49er Win Streak Reaches 14
Beach Ranked No. 20 Nationally
March 22, 2006
PDF Version of Release Long Beach State Tennis (14-2 / 4-0 Big West ) (#20) | Long Beach State at Fresno State
Friday, March 31, 12 pm, Fresno, CA | Florida International at Long Beach State
Thursday, April 6, 2 pm, Campus Courts |
The Records: Long Beach State is ranked No. 20 in the country in the latest FILA/ITA Collegiate Rankings. The 49ers are 14-2 overall and have won 14 consecutive matches. Long Beach defeated Kansas State (4-3) and Illinois-Chicago (7-0) at home this past Monday and Tuesday. The 49ers are 4-0 vs. Big West Conference foes. Long Beach is off until Friday, March 31 when they play at #29-ranked Fresno State.
The Coach: Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello (UCLA, 1994) is 130-78 (.625) 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 Fresno State by a 10-1 count. Last year the Bulldogs won 4-3 in Long Beach. The Bulldogs have won the last 10 meetings. The lone 49er win came in the 1986 season, 7-2.
Playing The Best: This year's schedule is full of nationally-ranked opponents once again. Of the 22 matches, 11 of the opponents are ranked in the current FILA/ITA Rankings. The 49ers are ranked #18 nationally.
National Ranking: The 49ers are ranked No. 18 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, No. 35, No. 25, No. 20 and No. 18 this week.
Inividual Rankings: The 49ers have four players ranked in the latest FILA/ITA Rankings. In singles, Hannah Grady is ranked No. 67 and Katy Williams is ranked No. 120. IN doubles, Grady and Jessica Weeks are ranked No. 24 and Rachael Porsz and Stephanie Bengson are tied for No. 50.
Double Your Pleasure: This spring the 49ers have excelled in doubles play. The Beach is a combined 39-9 (.813) in doubles matches and have won the doubles point in 13 of its 14 spring matches. Hannah Grady and Jessica Weeks are 14-0 this year with 12 wins coming at the No. 2 spot and two at No. 1 singles. Rachael Porsz and Stephanie Bengson are 14-0 at No. 3 doubles. At the No. 1 spot, Sandra Rocha and Katy Williams are 7-7 and 2-0 at the No. 2 spot. Grady and Weeks are ranked #24 nationally while Porsz and Bengson are tied for # 50 with three other doubles teams.
14-Match Win Streak: The 49ers have won 14 consecutive matches this year, a mark which is third-best all-time in school history. The No. 1 mark is 17 straight, set in 2001 and in 2002 the 49ers won 16 consecutive.
Doubles Wins: Junior Sandra Rocha is closing in the career record for individual doubles wins. Rocha, who is 17-9 this year in doubles with Katy Williams, now stands at 60 career doubles wins, number three all-time. The record is 67 set by Kelly Chan (2001-04). Rocha has also accumulated 101 career victories (41 singles/60 doubles) to rank fifth all-time. The school record is 133 set by Havaja Frljuckic (1984-87) (70 singles wins/63 doubles wins).
Hannah Grady: Freshman Hannah Grady (Coventry, England) has had a great spring thus far competing at the No. 1 singles spot. Grady is 12-4, having won 11 consecutive matches, 10 in straight sets. Grady is ranked No. 67 in the nation in singles play. Grady was selected as the Big West Female Athlete of the Week on February 21 and March 1. She has five wins this spring over nationally-ranked opponents. In doubles, Grady teams with Jessica Weeks and they are a perfect 14-0 this spring. The due is ranked No. 24 in the country.
Katy Williams: Freshman Katy Williams (Stevenage, Herfordshire) has won 12 of her last 14 singles matches at the No. 2 spot, winning 10 of those in straight sets. She stands at 12-4 this spring in singles and is ranked No. 120 nationally. On Monday Williams recorded a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Kansas State's Jessica Simosa helping lead LBSU to a 4-3 win over the Wildcats. Williams teams with Sandra Rocha in doubles and they are 9-7 (7-7 at No. 1, 2-0 at No. 2) this spring.
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 a shoulder injury. Bengson was named the Big West Co-Athlete of the Week on February 14. She is competing at the No. 3 spot and is 12-4, having won nine of her last 10 matches. On March 7 she earned a 6-4, 7-5 win over No. 73-ranked Lana Krasnopolsky of Boston College. Bengson teams up with Rachael Porsz at No. 3 doubles and they stand at 14-0 thus far this spring. They are tied for No. 50 in the nation in doubles.
Sandra Rocha: Junior Sandra Rocha (Pomona, CA) was named the Big West Female Tennis Athlete of the Week on March 9 after recording straight sets wins against UC Irvine and Pacific. Rocha is 11-4 this springs at the No. 4 spot having won 11 of her last 13 matches. Nine of her victories this spring have come in straight sets. In doubles, Rocha and Katy Williams are 9-7 this spring (7-7 at No. 1, 2-0 at No. 2). Earlier this spring they picked up a win over No. 22-ranked Kosakowski/Asimgil of Pepperdine, 8-5.
Rachel Porsz: Junior Rachael Porsz (St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, England) is 11-4 this spring in singles play (3-0 at No. 5, 8-4 at No. 6). 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. She won both of her matches this week against foes from Kansas State and Illinois-Chicago. Porsz is teamed with Stephanie Bengson at the No. 3 doubles spot and that duo is an impressive 14-0 thus far while being tied for No. 50 in the nation.
Jessica Weeks: Freshman Jessica Weeks (Beckenham, Kent, England) is competing at the No. 5 spot in singles play and is 10-4 thus far in the spring. She had won nine consecutive singles matches before falling to foes from Nebraska and Kansas State. Tuesday she beat Grace Gill-Morlis of Illinois-Chicago 7-5, 6-1. In doubles, Weeks teams with Hannah Grady and that duo is 14-0 (2-0 at No. 1, 12-0 at No. 2). They are ranked No. 24 in the nation in doubles. Earlier this spring they defeated No. 21-ranked Dulgheru and Dickes of Pepperdine, 8-5.
2006 Roster
2006 Schedule/Results
2006 Statistics |
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