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Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Head to Hawai'i for First Road Test
1/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 16, 2014
The 42nd-ranked Long Beach State women's tennis team will open up dual match play this weekend with a road trip to Hawai'i for two matches. The 49ers will first face No. 45 Washington on Sunday before playing their first Big West contest against Hawai'i on Monday. Both matches are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. PST.
Last Outing: Beach Tennis opened its spring season last weekend by hosting the 3rd Annual LBSU Winter Invitational, where several 49ers began their season on a high note. Cal State Northridge, Portland and Denver all made the trip to the Rhodes Tennis Center for the three-day affair. Friday saw LBSU begin with doubles play against CSUN where the 49ers picked up victories in three of the four spots. The day continued with singles where LBSU took on Portland, winning at spots 2-8. The Beach Tennis squad showed their resiliency on Saturday after play was delayed by over two hours due to wet courts, but that didn't stop the 49ers from sweeping No. 62 Denver in doubles and then picking up six more wins in singles. The final day of the Beach Classic featured Long Beach State picking three wins in doubles against Portland and then four wins in singles against Denver and an additional win against CSUN.
Chasing a Milestone: Monday's match against Hawai'i marks an important milestone for 49er Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello, who will coach in her 400th match. Hilt-Costello is already the most decorated coach in Beach Tennis history and she continues to make her mark on a program that she has taken to new highs. Now in her 17th season at the helm, Hilt-Costello has put together an unprecedented run not only at LBSU, but in the Big West as well. Since 2001, Hilt-Costello's teams have been nationally ranked every season, made ten NCAA tournament appearances and won 11 straight Big West titles earning her the conference Coach of the Year award seven times. Hilt-Costello has won 271 matches in her 16 seasons and put together a 0.681 winning percentage, both of which are the best in LBSU tennis history.
A Look at Washington: The Huskies came out ranked No. 45 in the ITA Tennis pre-season rankings. Washington will face its first spring opponent in Hawai'i with a match on Saturday before taking on LBSU on Sunday. The Huskies went 13-9 a season ago and finished the season ranked No. 46 in the final ITA poll. Washington and Long Beach State are tied at 5-all in the all-time series with the Huskies winning the last meeting in 2010, 6-1.
Scouting the `Bows: Hawai'i has been busy early in the spring season as the Rainbow Wahine have already played three matches. Hawai'i opened its season against No. 19 Baylor, who dropped the `Bows, 6-1. Hawai'i then bounced back to beat Nevada, 5-2 and is taking on No. 65 San Jose State on Jan. 16. Last season, the Wahine were 6-14 overall and 4-4 in the Big West, good for fourth in the conference. The 49ers own the all-time series record with Hawai'i 14-7 and took last year's only meeting, 4-3, at the Rhodes Tennis Center.
Fantastic Freshmen: Long Beach State has a roster full of new faces as six of the eight Beach Tennis squad members are newcomers. Maeva Razakasoa (Cranves-Sales, France) went a perfect 6-0 over last weekend's Beach Classic as she competed at the No. 1 spot in doubles with sophomore Ebba Unden and in the No. 2 spot in singles. Razakasoa quickly made a name for herself during the fall season as she 8-2 in singles. Classmate Julie Gerard (Hem, France) also was impressive last weekend as she went 3-0 in singles at the No.3 spot and 2-1 in doubles at No.2 with partner Karolina Rozenberg. Fellow freshmen Laura Eales, Hayley Thompson, Holly Reid and Gabriela Tilkeridisova round out the roster for LBSU.
In the Rankings: Long Beach State came in at No. 42 in the first ITA poll of the spring season, marking the 11th straight season that the 49ers have been ranked. Beach Tennis was ranked every week of the 2013 season, reaching a high of 37th on March 12, before ending the season at No. 40. The next ITA poll will be release on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Up Next: Following this weekend's road trip, the 49ers will return to the friendly confines of the Rhodes Tennis Center for five-match home stand that will feature both non-conference and Big West opponents. Beginning on Jan. 25, LBSU will spend the next three weeks at home as they face No. 46 San Diego State (Jan. 25), Cal State Fullerton (Jan. 31), Loyola Marymount (Feb. 7), No. 65 San Jose State (Feb. 8) and UC Davis (Feb. 15). Last season, the 49ers went a perfect 11-0 when playing at the Rhodes Tennis Center.
Players Mentioned
