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Long Beach State University Athletics
LBSU Heads to CSUN to Continue Big West Play
2/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 19, 2014
First Serve: The 50th-ranked Long Beach State women's tennis team will travel to Cal State Northridge for its lone match on Friday. The 49ers will play the Matadors at 1 p.m. at the Matador Tennis Complex.
A Battle for First: The current Big West standings feature LBSU sitting in first place with a perfect 3-0 record while the Matadors are close behind in 2nd with their 2-0 record. The two teams have yet to play a common conference opponent as the 49ers have picked up wins against Hawai'i, Cal State Fullerton and UC Davis while CSUN has won against Cal Poly and UC Riverside.
Last Outing: Beach Tennis put away yet another conference opponent at home last weekend with a 5-2 win over UC Davis. LBSU picked up the sweep in doubles as all three spots featured dominance by the 49ers. At the top spot, Ebba Unden and Maeva Razakasoa shut out Layla Sanders and Nicole Koehly 8-0 while LBSU won 8-2 at the other two spots. In singles, redshirt freshman Julie Gerard blanked Koehly at the No. 3 spot, winning 6-0, 6-0. This was the first time this season that a 49er accomplished the rare feat of not dropping a game throughout an entire match. Wins were also picked up at the No. 2, 4 and 6 spots to give Beach Tennis the victory over the Aggies.
Owning the Conference: Last weekend's victory over UC Davis was Long Beach State's 10th in a row over a conference opponent. The 49ers have had a tight hold on the Big West for over a decade and are continuing on the streak so far in the 2014 season. Beach Tennis went 8-1 in regular season conference play last season followed by three straight victories in the Big West Tournament to win the championship. The tournament title marked No. 9 for the 49ers in the last 10 years.
In the Rankings: Despite picking up yet another win, LBSU fell four spots to No. 50 in this week's ITA polls. The 49ers are one of two ranked Big West teams, the other being UC Irvine. This week's rankings only featured team rankings as the next doubles and singles list will be released next week. Last week saw top LBSU doubles duo Ebba Unden and Maeva Razakasoa debut at No. 54. The ranking was the highest of any 49er pair since 2008 when Hannah Grady and Stephanie Bengson reached No. 31. Unden and Razakasoa have compiled a 6-1 record so far this season and put on a commanding performance last weekend with an 8-0 win over UC Davis.
A Look at CSUN: The Matadors boost a 4-1 record so far this season, including an unblemished home record that the 49ers hope to disrupt. CSUN has won two Big West matches including a narrow 4-3 victory over Cal Poly on Feb. 1 and then a 7-0 sweep over UC Riverside last weekend. The other two wins for Northridge came at the beginning of the season over NAIA opponent, Westmont, and Air Force. CSUN's lone loss came at Loyola Marymount on Feb. 13 where the Matadors fell 4-3. LMU is the only shared opponent thus far between Northridge and Long Beach. The 49ers swept the Lions on Feb. 7.
The Match-Up: LBSU leads the all-time series record 29-12 and has won the last 17 meetings dating back to 2001. The only meeting last year featured a 49er sweep at home on March 30. Under 49er Head Coach, Jenny Hilt-Costello, Beach Tennis has boosted a 17-2 record against the Matadors.
Home Sweet Home: Following this weekend's road match, Beach Tennis will face its next eight opponents within the friendly confines of the Rhodes Tennis Center. The month of March will feature all non-conference opponents including several that are ranked. LBSU will look to protect home court as it did a season ago when the 49ers went 11-0. In fact, the last time Beach Tennis lost a home match was back in 2012 putting the streak at 17 matches to date.
Up Next: Long Beach State will open March with a lone match on the 1st against BYU. The Saturday contest is scheduled to begin at noon at the Rhodes Tennis Center.
