49ers Take On San Diego State On Friday
Beach Ranked No. 27 In Nation
February 13, 2007
PDF Version of Release This Week:
Friday, Feb. 16 at #46 San Diego State, 2 pm, San Diego, CA
Saturday, Feb. 17 vs. UC Riverside, 11 am, 49er Campus Courts
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This Week: The Long Beach State women's tennis team, ranked No. 27 in the nation in the latest ITA Poll, will play two matches this week. Friday they travel to No. 49-ranked San Diego State for a key match. Saturday the 49ers will be at home as they host UC Riverside at 11 am at the 49er Campus Courts. Long Beach State is 3-1 on the season and 2-0 against Big West teams. San Diego State is 3-4 on the year, with a Tuesday match at USC, and UC Riverside is 4-2 on the season.
Last Year: The 49ers were 22-5 last year, won their third consecutive Big West Conference Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships. Long Beach concluded the season ranked No. 26 in the country, its highest final ranking in school history.
The Series: Long Beach State trails in its series with San Diego State by a 21-1 count. The 49ers defeated the Aztecs last year 5-2, snapping a 21-match losing skid to SDSU. The 49ers lead in their series with UC Riverside by a 9-0 count. Last year the 49ers downed the Highlanders 7-0 at UCR during the regular season and then The Beach won 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the Big West Championships.
The Coach: Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello (UCLA, 1994) is 141-82 (.632) 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 (22 wins in 2001 and 2006) and career (141) coaching victories at Long Beach State.
49ers Sweep CS Northridge: The 49ers swept past their second consecutive Big West Conference opponent last week, defeating Cal State Northridge 7-0 at the 49er Campus Courts. Long Beach swept all six singles matches in straight sets and won two of the three doubles matches to earn that point. In singles, Hannah Grady prevailed at No. 1 singles 6-3, 6-4 over Silvia Gutierrez. The bottom of the 49er lineup turned in impressive performances against the Matadors. Emmanuelle Tabatruong won at five singles 6-1, 6-2 over Kasia Krasinska and Sandra Rocha won 6-0, 6-1 at six singles over Sonya Kumar. In doubles, nationally-ranked Grady and Jessica Weeks won at No. 1 doubles 8-5 over Gutierrez and Ana Matijasevic. At three doubles, Rocha and tabatruong teamed up for an easy 8-1 win over Kumar and Krasinska.
Playing The Best: This year's spring schedule is full of nationally-ranked opponents once again. Of the 23 matches, 12 of the opponents are nationally-ranked (USC #5, VCU #14, Fresno State #18, Pepperdine #19, Florida International #31, Penn #36, UNLV #39, UC Irvine #42, San Diego State #49, Iowa #61, LMU #70, and Nevada #75). The 49ers are ranked No. 27 in the country in the FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, administered by the ITA (2/13/07).
Individual National Rankings: In the women's singles and doubles rankings, which were released on January 9, the 49er doubles team of Hannah Grady and Jessica Weeks were ranked No. 48 in the country. In the pre-season rankings (September 8) Grady was ranked No. 38 in the nation in singles, while Katy Williams checked in at No. 85. In doubles, the team of Grady and Weeks ranked No. 23. The next individual rankings will be release on February 21.
Regional Rankings: In the final fall West Regional Rankings (12/8/06), Hannah Grady was ranked No. 15 in the region and Katy Williams checked in at No. 26. In doubles, Grady and Jessica Weeks were No. 6 while Stephanie Bengson and Katy Williams were No. 12.
Academic Success: The 49er women's tennis team has succeeded in the classroom as well as on the court. This past fall the team had cumulative gpa of 3.56, tops among all 49er athletic teams. Four student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0 gpa in the fall 2006 semester. Last season the 49ers were selected as an ITA All-Academic Team (as well as in 2003 and 2005) and had four student-athletes named as ITA Scholar-Athletes (Stephanie Bengson, Krystina Katayama, Rachael Porsz, Jessica Weeks).
Rocha Owns Doubles Record: Senior Sandra Rocha earned her 68th career doubles win last Friday against CS Fullerton, moving her to first on the 49er career chart. She currently stands in first place with 69 doubles wins, thanks to a victory last Friday over CS Northridge. Rocha also has etched her name in the 49er record books for singles wins and overall wins. Her 52 career singles wins is number four all-time and her 121 total wins is number two all-time. Holding down the number one spot for career total wins is Havaja Frljuckic with 133.
Hannah Grady: Began the 2006-07 season ranked No. 38 in singles in the ITA pre-season poll. Grady, a sophomore All-America candidate, is currently 3-1 this spring in singles. Grady defeated Silvia Gutierrez of CS Northridge last Friday 6-3, 6-4. Grady has won her last three singles matches after dropping her opener to #9-ranked Sarah Fansler of USC 6-2, 6-3. Grady was 3-2 in singles action in the fall and a combined 6-3 for the year. Grady began the season at the Riviera All-American Championships where 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. In doubles, Grady and Jessica Weeks, who are ranked No. 48 nationally, are 3-1 this spring. They defeated Gutierrez and Matijasevic of CS Northridge 8-5 last week for their third win in a row. In the fall, Grady and Jessica Weeks went 1-2, playing three nationally-ranked opponents. The fall win came against No. 37-ranked Schofield and 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 improved to 3-1 this spring in singles action with a 6-4, 6-3 win over CSUN's Kanykey Koichumanova last Friday. Williams began the year ranked No. 85 in singles. She was 4-4 in the fall in singles competition and stands at 7-5 overall this year. Williams 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. Thus far in doubles this spring, Williams has teamed with two different partners. Against USC she teamed with Rachel Porsz, and that duo fell 8-1 to No. 23-ranked Matias/Fansler. In the past three matches she has paired with Stephanie Bengson and they are 2-1 thus far. The fell this past Friday to Furuta and Koichumanova of CS Northridge, 8-6. Williams was a first team all-conference selection in singles and doubles last year, finishing 28-9 in singles with four nationally-ranked wins and a national ranking of No. 118. In doubles, she and Sandra 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: Bengson won her second straight singles match this spring at the number three spot. She defeated Canna Furuta of CS Northridge last Friday, 6-4, 7-5. Bengson is 2-2 in singles action this spring after going 3-3 in the fall. She defeated Arizona State's Laila Abdala in convincing fashion (6-0, 6-2) to claim the White Bracket Singles title at the Cal Nike Invitational. In doubles, Bengson and Katy Williams are 2-1 this spring after falling to Furuta and Koichumanova of CS Northridge last week 8-6. Bengson and Williams ended the fall ranked No. 12 in the West Region in doubles. Bengson was a second team selection in 2006 in singles and she also earned honorable mention honors in doubles. She was 15-7 in singles and 19-4 in doubles with Rachael Porsz.
Sandra Rocha: Rocha enters her fourth year as a 49er, the lone player to earn that distinction. Playing at number six singles, Rocha improved to 2-1 in singles, having won her past two matches. Friday vs. CS Northridge she defeated Sonya Kumar 6-0, 6-1 in convincing fashion. In doubles, Rocha and Emmanuelle Tabatruong are a perfect 3-0 at number three doubles. The defeated Kumar and Krasinska of CSUN last week 8-1. 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 has set her name in the 49er career record books. She is number one in career doubles wins (69), number two in career wins (121) and number four in career singles wins (52).
Jessica Weeks: Weeks won her third straight singles match last week defeating CSUN's Ana Matijasevic 6-4, 6-1. Weeks, who was 3-1 in singles play in the fall, is 6-2 in singles action this year playing at the number four spot. She has won all three matches in straight sets. In doubles this spring, Weeks and Grady are 3-1 at number one doubles. They defeated Gutierrez and Matijasevic of CS Northridge last week 8-5. In the fall at the Riviera All-American Championships, Weeks and Grady went 1-2 playing three nationally-ranked opponents. They defeated No. 37-ranked Schofield/Vuckovic of South Carolina 9-8 (3). Grady and Weeks are ranked No. 48 nationally and No. 6 in the West Region. Weeks earned first team all-league honors in 2006 in doubles with Hannah Grady as that duo went 19-2 and finished 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.
Rachael Porsz: Porsz is 0-1 this spring in singles, falling 6-0, 6-1 to USC's Julie Smekodub. She has not played in the top six the past three matches. Porsz ended the fall season at 3-4 in singles play. She competed at the Cal Nike Invitational and then played three matches at the ITA Regionals. She teamed with Stephanie Bengson to win the Gold Bracket Back Draw Championship at the Cal Nike Invitational. 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. Last year she went 23-12 in singles play and a combined 24-10 in doubles.
Emmanuelle Tabatruong: Tabatruong continues to impress in both singles and doubles. Tabatruong is 3-1 at number five singles after a 6-1, 6-2 win last week over CSUN's Kasia Krasinska. Tabatruong was 3-4 in the fall in singles, and now stands at 6-5 on the year. In doubles, she has teamed with Sandra Rocha at the number three spot. They are 3-0 this spring in doubles, including an 8-1 win last Friday over CSUN's Kumar and Krasinska. Tabatruong competed at the CS Fullerton Fall Intercollegiates in both singles and doubles. 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. She also went 1-2 at the ITA West Regionals. 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 to claim the title.
Denise Liebschner: A true freshman out of Dresden, Germany, Liebschner compiled a 1-4 singles mark in her first semester of competition. She went 0-2 at the CSUF Fall Intercollegiates and 1-2 at the ITA West Regionals in San Diego. In doubles, she was 1-1 with Rachael Porsz at the ITA West Regionals. She teamed with Emmanuelle Tabatruong at the at the CS Fullerton Fall Intercollegiates and that duo 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. Liebschner was 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. For five consecutive years (2001-05) she was rated the Best Saxonian Player under 18.
49er Career Chart
Singles Wins...
1. Havaja Frljuckic 70
2. Antonia Wolff 61
3. Lindsey Marvel 53
4. Sandra Rocha 52
5 . Jennifer Slattery 51
Doubles Wins...
1. Sandra Rocha 69
2 . Kelly Chan 67
T11. Rachael Porsz 40
T11. Stephanie Bengson 40
Overall Wins...
1. Havaya Frljuckic 133
2 . Sandra Rocha 121
3. Antonia Wolff 118
T15. Rachael Porsz 80
T18. Stephanie Bengson 76 |
2007 Schedule
2007 Roster
ITA Tennis Website
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