49ers are Champions Once Again
4/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 27, 2008
INDIAN WELLS-- Stephanie Bengson tied the school-record for combined wins and No. 39-ranked Long Beach State (19-6) won the Big West Tournament for the sixth time in seven years, earning the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, following a 4-0 victory over No. 57-ranked UC Irvine (16-9).
The 49ers took just 45 minutes to win the doubles point, as Bengson along with partner Hannah Grady won in doubles 8-0 at the No. 1 position, while the team of Deborah Armstrong and Lisa Sutton won for the third-straight day, winning 8-2.
In singles, Bengson, who had been battling a sore back all tournament, tied Sandra Rocha's 147 wins with a 6-1, 6-3 win at the No. 2 position. Bengson, who set the career record for singles wins on April 11, has 73 singles wins and 74 doubles wins. Armstrong closed out the sweep with a 7-6, 6-4 win at the No. 3 position.
The 49ers, paced by three freshmen in its starting six, swept through UC Riverside (4-0), UC Santa Barbara (4-0) and UCI en route to the tournament title. Stephanie Jeanes, who also won today, did not lose to a Big West opponent this season in singles or doubles.
LBSU has reached the NCAA Tournament in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Pairings for the NCAA Tournament will be announced on April 29 at 11 a.m. Pacific on ESPNews, while the individual NCAA Singles and Doubles draws will be announced on April 30 at ncaasports.com. For the Individual draws, singles players ranked in the top-125 and top-60 in doubles play receive serious consideration. Hannah Grady entered the tournament No. 91 nationally, while Grady and Bengson were ranked No. 56.
DOUBLES
1. #56 Grady/Bengson, LBSU def. Agababian/Bernhard, UCI 8-0
3. Armstrong/Sutton, LBSU def. Borowicz/Broadfoot, UCI 8-2
SINGLES
2. Stephanie Bengson, LBSU def. Inna Agababian, UCI 6-1, 6-3
3. Deborah Armstrong, LBSU def. Clare Fermin, UCI 7-5, 6-4
4. Stephanie Jeanes, LBSU def. Brooke Bartlett, UCI 7-6, 6-3
Players Mentioned
