matPepperdine defeated the Golden Gopher Women's Tennis Team, 4-3, in the first round of the NCAA Regional in Los Angeles, Calif., on Friday afternoon. Minnesota rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the match, but Monika Horvath defeated Michaela Havelkova in three sets at No. 4 singles to clinch the match for the Wave.
Minnesota got on top early by clinching the doubles point. Havelkova and Brandi Watts clinched the point with an 8-4 win over Natalie Braverman and Karin Schlapbach at No. 3 doubles. Amy Thomas and Valerie Vladea claimed Minnesota's other doubles win with an 8-3 victory against Horvath and Merve Asimgil.
The Wave claimed the first three singles matches, all in straight sets, before Vladea began Minnesota's comeback with a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles over Charlotte Vernaz. Junior Angela Buergis rallied from a 6-3 loss in the first set to defeat Braverman at No. 1 singles, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.
The match came down to No. 4 singles as Havelkova rallied from a 6-0 first-set loss to claim the second in a tiebreaker, 7-6. Horvath jumped ahead 3-0 in the third set, but Havelkova rallied to cut it to 3-2. Horvath then closed out the match by winning three straight games.
The Golden Gophers end their season with an 18-7 record under second-year head coach Tyler Thomson. Thomson led Minnesota to a 12-win improvement in just his second season as a collegiate head coach. The Golden Gophers will return all but one player next season.
#40 Pepperdine 4, #26 Minnesota 3
Doubles
No. 1 - Horvath/Vernaz (PEP) def. Buergis/Reddy (MN), 8-4
No. 2 - Vladea/Thomas (MN) def. Koksova/Asimgil (PEP), 8-3
No. 3 - Havelkova/Watts (MN) def. Braverman/Schlapbach (PEP), 8-4
Order of Finish: 2,1,3
Singles
No. 1 - Angela Buergis (MN) def. Natalie Braverman (PEP), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 - Valerie Vladea (MN) def. Charlotte Vernaz (PEP), 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 - Merve Asimgil (PEP) def. Amy Thomas (MN), 6-0, 6-2
No. 4 - Monika Horvath (PEP) def. Michaela Havelkova (MN), 6-0, 6-7, 6-2
No. 5 - Karin Schlapbach (PEP) def. Nischela Reddy (MN), 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 - Veronica Koksova (PEP) def. Brandi Watts (MN), 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3,5,6,2,1,4
