No. 3 Buckeyes Advance to NCAA Semifinals with 4-0 Win over No. 11 Pepperdine

Friday, May 15

Athens, Ga.

1 p.m.

Ohio State

Pepperdine (Quarterfinals)

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

No. 3 Buckeyes Advance to NCAA Semifinals with 4-0 Win over No. 11 Pepperdine

5/15/2026 5:37:00 PM | Women's Tennis

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Ohio State will take on Auburn Saturday for a spot in the final

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 4-ranked Ohio State women's tennis team posted a 4-0 win against No. 11 Pepperdine to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., Friday. The No. 3 seed Buckeyes will take on No. 2 Auburn at 4 or 7 p.m. Saturday for a spot in the final. TOURNAMENT CENTRAL (bracket/schedule/video/stats links)

The Buckeyes were making their third appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals and the first since back-to-back years in 2016 and '17. Saturday is the second trip to the semifinals, joining the 2017 squad.

Against the Waves, the Buckeye duos of Flora Johnson/Luciana Perry and Audrey Spencer/Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev notched wins to clinch the doubles point. In singles, Perry and Cisse-Ignatiev won in straight sets to put the Buckeyes up 3-0. With the remaining matches in a third set, Nao Nishino rallied for a win and closed it out on court five.

How it Happened

With wins on courts one and three, Ohio State captured the doubles point and 1-0 lead over the Waves.
The No. 23-ranked duo of Flora Johnson and Luciana Perry lost just one game against No. 16 Ziva Falkner and Sonja Zhiyenbayeva on court one.
After Pepperdine took court two, Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev and Audrey Spencer defeated Duru Soke and Shihomi Leong 6-4, with an early break able to stand.
A straight-set win from No. 4 Perry over No. 46 Zhiyenbayeva, 6-1, 7-6 (2) put the Buckeyes up 2-0.
Cisse-Ignatiev was a 6-2, 6-4 winner over No. 35 Anastasiia Grechkina for a 3-0 Ohio State advantage.
The remaining four matches all went to a third set.
Nao Nishino, ranked No. 76, rallied to defeat No. 121 Soke and send the Buckeyes to the semifinal. On court five, Nishino lost the first set, 6-1, but evened the match with a 6-2 win. In the third, Nishino won 6-4, holding serve to seal the match.
The remaining matches were abandoned, with Pepperdine ahead in the third set on courts one, four and six.
Nishino is a team-best 18-5 this spring, including 3-0 in NCAA play, and 32-9 overall. Perry is 15-4 in dual action and 23-6 on the year, with Cisse-Ignatiev 12-6 and 15-10 overall. Perry and Cisse-Ignatiev both have two NCAA singles wins this year.
In doubles, Johnson and Perry are 17-3 in dual matches, while Spencer and Cisse-Ignatiev are 14-4. The duos are both 4-0 in NCAA matches this spring.

Postmatch Quotes
Ohio State head coach Melissa Schaub
Opening Statement...
"First of all, it's been an unbelievable event since we've been here. Georgia does an amazing job. We kind of knew that coming in what it was going to be like at the 'Mecca of College Tennis' and it hasn't disappointed yet. It was really cool to see so many fans in the stands up there and cheering for good tennis, which was awesome to see. On our end, we obviously played Pepperdine earlier this year and took our hits there. It wasn't one of our better days. So really happy with how we turned it around and was able to come out here and play some good tennis. We knew they were going to make a run, and they did and we stayed tough and we're kind of ready for that. I'm proud of our group and happy for these guys. Proud of Nao (Nishino) – she's been in this position quite a few times. To lose two first sets down there at five and six and be able to turn those around, that's the key to us winning that match. Proud of our effort, proud of our grit, and happy to be here talking to you guys."

Ohio State sophomore Nao Nishino
On her awareness of Court No. 1…
"I was very aware. I was looking at the scoreboard and (associate head coach) Adam (Cohen) was trying to get me back to my court. But I knew it wasn't going her way after she lost – it went from 5-3 to 5-4. I was trying to reset and get my focus back. I was very aware."

On getting her focus back…
"I was just telling myself to play my game, be aggressive. (Duru Soke)'s a really good player and I played with her game a bit in the first set, and I was just telling myself to just focus on myself and play my game and everything would be fine."

The Results
Pepperdine vs Ohio State
05/15/2026 at Athens, Ga
(Dan Magill Tennis Complex)

#4 Ohio State 4, #11 Pepperdine 0

Singles competition
1. #5 Teah Chavez (OSU) vs. #40 Ziva Falkner (PEPP) 6-3, 5-7, 2-4, unfinished
2. #4 Luciana Perry (OSU) def. #46 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) 6-1, 7-6 (7-2)
3. Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (OSU) def. #35 Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) 6-2, 6-4
4. #123 Audrey Spencer (OSU) vs. Chantal Sauvant (PEPP) 6-3, 2-6, 0-4, unfinished
5. #76 Nao Nishino (OSU) def. #121 Duru Soke (PEPP) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
6. Alessia Cau (OSU) vs. Alexia Harmon (PEPP) 0-6, 7-5, 3-4, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. #23 Flora Johnson/Luciana Perry (OSU) def. #16 Ziva Falkner/Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (PEPP) 6-1
2. Chantal Sauvant/Anastasiia Grechkina (PEPP) def. #34 Hephzibah Oluwadare/Teah Chavez (OSU) 6-2
3. Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev/Audrey Spencer (OSU) def. Duru Soke/Shihomi Leong (PEPP) 6-4

Match Notes:
Pepperdine 21-5; National ranking #11
Ohio State 27-4; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,3,5)
NCAA Championship quarterfinals
Ohio State No. 3 seed, Pepperdine No. 11 seed
T-3:01