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Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Begin March at Home against BYU
2/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 27, 2014
First Serve: The 55th-ranked Long Beach State women's tennis team will begin its eight-match home stand by entertaining No. 67 BYU at noon on Saturday at the Rhodes Tennis Center.
Home Sweet Home: The 49ers will look to make it 18 straight wins at home on Saturday as LBSU hasn't dropped a match in the Rhodes Tennis Center since March 20, 2012. So far this season, Beach Tennis has compiled a 5-0 record taking down conference foes Cal State Fullerton and UC Davis as well as non-conference opponents San Diego State, Loyola Marymount and San Jose State. The 49ers play the entire month of March at home as eight non-conference teams make the trip to Long Beach.
Last Outing: Lone upperclassman Karolina Rozenberg put the team on her back as she came back in the third set of her singles match to clinch the win at Cal State Northridge last Saturday. Rozenberg won the first set 6-1 before dropping the second set 6-2. She was then down 5-3 in the third set and rallied to win four straight games to take the set 7-5. That win put LBSU up 4-2 at the time, clinching the match and marking the 11th straight win for LBSU over a Big West opponent. Other 49ers that picked up wins included Maeva Razakasoa who won 6-4, 6-2 over Mickey Hsu, Julie Gerard who downed Criss Rodriguez 6-4, 7-5 and Hayley Thompson who beat Lorraine Cheung 6-0, 6-2.
Off to a Hot Start: Redshirt freshman Maeva Razakasoa has continued to shine as she won her 12th consecutive singles match last Saturday. Razakasoa has competed at the No. 2 spot so far this season and compiled a perfect 8-0 record in dual match play and 4-0 record against conference opponents. Razakasoa's achievements have led to her being named the Big West Player of the Week on Jan. 22 and twice awarded as LBSU's Student-Athlete of the Week.
A Look at BYU: The Cougars are a member of the West Coast Conference and have a 2-4 record thus far this season. BYU has entered into a daunting four-match stretch of the season where it will play four straight ranked opponents. The Cougars picked up a 6-1 win at home against No. 50 Denver on Feb. 15, but dropped a road match at No. 49 Utah last week. BYU will play at No. 57 UC Irvine on Friday before traveling to Long Beach on Saturday. The Cougars were placed at No. 67 in this week's ITA rankings.
The Match-Up: Saturday marks just the second time that LBSU will face BYU. The only previous meeting occurred in 2012 which featured a 6-1 LBSU victory.
In the Rankings: Beach Tennis fell five spots to No. 55 in this week's ITA rankings despite earning its seventh straight victory. The 49ers have been ranked every week this season, beginning at No. 42 to start the year. The start of the 2014 season marked the 14th consecutive year that LBSU has been nationally ranked.
Around the Conference: The 49ers remain atop the Big West standings with a perfect 4-0 record as LBSU begins an eight-match non-conference stretch lasting the entire month of March. The 49ers are currently the highest nationally-ranked Big West team at No. 55, while UC Irvine came in at No. 57 this week.
Up Next: Beach Tennis will play two matches next week as Tulane and Montana make the trip to Long Beach. The Green Wave will travel to the Rhodes Tennis Center on Thursday for a 2 p.m. match while the Grizzlies visit on Saturday for an 11 a.m. match.
Players Mentioned
