49ers Host Big West Foes
Beach Moves Up To No. 35 Nationally
February 28, 2006
PDF Version of Release Long Beach State Tennis (8-2 / 2-0 Big West ) (#35) | UC Irvine at Long Beach State
Thursday, March 2, 2 pm, 49er Campus Courts | Pacific at Long Beach State
Saturday, March 4, 1 pm, 49er Campus Courts |
The Records: The Long Beach State women's tennis team ran its win streak to eight matches in a row as they swept three matches on the road this past weekend in Oregon. The 49ers are 8-2 overall and 2-0 against Big West Conference teams defeated #22 Oregon (5-2), #54 Denver (7-0) and the University of Portland (7-0). Long Beach moved up to No. 35 in the nation this week in the latest FILA/ITA Collegiate Rankings, its highest ranking ever. Thursday's opponent, UC Irvine, is 4-4 overall and 2-0 vs. Big West teams and ranked No. 68 nationally. Saturday's opponent, Pacific, is 7-3 on the season and ranked No. 63.
The Coach: Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello (UCLA, 1994) is 124-78 (.614) in her ninth year at Long Beach State. She became the winningest women's tennis coach in school history with the 49ers 7-0 win over CS Fullerton on February 10. Hilt-Costello has led the 49ers to five consecutive appearances in the Big West Tournament Championship match, winning championships in 2002, 2004 and 2005. She was voted the 2004 Big West Coach of the Year and the ITA West Region Coach of the Year.
The Series: The 49ers trail in their series with UC Irvine by a 28-12 count, but Long Beach has won the last six meetings between the two. Last year the 49ers won 5-2 at UCI. Long Beach trails in its series with Pacific by a 12-7 count. The 49ers split two matches last year with the Tigers, falling 4-3 at Pacific during the regular season, but defeating them in the championship match of the 2005 Big West meet 4-2.
Playing The Best: This year's schedule is full of nationally-ranked opponents once again. Of the 22 matches, 12 of the opponents are ranked in the current FILA/ITA Rankings. The 49ers are ranked #35 nationally.
National Ranking: The 49ers are ranked No. 35 in the nation this week, its highest ranking in school history. The 49ers began the season in the pre-season poll ranked No. 57. From there they were ranked No. 47, No. 45, No. 46 and No. 35 this week.
Grady Named Player of Week: Freshman Hannah Grady was selected last week (2/21) as the Big West Conference Female Athlete of the Week. Grady won both of her singles matches in straight sets and lost just one game total in the two victories. She also teamed up at No. 2 doubles to win two matches.
Double Your Pleasure: This spring the 49ers have excelled in doubles play. The Beach is a combined 23-7 (.767) in doubles matches and have won the doubles point in nine of its 10 spring matches. Hannah Grady and Jessica Weeks are 8-0 this year with seven wins coming at the No. 2 spot and one at No. 1 singles. Rachael Porsz and Stephanie Bengson are 8-0 at No. 3 doubles. At the No. 1 spot, Sandra Rocha and Katy Williams are 4-5 and 1-0 at the No. 2 spot.
Hannah Grady: Freshman Hannah Grady (Coventry, England) has made her presence felt in a short amount of time. The Big West Female Athlete of the Week on February 21, she competes at No. 1 singles and is currently 6-4 on the season having won her last five matches. last week she picked up two wins against nationally-ranked opponents. She beat Oregon's No. 44-ranked Dominika Dieskova 1-6, 7-6, 6-2. She then came back to beat Denver's No. 59-ranked Suzana Makosvic 6-1, 6-3. Grady should move into the individual singles rankings when the next rankings are released on March 7.
Katy Williams: Freshman Katy Williams (Stevenage, Herfordshire) has won her last eight singles matches at the No. 2 spot, winning seven of those eight in straight sets. Last Friday she earned a 7-5, 6-0 win over Oregon's Anna Powaska. Williams is ranked No. 91 in the nation in singles action. In doubles, Williams and Sandra Rocha are 5-5 overall, with a 4-5 mark at No. 1 singles. The duo racked up an impressive 8-5 win on January 28 defeating Pepperdine's Sylvia Kosakowski and Merve Asimgil, who were ranked No. 22 at the time.
Stephanie Bengson: The reigning Big West Freshman of the Year, Stephanie Bengson (Albion Park, NSW, Australia), is back and healthy after missing the fall due to shoulder surgery. Bengson was named the Big West Co-Athlete of the Week on February 14. She is competing at the No. 3 spot and is 7-3, having won seven of her last eight matches. All seven of her wins have come in straight sets. Last Friday she defeated Oregon's Carmen Seremeta 6-3, 7-6. In doubles, Bengson is teamed with Rachael Porsz at the No. 3 spot and that duo is an impressive 8-0 thus far this spring.
Sandra Rocha: Junior Sandra Rocha (Pomona, CA) had her best fall as a 49er compiling a singles mark of 6-3 and teaming with Katy Williams in doubles to post an 8-2 mark. Rocha is 6-3 in singles play this spring, competing at the No. 4 spot, having won six of her last seven matches. Her last five victories in singles have come in straight sets. In doubles she teams with Katy Williams at the No. 1 spot. They are currently 5-5 this spring with a big victory over No. 21-ranked Sylvia Kosakowski and Merve Asimgil of Pepperdine, 8-5.
Rachel Porsz: Junior Rachael Porsz (St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, England) is off to a great start this fall. Porsz is 7-2 in singles action this spring (3-0 at No. 5, 4-2 at No. 6), having won six of her last seven matches. Porsz competed at the No. 6 singles spot in the opener at USC and won her match 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 over Whitney Peterson. Porsz is teamed with Stephanie Bengson at the No. 3 doubles spot and that duo is an impressive 8-0 thus far.
Jessica Weeks: Another newcomer who has cracked the starting line-up is freshman Jessica Weeks (Beckenham, Kent, England). Weeks is 6-2 this spring in singles action thus far, having won her last six matches. Last Friday she picked up a 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 (5) win over Oregon's Anna Leksinska at the No. 5 spot. Weeks is 1-0 at the No. 4 spot and 5-2 at No. 5 singles. She has teamed with Hannah Grady at the No. 2 doubles spot and that duo is an impressive 8-0 thus far. They defeated the No. 22-ranked team of Dulgheru/Dickes of Pepperdine 8-5 on January 28.
Emmanuelle Tabatruong: Sophomore Emmanuelle Tabatruong (Bagneux, France) has played three matches at the No. 6 singles spot this spring and is 2-1. She defeated Fenja Shaw of Hawaii 6-0, 6-3 in her latest match on Feb. 18. On Feb. 10 she defeated Ashley Dunbar of CS Fullerton 6-1, 6-0.
2006 Roster
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