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Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Begin Five Match Home Stand
1/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 23, 2014
First Serve: No. 45 LBSU will begin a three-week home stand with a lone match this weekend as the 49ers play host to No. 46 San Diego State on Saturday. Doubles play will begin at noon at the Rhodes Tennis Center.
Last Outing: Beach Tennis traveled to Hawai'i for a pair of matches last weekend. On Sunday, a neutral court match between the 49ers and No. 45 Washington took place with the Huskies coming out on top 5-2. A new scoring format was used in the match as mandated by the ITA in all non-conference matches until Feb. 10. The format eliminates the third deciding set and instead uses a "super tie break" where the first player to win 10 games is awarded the match. The format came into play in three of LBSU's singles matches with the 49ers gaining a victory in one of them. Beach tennis would bounce back however in its match the following day against conference opponent, Hawai'i. Regular scoring was back in play, although the 49ers didn't need it as all of the singles matches were decided in two sets. The 49ers swept the Rainbow Wahine in doubles and then picked up three wins quickly in singles to seal the match. The final score ended up awarding the 49ers a 5-2 win.
Hilt-Costello Reaches Milestone: 49er head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello continued to etch her name in the LBSU Tennis history books as Monday marked the 400th match for her at the helm of the Beach Tennis program. The 2014 season marks the 17th for Hilt-Costello who has brought the 49ers into the national spotlight since she took over in 1997. Under her direction, LBSU has been ranked each of the last 14 seasons while also winning 11 straight conference titles. Hilt-Costello has put together a sparkling 272-128 record since arriving at Long Beach. Her wins along with her 0.68 winning percentage rank best in LBSU tennis history.
Razakasoa Earns Player of the Week: Redshirt freshmen Maeva Razakasoa has quickly made a name for herself as she earned the season's first Big West Player of the Week award on Jan. 22. The Cranves-Sales, France native is the first LBSU freshmen to earn the award since Jaklin Alawi was named it twice in 2010. Razakasoa has come out on fire in the first two weeks of the spring season, going undefeated in both singles and doubles. She is currently riding a six-match winning streak in singles, dating back to the fall season, while she and doubles partner Ebba Unden are 5-0 in doubles.
In the Rankings: The 49ers fell three spots in this week's ITA rankings. LBSU began the season at No. 42, marking the 11th straight season that Hilt-Costello's team has been ranked to begin the season. A loss to No. 45 Washington pushed the 49ers down this week, but wins against upcoming ranked opponents can help LBSU make some headway in future rankings.
A Look at SDSU: San Diego State remained steady this week in the rankings as the Aztecs still came in at No. 46. SDSU is 2-0 on the season as they two Big West teams 6-1 last weekend (UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton). LBSU trails SDSU 8-21 in the all-time series but the 49ers took last year's meeting in San Diego by a score of 4-3.
Home Sweet Home: Saturday's match marks the start of a five-match home stand for the 49ers who went undefeated when playing in the Rhodes Tennis Center last season. The last time LBSU lost at home was in 2012, when Nebraska made the trip out west. The 2014 schedule features an unprecedented 14 matches at home for the 49ers, who will get a chance to play all remaining ranked opponents in their own venue.
Coming Up: The schedule doesn't let up for a young Beach Tennis team that will face two ranked opponents and two Big West foes in its next five matches. First up is No. 46 San Diego State on Saturday followed by a visit from Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 31. Loyola Marymount then will visit the Rhodes Tennis Center on Feb. 7 followed by No. 65 San Jose State on Feb. 8. Finally, UC Davis will travel south for a match-up on Feb. 15.
Players Mentioned
