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49ers Fare Well At Riviera And Fullerton
Beach Next In Action At ITA Fall Regionals
October 9, 2006
This Week: The Long Beach State women’s tennis
team will take a week off from competition after a busy week where they
sent players to the Riviera All-American Championships and the CS Fullerton
Fall Intercollegiates. The Beach will next be in action on October 18-22
when they compete at the ITA Fall Regionals in San Diego.
Grady & Weeks At Riviera: The week began for the 49ers as
Hannah Grady and Jessica Weeks competed at the Riviera All-American Championships.
In singles play, Grady won her opening match, defeating No. 117-ranked
Austin Smith of North Carolina 5-7, 7-6 (1), 6-3. The win was the sixth
over a nationally-ranked opponent in her 49er career for Grady, who is
ranked No. 38 nationally in singles. In the second round, Grady fell to
Fresno State’s Renata Kuckerova 6-4, 7-5. In doubles, the duo of
Grady and Weeks advanced to the finals of the consolation bracket. They
fell in their opening match to No. 25 Bercek and Plotkin of Duke, 8-3.
Plotkin and Bercek ended up advancing all the way to the semi-finals in
the main draw. In the consolation bracket, Grady and Weeks (No. 23 nationally)
defeated No. 37 Schofield and Vuckovic of South Carolina 9-8 (3). They
then advanced to the championship match due to a walk-over. In the consolation
title match the 49ers battled hard, but fell to the No. 15-ranked squad
of Zalameda and Schnack of UCLA, 8-6.
Beach At Fullerton Intercollegiates: The 49ers sent five
players to this past weekend’s CS Fullerton Fall Intercollegiates.
In the singles bracket, both Katy Williams and Jessica Weeks advanced
to the semi-finals. Williams was the No. 1 seed in the draw. She defeated
Shawnell Russell (LMU) 6-1, 6-2; Kristy Fournell (CS Northridge) 3-6,
6-5, retired; and Shannon Brady (Cal Poly) 6-4, 6-1 to advance to the
semi’s. Williams fell in the semi’s to Brittany Blalock of
Cal Poly 6-3, 7-5. Weeks defeated Devin Peek (Cal Poly) 6-1, 6-0; Carol
Erickson (Cal Poly) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and Diane Filip (Cal Poly) 6-4, 6-4.
In her semi Weeks fell to Pepperdine’s Jill Braverman 6-2, 6-2.
In doubles, the 49er duo of Emmanuelle Tabatruong and Denise Liebschner
won the back draw title. After dropping their second round match, Tabatruong
and Liebschner came back on Sunday to defeat Andrews/Inglis (CS Fullerton)
8-2 and Le/Domela (CS Fullerton) 8-5 to capture the title.
The Coach: Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello (UCLA, 1994)
is 138-81 (.630) in her tenth year at Long Beach State. Hilt-Costello
has led the 49ers to six consecutive appearances in the Big West Tournament
Championship match, winning championships in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
She was voted the Big West Coach of the Year in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006,
and she was the 2004 ITA West Region Coach of the Year. Three of Hilt-Costello’s
players have won Big West Conference Player of the Year Awards. Her teams
are the only 49er tennis teams to have ever been nationally-ranked, reach
a conference final, win a conference title and reach the NCAA Tournament.
She currently possesses the school-record for single season and career
coaching victories at Long Beach State.
Playing The Best: This year’s spring schedule is full of nationally-ranked
opponents once again. Of the 23 matches, 12 of the opponents finished
the 2006 season nationally-ranked (USC #3, VCU #12, Pepperdine #14, Fresno
State #20, Iowa #33, Florida International #35, San Diego State #38, Pennsylvania
#42, UNLV #50, UC Irvine #53, LMU #65, UCSB #70).
National Ranking: The 49ers finished the 2006 season
ranked No. 26 in the country. The Beach was nationally-ranked all season,
recording a season-high ranking of No. 18. The pre-season rankings for
2007 will not come out until January 9, 2007. The 49ers have finished
the season nationally-ranked the past six years.
Pre-Season Individual Rankings: The pre-season women’s
singles and doubles ranking were released on September 8 and the 49ers
are well represented. Hannah Grady is ranked No. 38 in the nation in singles,
while Katy Williams checks in at No. 85. In doubles, the team of Grady
and Jessica Weeks ranks No. 23.
2006 Season Review: The 49ers concluded the 2006 campaign
at 22-5, winning its third consecutive Big West Conference Championship
and winning a first round NCAA match for the first time in school history.
The 49ers were nationally-ranked all season, reaching a program-high ranking
of No. 18 and finishing the year at No. 26. Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello
was named the Big West Coach of the Year while freshman Hannah Grady was
named the Big West Player and Freshman of the Year. Grady and Katy Williams
were both named first team all-league, while the doubles teams of Grady
and Jessica Weeks and Williams and Sandra Rocha also earned first team
all-league accolades. Grady and Weeks were also invited to the NCAA Individual
Championships with Grady competing in singles and the duo earning a doubles
spot.
Hannah Grady: Begins the 2006-07 season ranked No. 38
in singles in the ITA pre-season poll. Grady, a sophomore, kicked off
her fall schedule at the Riviera All-American Championships. She won her
opening singles match 5-7, 7-6 (1), 6-3 over No. 117-ranked Austin Smith
of North Carolina. The victory was her sixth win against a nationally-ranked
opponent in her 49er career. Grady then fell in the second round to Renata
Kucerkova of Fresno State 6-4, 7-5. In doubles, she and Jessica Weeks
went 1-2, playing three nationally-ranked opponents. The No. 23-ranked
49er duo dropped their opener to No. 25-ranked Bercek/Plotkin of Duke
8-3. They then rebounded to defeat No. 37 Schofield/Vuckovic of South
Carolina, 9-8 (3). Grady was the 2006 Big West Conference Player and Freshman
of the Year. She qualified for both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Individual
Championships. Grady went 19-6 in singles play with five wins over nationally-ranked
opponents. She finished the season ranked No. 53 in singles and she was
the ninth-ranked freshman in singles. In doubles, she and Weeks went 19-2,
earning a trip to the NCAA Championships, while finishing the year ranked
No. 46.
Katy Williams: Williams begins her sophomore season ranked No.
85 in singles. She competed in the pre-qualifying bracket of the Riviera
All-America Championships falling to Renata Kuckerova of Fresno State,
6-1, 6-0. This past weekend she was the No. 1 seed at the CS Fullerton
Fall Intercollegiates. After a first round bye, she won three consecutive
matches to advance to the semi-finals. In the quarterfinals she defeated
Cal Poly’s Shannon Brady 6-4, 6-1. A first team all-conference selection
in singles and doubles, Williams finished last season at 28-9 with four
nationally-ranked wins and a national ranking of No. 118. In doubles,
she and Rocha were 23-13 overall and were ranked No. 53 nationally. Her
28 singles victories tied the school record for victories in a single
season.
Stephanie Bengson: Began the season strong at the Cal Nike Invitational
(Sept. 29-Oct. 1) winning the Back Draw Doubles title with Rachael Porsz
and then claiming the White Bracket Consolation Singles title. Bengson
defeated Arizona State’s Laila Abdala in convincing fashion (6-0,
6-2) to claim that title. She did not compete at the Fullerton Intercollegiates.
The 2005 Big West Freshman of the Year, Bengson was a second team selection
in 2006 in singles and she also earned honorable mention honors in doubles.
Bengson went 15-7 in singles last season and 19-4 in doubles with Rachael
Porsz. She also received an ITA Academic Student-Athlete award in 2006.
Sandra Rocha: Rocha enters her fourth year as a 49er,
the lone player to earn that distinction. Rocha earned second team all-conference
honors in singles last year and has been a first team all-league selection
in doubles three consecutive years. Last season she and Katy Williams
earned a No. 53 national ranking in doubles. Rocha’s 50 career singles
wins ranks No. 5 all-time at Long Beach State while her 66 doubles wins
ranks No. 2 and her 116 overall victories ranks No. 3 all-time.
Jessica Weeks: Weeks advanced to the semi-finals of the
CS Fullerton Fall Intercollegiates this past weekend. Weeks defeated three
opponents from Cal Poly en route to the semi’s. At the Riviera All-American
Championships, Weeks and Hannah Grady (ranked #23) went 1-2 playing three
nationally-ranked opponents. After dropping their opening match, they
came back to defeat No. 37-ranked Schofield/Vuckovic of South Carolina
9-8 (3). Weeks earned first team all-league honors in 2006 in doubles
with Hannah Grady as that duo went 19-2 on the year and were ranked No.
46 in the nation. Weeks’ 26 total doubles victories last year tied
for the second-most single season doubles victories in school history.
An ITA Academic Scholar-Athlete in 2006, Weeks was a combined 44-19 in
singles and doubles action last year.
Rachael Porsz: Competed at the Cal Nike Invitational
two weekends ago, but did not play at Fullerton this past weekend. Teamed
with Stephanie Bengson to win the Gold Bracket Back Draw Championship.
After dropping opening match, the pair won three consecutive matches,
including an 8-3 win in the title match over Aloia and Charlot of Saint
Mary’s. Earned honorable mention all-league honors in doubles last
year with Bengson. Her 36 career doubles wins ranks No. 13 all-time on
the 49er career chart and her 73 overall wins ranks No. 18. Last year
she went 23-12 in singles play and a combined 24-10. She was also one
of four players to earn and ITA Academic Student-Athlete award.
Emmanuelle Tabatruong: Tabatruong competed at the CS Fullerton
Fall Intercollegiates in both singles and doubles this past weekend. In
singles play she dropped her opening match in the main draw, but came
back to win twice in the back draw. She defeated Jerusha Cruz (CS Fullerton)
8-2 and Natalie Tejada (LMU) 8-1. In doubles, she and Denise Liebschner
won the back draw title. They defeated Andrews/Inglis (CS Fullerton) 8-2
and Le/Domela (CS Fullerton) 8-5 on Sunday to claim the title. Tabatruong
bounced back last year after missing the 2004-05 season due to injury.
She went 8-8 in singles action. As a freshman in 2004, Tabatruong posted
a 15-4 singles record with 13 victories coming in straight sets. She was
also a 2006 ITA Academic Student-Athlete award winner.
Nina Burgoon: One of two true freshmen on the 2006-07 squad.
Burgoon hails from Gastonia, NC where she prepped at Ashbrook High School.
She was ranked No. 160 by TennisRecruiting.net as a senior in 2006 and
played in the 2006 ITA College Summer Circuit going 6-2 in the Circuit,
reaching the semi-finals at Greensboro. Burgoon was named conference Player
of the Year twice and was team MVP twice. She saw her first action this
past weekend at the CS Fullerton Fall Intercollegiates. In singles she
advanced out of the first round due to a walk-over. In the second round
she fell to Cal Poly’s Shannon Brady 7-6 (2), 6-0. In doubles she
teamed with Jessica Weeks and the duo went 1-1. They defeated Silman and
Russell of LMU 8-0 in the first round on Friday, but then defaulted their
second round next match on Saturday.
Denise Liebschner: A true freshman out of Dresden, Germany. Liebschner
is ranked No. 23 in Germany in the 18's rankings. She was the winner of
the 2005 Berlin Junior Open and the Dresden International Under 18 Tournament.
Liebschner reached No. 11 in the German junior under-14 rankings and for
five consecutive years (2001-05) she was rated the Best Saxonian Player
under 18. She competed at the CS Fullerton Fall Intercollegiates in singles
and doubles. In singles play she went 0-2, but played two tough opponents
from Pepperdine. In her opener she fell to Anete Bandere 6-2, 6-2. In
the back draw she fell to Alicia Poladin 9-7. In doubles, she and Emmanuelle
Tabatruong won the doubles back draw. They defeated Andrews/Inglis (CS
Fullerton) 8-2 and Le/Domela (CS Fullerton) 8-5 on Sunday to claim the
title.
PDF version of this release
2006-07 Roster
2006-07 Schedule
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