva secured two breaks for a 4-3 lead and 6-3 win.
Singles No. 1: Falkner (PEPPW) def. Herea (TEX) 0-6, 6-2, 6-4
Set One: Herea used an opening deuce-point break to propel a sweep.
Set Two: Falkner finished on a 3-0 run with the last two games going to deuce.
Set Three: Falkner completed a 6-0 run with the first three games of the set, but Herea came back with a 4-0 run for the lead. However, Falkner won the last three games.
Singles No. 4: Sauvant (PEPP) def. McNeil (TEX) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
Set One: Sauvant collected the only break of the set for a 2-1 lead.
Set Two: McNeil jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the 6-1 win.
Set Three: The players alternated 3-0 runs starting with Sauvant.
Players Mentioned
