In doubles, Sanchez paired with fellow junior Lyndsay Kinstler to defeat the Waves' top duo of Animika Bhargava and Marie Zalameda 9-7.

After trailing 2-1 early, Bhargava and Zalameda bounced back by winning five of the next seven games to seize momentum and the lead. But the lead was short lived. The Trojan tandem returned the favor, winning five of the next six games to take the match.

Just when Sanchez thought she had found her rhythm, her struggles continued in singles.
She needed a first-set comeback to propel herself to a 7-6, 6-3 win over upstart freshman Arianna Colffer.

Colffer took advantage of seven break points in the eighth game to jump out to a 5-3 lead in the first set. Sanchez responded by breaking Colffer's serve and taking the next two points to tie the set at 5-5.

The freshman won the next point, but Sanchez used strong serves to take the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6.

Sanchez finished Colffer with a 6-3 second set to win the match and give her team another point. She admitted afterward that the match was a frustrating one.
 
"I just felt like I really couldn't get in a rhythm," said Sanchez of her singles match. "Mentally, I was in a little bit of a funk, and so, physically, I just wasn't loose and relaxed with my shots."

Sanchez got plenty of help from her teammates though. USC swept all three doubles matches and took five of the six singles matches as well.

In singles, sophomore Alison Ramos got it going early for the Trojans (5-0) as she rolled Ali Walters 6-1, 6-0 to extend USC's lead to 2-0.

The two point spread didn't last long as Pepperdine's Tania Rice made quick work of Leyla Entekhabi 6-1, 6-0 to cut the lead in half.

Freshman Valeria Pulido ran Andrea Oates all over the court for a 6-3, 6-2 victory, and Cristala Andrews put the Trojans up for good 4-1 with a hard fought 6-2, 7-6 victory over Zalameda.

Eighteenth-ranked freshman Danielle Lao added the exclamation point for USC with a lengthy 6-2, 6-2 win over Bhargava on court number five.
 
That point, coupled with Sanchez's singles victory, gave the Trojans a dominating win over visiting Pepperdine (1-3).

The win was a big one for USC Coach Richard Gallien who was taking on his alma mater, where he spent 11 years as a player and coach.

"It's a little weird actually because I have a lot of fond feelings of the school and the people there," Gallien said. "When it comes to the tennis, I want to beat their butt and I think we've done pretty well over the years."