Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
Fullerton Invitational
Manasse claims Fullerton Invitational title in all-49er affair
10/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Oct. 10, 2011
Long Beach, Calif. - Senior Rachel Manasse outlasted fellow 49er Laura Bernard 6-3, 6-4 to earn the singles championship in the Fullerton Invitational Monday at the Rhodes Tennis Center at Long Beach State.
Since the pair played three doubles matches together as well as the singles semifinals on Sunday, rather than forcing them to play a fifth match on the same day, the duo faced each other on their home court, but the match still counts for official results and stands as the official championship of the Fullerton Invitational.
Manasse opened up the match by holding serve, and then earned a break to take a 2-0 lead in the first set. Bernard rallied to win the next three sets in a row, but Manasse held on to break back in a very long sixth game that featured a number of deuce points to even the set. Carrying the momentum from that win, Manasse won the next three sets to take the first set 6-3.
In the second set, it was Bernard that started out quickly, winning the first two sets and taking a 3-2 lead. In another set that was a complete battle, Manasse earned another break to even up the set, and took a 5-3 lead on the way to a 6-4 second set win in a tightly contested match.
With Manasse's win Monday, Long Beach State has now won the Fullerton Invitational two years in a row. Anais Dallara claimed the title in 2010.
Beach Tennis has the weekend off, and will then conclude the fall season by participating in the ITA West Regionals, beginning on October 20.
