49ers Host Two Nationally-Ranked Squads
Beach Faces #57 Nevada On Wednesday
March 20, 2007
PDF Version of Release Upcoming Schedule:
Wednesday, March 21 vs. #57 Nevada, 2 pm, 49er Campus Courts
Thursday, March 22 vs. #64 Princeton, 2 pm, 49er Campus Courts |
This Week: The #50-ranked Long Beach State women's tennis team is 8-6 on the season and will play host to two nationally-ranked opponents this week at the 49er Campus Courts. On Wednesday the 49ers host #57 Nevada at 2 pm and then on Thursday #64-ranked Princeton comes to town for a 2 pm match. The 49ers have played nine nationally-ranked teams thus far this 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 Nevada by a 2-3 count. The last time the two squads met was in the 2002 season and the 49ers won 6-1 in Stockton, CA. The 49ers are 0-1 all-time against Princeton. The lone meeting came in the 1990 season, a 9-0 Tiger victory in Long Beach.
The Coach: Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello (UCLA, 1994) is 146-87 (.627) 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 (144) coaching victories at Long Beach State.
Beach Beats Iowa: The 49ers bounced back from a tough 4-3 loss to #24 ranked Virginia Commonwealth on Tuesday, to defeat # 52 Iowa 4-3 on Thursday at the Campus Courts. Long Beach won all three doubles matches by identical 8-5 scores to win the doubles point. In singles, Stephanie Bengson, Sandra Rocha and Rachel Porsz all won in straight sets to clinch the win. Bengson won at #3 singles, 6-1, 6-1 over Hillary Mintz. Rocha won at #5 singles, 6-0, 6-3 over Merel Beelen and Porsz won at six singles 6-2, 7-5 over Kelcie Klockenga.
Long Homestand: The 49ers are at the end of a six-match homestand with their two matches this week. It began on March 3 with a 6-1 win over Cal Poly. Of the six opponents, five were nationally-ranked. Long Beach is currently 6-1 at home this season. Last year the 49ers were 11-1 at home. In the last six-plus years (dating back to the 2001 season) the 49ers are 65-13 (.833) at home at the 49er Campus Courts.
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 #8, Fresno State #13, Pepperdine #19, VCU #25, UC Irvine #28, Florida International #29, UNLV #54, Iowa #55, Nevada #57, Penn #60, Princeton #64 and San Diego State #68). The 49ers are ranked No. 50 in the country in the FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, administered by the ITA (3/20/07).
National Ranking: In the latest ITA NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Individual Rankings, sophomore Hannah Grady is ranked #119 in the country in singles. Grady began the year ranked #38 in singles in the pre-season poll on September 8. On January 9 she was not ranked, on February 21 she was ranked #52, she was not ranked on March 6 and on March 20 she jumped back into the rankings at #119.
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 Just Two Wins Away: Senior Sandra Rocha is just two victories away from becoming the all-time winningest player in 49er women's tennis history. Rocha has 132 career wins (58 singles, 74 doubles) in her four years. Currently holding on to first place is Havaja Frljuckic with 133 career victories. Rocha is first all-time with 74 doubles win and third all-time with 58 singles victories. She earned her 68th career doubles win on February 2 against CS Fullerton, moving her to first on the 49er career chart.
Hannah Grady: Grady is currently ranked #119 in the nation in singles in the latest ITA Rankings. She is currently 9-5 this spring in singles. Last week she defeated #118 Olga Borisova of VCU 6-2, 7-6 (5). The win was her eighth against a nationally-ranked opponent in her 49er career. Grady is 4-3 this season against nationally-ranked opponents, including a 6-2, 6-3 win over #51 ranked Holly Bagshaw of San Diego State on February 16. In doubles, Grady and Jessica Weeks are 8-6 this spring. They are 4-4 at #1 doubles and 4-2 at the #2 spot. They won both of their doubles matches last week, and have won four of their past five. Last week they defeated Leonchuck/Petrashevitch of VCU 8-6 and then downed Beelen/Mintz of Iowa 8-5. 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 is 7-6 this spring in singles action. She is 6-3 at the #2 spot and 1-3 at #1 singles. Last week she lost both of her singles matches. Williams began the year ranked No. 85 in singles and she was 4-4 in the fall in singles competition and stands at 11-10 overall this year. Thus far in doubles this spring, Williams is 7-5 with Stephanie Bengson. That pair have been playing at the #1 doubles spot the last six matches and have won three of their last four. Last week they fell to #9 ranked Yuferova and Borisova of VCU, 8-4. They defeated Lee and Vesselinovic of Iowa, 8-5. 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 has been on a tear in singles, having won her last five matches at the #3 spot. She is 10-4 overall this spring and 13-7 on the season. Last week she defeated VCU's Viktoria Konstantinova 6-2, 6-2 and Iowa's Hillary Mintz 6-1, 6-1. Her last five wins have all come in straight sets and only one player won four games in a set against her during that span. In doubles, Bengson and Katy Williams are 7-5 this spring. They have played their last six matches at the #1 doubles position and have three of their last four. They dropped a tough 8-4 decision to the #9-ranked pair in the country last week, Yuferova and Borisova of VCU. They rebounded to defeat Iowa's Lee and Vesselinovic 8-5. 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. On the 49er career charts, Bengson ranks tied for #16 in singles wins (43), #6 in doubles wins (46) and tied for #8 in overall wins (90).
Sandra Rocha: Rocha stands at 8-3 this spring in singles action playing at the #6 position. She has won her last four singles matches, including wins last week over VCU's Vera Petrashevitch (6-0, 6-2) and Iowa's Kelcie Klockenga (6-2, 7-5). All four wins have come in straight sets. In doubles, Rocha and Emmanuelle Tabatruong are 6-3 at number three doubles and Rocha and Rachael Porsz are 2-2. Rocha and Porsz have played the past four matches at #3 doubles. They split their two matches last week. 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 (74), number two in career wins (132) and number three in career singles wins (58).
Jessica Weeks: Weeks is 8-6 this spring in singles action. She had a three-match win streak snapped with two losses this past week. After going 3-1 in the fall, Weeks is 11-7 this year in singles. In doubles this spring, Weeks and Hannah Grady are 8-6. They have played their last six matches at the #2 doubles spot, and have won four of their last five. Last week they defeated Leonchuk and Petrashevitch of VCU 8-6 and downed Iowa's Beelen and Mintz 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 were No. 6 in the West Region at the end of the fall. Weeks earned first team all-league honors in 2006 in doubles with 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 has played at #6 singles the past three matches. She defeated Iowa's Kelie Klockenga last Thursday 6-2, 7-5. She stands at 3-3 this spring in singles play and 6-7 on the season. On February 25 she won at #6 singles over Fresno State's Jacqueline Haskett, 6-3, 7-5. In doubles, Porsz has teamed with Sandra Rocha at the #3 spot the past four matches. They are 2-2 this spring, including picking up an 8-5 win over Iowa's Berry and Klockenga. In the fall 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. She earned honorable mention all-league honors in doubles last year with Bengson. Porsz currently ranks tied for #16 in career singles wins with 43, she's tied for #11 in doubles victories with 43 and she is tied for #12 all-time at Long Beach State with 86 career victories.
Emmanuelle Tabatruong: Tabatruong is 6-5 this spring in singles, playing mainly at the #5 spot. She has not played in singles since March 3 vs. Cal Poly. Tabatruong was 3-4 in the fall in singles, and stands at 9-9 on the year. In doubles, she has teamed with Sandra Rocha at the number three spot. They are 6-3 this spring in doubles. On February 23 they defeated the #56-ranked UNLV doubles team of Smith/Razina, 8-3. 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. 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 saw her first action this spring on February 17 against UC Riverside. She played at #6 singles and defeated Alex Khoury 6-2, 6-4. Liebschner compiled a 1-4 singles mark in the fall. 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 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. 49er Career Chart
Singles Wins...
1. Havaja Frljuckic 70
2. Antonia Wolff 61
3. Sandra Rocha 58
4 . Lindsey Marvel 53
5 . Jennifer Slattery 51
Doubles Wins...
1. Sandra Rocha 74
2 . Kelly Chan 67
6. Stephanie Bengson 46
11. Rachael Porsz 43
Overall Wins...
1. Havaya Frljuckic 133
2 . Sandra Rocha 132
3. Antonia Wolff 118
T8. Stephanie Bengson 90
T12. Rachael Porsz 86 |
2007 Schedule
2007 Roster
ITA Tennis Website
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