Head coach Per Nilsson steps down to take the head coaching position at the University of Florida
Freshmen Pepperdine women’s tennis players racked up 11 victories at the Torero Tennis Classic in San Diego, days after Waves head coach Per Nilsson left Pepperdine to become the University of Florida women’s tennis head coach.
The winning swings of the racket by the first-year college players also happened over two weeks after their teammates Savannah Broadus, a senior, and Vivian Yang, a sophomore won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional Championship.
Waves Alexia Harmon, Duru Söke, Liam Oved, and Taylor Goetz combined to go 8-1 in singles play and 3-1 in doubles play at the Nov. 1-3 tournament held at the University of San Diego.
The Pepperdine four took the court against players from USD, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Harmon, the top juniors player in Nevada and the No. 6 recruit in the nation last year, and Oved, the top-ranked girls player in Israel from age 14 to 18, each went 3-0.
Goetz, Harmon, and Oved claimed wins in singles play on the first day of the tournament. Harmon and Oved won in doubles play while the pair of Goetz and Söke were defeated.
Oved and Harmon won together again the next day and also claimed singles victories, as did Goetz.
Oved and Harmon won another doubles match on the last day of the classic. The two won singles matches, while Goetz suffered her first loss.
Nilsson announced in an Oct. 29 press release he was leaving Malibu for the Sunshine State and the University of Florida head coaching job. The coach said working at Pepperdine was a dream.
“Leaving this incredible place is nothing short of bittersweet,” Nilsson said. “Words cannot express the gratitude and appreciation I have for this school, the program and, most importantly, the incredible individuals I have had the privilege to work with.”
Pepperdine Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner said Pepperdine is grateful for the impact Nilsson had on the Waves tennis program.
“He led our team to incredible heights, including two final four appearances, and he leaves behind a rich legacy,” he said.
Nilsson was in his 11th season as the Waves head coach and 15th year overall with the program.
He won three ITA Regional Coach of the Year awards and coached Pepperdine to a 2021 NCAA Championship runner-up finish, two semifinal berths and six quarterfinal appearances during a 10-season stretch of NCAA tournament qualifications.
Under Nilsson’s coaching, the Waves won every West Coast Conference title — eight regular season championships and eight tournament crowns — and the coach claimed six WCC Coach of the Year awards and seven different Waves won WCC Player of Year honors.
Pepperdine was rated as high as second in national college tennis polls and never lower than a 22 during Nilsson’scoaching tenure.
Waves men’s tennis coach Adam Schaechterle is the women’s team’s interim head coach until Pepperdine hires a new coach for the squad.
Broadus and Yang, meanwhile, won the ITA Southwest Regional Championship at the Aztec Tennis Center in San Diego on Oct. 22.
The Pepperdine pair beat UCLA freshmen Olivia Center and Kate Fakih 6-4, 6-1 to claim the championship and qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship for the fifth straight season.
Broadus and Janice Tjen, who graduated last spring, won the national doubles championship in 2023 for Pepperdine after finishing as runner-ups the year before.
The championships are Nov. 19 to 24 in Waco, Texas. This is the fifth straight season a Waves twosome has qualified for the event.
Additionally, Broadus advanced to the ITA Southwest Regional singles championship match, but she was beaten by UC Santa Barbara’s Amelia Honer 6-2, 6-2.
