49ers Host Nationally-Ranked Penn
Beach Faces #40-Ranked Quakers On Wednesday
March 6, 2007
PDF Version of Release Upcoming Schedule:
Wednesday, March 7 vs. Penn, 2 pm, 49er Campus Courts
Tuesday, March 13 vs. VCU, 2 pm, 49er Campus Courts |
This Week: The #58-ranked Long Beach State women's tennis team is 6-5 overall and 4-1 in the Big West after defeating Cal Poly at home on Saturday afternoon, 6-1. This week the 49ers will play host to #40-ranked Pennsylvania at 2 pm at the 49er Campus Courts. The Quakers are 6-2 on the season and will play five matches in California. Monday they lost at UC Irvine. They will also play U. of San Diego, Saint Mary's and the University of San Francisco.
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 is 0-4 all-time in its series with the University of Pennsylvania. The last meeting was during the 2005 campaign and the 49ers fell in Long Beach by a score of 5-2.
The Coach: Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello (UCLA, 1994) is 144-86 (.626) 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 Cal Poly: The 49ers bounced back from a tough 4-3 loss at UC Irvine to defeat Cal Poly 6-1 on Saturday at home. Long Beach won two of the three doubles matches to earn an early 1-0 lead. In singles action the 49ers won five of the six matches. Katy Williams won at #1 singles, defeating Carol Erickson 6-1, 6-7, 10-7. Hannah Grady won at #2 singles with a resounding 6-2, 6-1 win over Brittany Blalock and Stephanie Bengson won at three singles 6-3, 6-0 over Steffi Wong. Jessica Weeks won her match at #4 singles, 6-2, 6-4 over Shannon Brady and Sandra Rocha won at #6 singles 6-0, 6-3 over Maria Malec.
Long Homestand: The 49ers are currently in the midst of a six-match homestand. It began this past Saturday with a 6-1 win over Cal Poly and continues through March 22 when the 49ers host #50 Princeton. The next five 49er opponents are all nationally-ranked. Long Beach is currently 4-0 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 63-12 (.840) 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 #11, Fresno State #13, VCU #15, Florida International #22, Pepperdine #24, UC Irvine #28, Penn #40, UNLV #44, Princeton #50, Iowa #56, Nevada #61 and San Diego State #70). The 49ers are ranked No. 58 in the country in the FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, administered by the ITA (3/6/07).
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 on February 2 against CS Fullerton, moving her to first on the 49er career chart. She currently stands in first place with 72 doubles wins. Rocha also has etched her name in the 49er record books for singles wins and overall wins. Her 55 career singles wins is number three all-time and her 127 total wins is number two all-time. Holding down the number one spot for career total wins is Havaja Frljuckic with 133.
Hannah Grady: Grady was ranked #52 in the nation in singles in the previous ITA Rankings on February 28. She fell out of the latest rankings on March 6. She is currently 7-4 this spring in singles. Last week she fell to #81-ranked Becky Bernhard of UC Irvine 6-2, 6-4, but bounced back to beat Cal Poly's Brittany Blalock, 6-2, 6-1. Grady earned a win over #51 ranked Holly Bagshaw of San Diego State on February 16. The win was Grady's seventh against a nationally-ranked opponent in her 49er career. Grady was 3-2 in singles action in the fall and is a combined 10-6 for the year. In doubles, Grady and Jessica Weeks are 6-5 this spring. They are 4-4 at #1 doubles and 2-1 at the #2 spot. They won both of their doubles matches this week playing at the #2 doubles position. 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 7-3 this spring in singles action. Last week she won both of her singles matches. Thursday she defeated UCI's Inna Agababian 6-2, 6-2 at #2 singles and on Saturday she competed at the #1 spot, winning 6-1, 6-7, 10-7 over Cal Poly's Carol Erickson. Williams began the year ranked No. 85 in singles and she was 4-4 in the fall in singles competition and stands at 11-7 overall this year. Thus far in doubles this spring, Williams is 5-4 with Stephanie Bengson. That pair have been playing at the #1 doubles spot the last three matches and are 1-2. The win came on Saturday against Cal Poly's Wong and Erickson, 8-3. 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 improved to 7-4 this spring in singles after winning two matches last week at the #3 spot. Thursday she downed UCI's Claire Fremin 6-3, 6-3 and then she came back to beat Cal Poly's Steffi Wong 6-3, 6-0. Bengson was 3-3 in the fall in singles and stands at 10-7 overall this year. In doubles, Bengson and Katy Williams are 5-4 this spring. They have played their last three matches at the #1 doubles position. Saturday they defeated Cal Poly's Wong and erickson 8-3. 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.
Sandra Rocha: Rocha stands at 5-3 this spring in singles action playing at the #6 position. Last week she lost to UC Irvine's Ali Borowicz 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, but rebounded on Saturday to beat Cal Poly's Maria Malec 6-0, 6-3. In doubles, Rocha and Emmanuelle Tabatruong are 6-3 at number three doubles. The fell on Thursday at UCI, losing 8-5 to Hu and Borowicz. Saturday, Rocha teamed with Rachael Porsz against Cal Poly, but they fell 8-5 to Malec and Brady. 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 (72), number two in career wins (127) and number three in career singles wins (55).
Jessica Weeks: Weeks is 7-4 this spring in singles action. Last week she won both of her singles matches at the #4 spot. She defeated Heidi Kaloi of UC Irvine 6-4, 6-3 and then downed Cal Poly's Shannon Brady 6-2, 6-4. After going 3-1 in the fall, Weeks is 10-5 this year in singles. In doubles this spring, Weeks and Grady are 6-5. They have played their last three matches at the #2 doubles spot, where they are 2-1. They downed Broadfoot and Kaloi of UC Irvine 8-4 and then beat Blalock and Filip of Cal Poly 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 is 2-1 this spring in singles. On February 25 she won at #6 singles over Fresno State's Jacqueline Haskett, 6-3, 7-5. Porsz ended the fall season at 3-4 in singles play. In doubles, Porsz teamed with Stephanie Bengson against UC Riverside to win at #2 doubles, 8-3. In the fall she teamed with 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 ranks tied for #16 in career singles wins with 42, she's #12 in doubles victories with 41 and she is #12 all-time at Long Beach State with 83 career victories.
Emmanuelle Tabatruong: Tabatruong is 6-5 this spring in singles, playing mainly at the #5 spot. Last week she dropped both of her matches. Thursday she lost 6-2, 6-2 to Jessica Broadfoot of UCI and then on Saturday she fell 7-5, 6-4 to Cal Poly's Diane Filip. Tabatruong was 3-4 in the fall in singles, and now 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 55
4 . Lindsey Marvel 53
5 . Jennifer Slattery 51
Doubles Wins...
1. Sandra Rocha 72
2 . Kelly Chan 67
T10. Stephanie Bengson 44
12. Rachael Porsz 41
Overall Wins...
1. Havaya Frljuckic 133
2 . Sandra Rocha 127
3. Antonia Wolff 118
12. Stephanie Bengson 85
13. Rachael Porsz 83 |
2007 Schedule
2007 Roster
ITA Tennis Website
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