March 6, 2003
| 49ER WOMEN'S TENNIS | | Sat., March 8 vs. UC Riverside, 12 pm, Campus Courts |
Check out the 2003 Schedule
Check out the 2003 Roster
The Records: Long Beach State is 5-4 overall and 3-0 against Big West Conference foes after defeating #62-ranked UC Irvine 6-1 on Saturday at UCI. The 49ers jumped to #64 in the latest ITA Rankings with the win over UCI. The 49ers have just one match this week, Saturday at home against UC Riverside.
The Coach: Head Coach Jenny Hilt (UCLA, 1994) is 73-52 (.584) in her sixth year in charge of the 49er program. She was selected as the 2001 Big West Conference Coach of the Year and has led The Beach to back-to-back 20-plus win seasons.
Series Record: The 49ers are 4-0 all-time vs. UC Riverside. Last year the 49ers won at UCR, 7-0. The last meeting in Long Beach between the two was in 2001, a 7-0 49er win.
In The Rankings: The 49ers are taking on their toughest schedule in school history this season as nine opponents are ranked, or have been ranked, in the ITA Top 75. UCLA is the highest ranked opponent, as the Bruins are currently #8 in the country. San Diego State is #29, Penn #38, Washington State #41, Boise State #67, UC Irvine #70, Sacramento State #74 and CS Northridge is tied for #75. Loyola Marymount was ranked #67 when the 49ers played them, but have since dropped out of the poll. The 49ers are currently ranked #64.
Big Win Over UCI: The 49ers won their fourth consecutive match, 6-1 over UC Irvine last Saturday. The 49ers won two of the three doubles matches and then won five of six singles matches to earn the win. The victory was the second in a row over the Anteaters, as LBSU defeated UCI 4-2 in the title match of the 2002 Big West Championships.
Four In A Row: After beginning the season 1-4, with all four losses coming to nationally-ranked teams, the 49ers have won their last four matches impressively, defeating Hawai'i (6-1), CS Northridge (5-2), #67-ranked Loyola Marymount (6-1) and #62-ranked UC Irvine (6-1). Last year the 49ers had a school-record 16-match win streak as they finished the season at 21-3 overall, including their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
Time Change: The 49ers match on March 15 vs. Pennsylvania will begin at 12 pm, not 11 am as was previous publicized.
New #1 Doubles Team: Lindsey Marvel (Tulsa, OK) and Alena Kovalchuk (Kiev, Ukraine) jumped to the #1 doubles spot last week and won their first match at that position with an 8-6 win over Bowman/Chang of UC Irvine. Marvel/Kovalchuk are 3-0 in doubles thus far, but played at the #2 spot in their first two matches (CS Northridge, LMU).
More Doubles News: The duo of Kelly Chan (Kailua-Kona, HI) and Alanah Carroll (Belrose, New South Wales, Australia) have won four consecutive doubles matches and five of their last six. Chan and Carroll played their first six matches at the #2 spot, going 2-4, but they have since moved to #3 doubles and are 3-0 there.
Thomas Thrives At #2 Spot: Sophomore Laura Thomas (London, England) stepped into a difficult role to begin the season, playing at the #1 singles spot. Thomas, who was 6-5 in the fall in singles, struggled to a 1-5 mark against some of the top players in the country. Since the addition of Alena Kovalchuk, Thomas has now moved to the #2 spot and has responded with three solid victories. Last Saturday she bounced UCI's Tiffany Chang (6-4, 7-6) last weekend. Thomas was 20-2 last year in the spring in singles, registering an 18-1 mark at the #4 spot.
Kovalchuk Shines: Newcomer Alena Kovalchuk has made an immediate impact to the 49ers thus far. Kovalchuk, a transfer from UT-San Antonio, has stepped into the #1 singles spot and won all three of her matches. Saturday she came away with a 6-4, 6-3 win over UCI's Jenny Bowman. Kovalchuk competed in the fall at UTSA and played in two doubles tournaments, winning both, and one singles tournament, which she also won.
Biorkman Hitting Her Stride: Freshman Megan Biorkman (Irvine, CA) has played extremely well in recent weeks. Biorkman has won four of her last five matches, including a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 over UC Irvine's Amy Tranckino at #4 singles last Saturday. Biorkman has played her last three matches at the #4 spot and is 2-1. Overall this spring she is 4-5 in singles action.
Carroll Off To A Strong Start: Freshman Alanah Carroll is currently 6-3 in singles action this season. Carroll is 2-1 at the #5 spot and 4-2 at #6 singles for an overall singles record of 6-3. After dropping her first two singles matches of the year (UCLA, San Diego State), she has won six of her last seven matches, including four in a row. Carroll is a true freshman who graduated from Brigidine College St. Ives in November of 2002
Chan At #5: Junior Kelly Chan has won her last two singles matches and three of her last four. Chan began the spring at the #4 singles spot, moved to #6 for three matches and now is settled in at the #5 spot. She has played her last three matches at #5 singles, winning two of those. Last Saturday she earned a 7-5, 6-2 win over UC Irvine's Christie Posner.
49ERS IN THE ITA RANKINGS | | January 13: #72 | | January 29: #74 | | February 5: Not Ranked | | February 12: Not Ranked | | February 19: Not Ranked | | February 26: #74 | | March 5: #64 | | March 12: | | March 19: | | March 26: | | April 2: | | April 9: | | April 16: | | April 23: | | April 30: | (Poll Administered by the ITA) |
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