MALIBU, Calif. - SIUE women's tennis bowed out of the NCAA Division I Championships with a 4-0 loss Friday at No. 6-seeded Pepperdine.

The Cougars completed their season with an 18-4 overall record, the most wins in a season under Head Coach Adam Albertsen.

"Today didn't go our way, but what a season it has been for this team on the courts and in the classroom," said Albertsen. "Eighteen wins and a conference championship is something they can look back at with great pride. They continued to step up throughout the season and fight like crazy. This team raised the bar for our program."

The Waves jumped out to and early lead by winning the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Cydney Rogers and Fabiola Perez battled at No. 3 and were trailing 4-3 when the clinching point occurred.

"We played well at times and had some great points," said Albertsen. "Pepperdine just did not allow us to string together too many solid points in a row."

Pepperdine collected its singles points at the No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 positions.

"Give a ton of credit to Pepperdine and the program they have built," said Albertsen. "They are ranked No. 5 in the country right now with multiple All-Americans for a reason. It was great to compete at this level and see what one of the premier programs in the country looks like."

SIUE earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships after winning the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis. Five SIUE players were named All-Conference, an all-time OVC best for the Cougars, with Jill Lambrechts, Margaux Guibal Britt and Jordan Schifano earning first team All-OVC honors. Amelia Gorman and Fabiola Perez were named to the second team

"We look forward to taking this momentum into the offseason and continue getting better for next year," added Albertsen.