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Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Meet Tulsa in First Round of NCAA Tournament
5/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 8, 2014
First Serve: The 53rd-ranked Long Beach State women's tennis team will face No. 21 Tulsa tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Taube Tennis Center on the campus of Stanford University.
Last Outing: The 49ers laid claim to their fourth straight Big West Tournament title two weeks ago as they breezed through the competition. LBSU started off by taking down Cal State Fullerton 4-0 in the quarterfinals and then proceeded to win by the same score over UC Santa Barbara in the semis. The finals featured two familiar foes as Beach Tennis squared off with UCI for the seventh consecutive year in a fight for the trophy. After dropping the doubles point, Ebba Unden tied the match up at 1-1 with her singles win at the No. 2 spot. Back to back victories from Karolina Rozenberg and Hayley Thompson had LBSU within one match of clinching the title, but UCI fought back to make it a one point match behind a win from the No. 6 spot. Freshman Maeva Razakasoa then sealed the win for LBSU as she defeated Sarah Gong at the top spot. The title marked No. 11 for Jenny Hilt-Costello's squad in the last 13 years and maintained the 49ers' unblemished record this season against conference foes.
Big West Honors: The conference awards showcased the terrific season Beach Tennis has had as Jenny Hilt-Costello was named the Big West Coach of the Year and Maeva Razakasoa collected both Freshman and Player of the Year honors. It is just the second time in conference history that a player has been awarded both honors as Razakasoa joins former 49er Hannah Grady in the history books. The Coach of the Year award marked No. 8 for Hilt-Costello in her 17 year career at the helm of Beach Tennis. Other honorees included Ebba Unden being named to the first team in both singles and doubles for the second consecutive year. Laura Eales was also named to the first team in doubles while Julie Gerard was named to honorable mention in singles.
20 wins: The victory over UC Irvine in the Big West Tournament title match was No. 20 for LBSU on the season. Since Jenny Hilt-Costello took over the Beach Tennis program in 1998, her teams have hit the 20-win mark six times, most recently last season when her team went 21-4.
A Look at Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane come in to tomorrow's match with a 17-5 record and received an at-large bid into the post-season after they fell to No. 29 Rice in the championship match of the Conference USA Tournament. Prior to that loss, Tulsa was riding a five-match winning streak, its second-longest of the season. The contest between LBSU and the Hurricane is just the second time the two opponents have faced each other. The only other meeting was in 1999 when the 49ers fell 2-7.
NCAA Tournament History: By winning the Big West Tournament, LBSU secured its 11th bid into the NCAA Tournament. The 49ers have a 2-9 overall record in the tournament, last advancing into the second round in 2012. A season ago, Beach Tennis faced No. 28 Oklahoma State at UCLA where they fell 4-0 to the Cowgirls.
If They Win: If LBSU pulls out the upset over Tulsa tomorrow, it will face the winner of the match between Stanford and Quinnipiac on Saturday at 1 p.m. PST. Stanford and Quinnipiac will play tomorrow at 2 p.m. PST.
Players Mentioned
