Long Beach State University
Virginia Tech
Beach Tennis Edged By Virginia Tech In NCAA First Round
5/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
LOS ANGELES -- Long Beach State fought hard but ultimately fell 4-2 to Virginia Tech in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Karolina Rozenberg won the 30th singles match of the season to close out her career.
Rozenberg scored the first singles point for the 38th ranked Beach as she made quick work of Sansitha Nandakumar. Rozenberg took the No. 5 match 6-1, 6-3 to momentarily tie the match at 1-1. She became just the third player in Beach Tennis history to win 30 singles matches in a season, closing out a highly success career for the Beach.
The doubles point featured three close matches but the 32nd ranked Hokies were able to edge out two wins for the point. At No. 3 doubles, Virginia Tech's Caroline Daxhelet and Kelly Willford were able to surge late for the 8-5 win. Laura Eales and Rozenberg pushed the Hokies' No. 2 team to the brink but fell 8-7 as Virginia Tech clinched the first point.
After Rozenberg's win, Va. Tech claimed the next two points behind two of their three nationally-ranked players. No. 51 Francesca Fusinato won 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 2 match. Maeva Razakasoa pushed 65th-ranked Ilinca Stoica to the brink in the first set of the No. 1 match but fell 7-6 (3), 6-1.
Laura Eales was able to hold on to the point with a three set win in the No. 6 match. She took the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 for the Beach's second point.
While Hayley Thompson battled to a tiebreak in the second set of the No. 4 match, the No. 3 match went to the Hokies to clinch the match and end the Beach's season. Nationally-ranked Elena Cerezo-Codina defeated Julie Gerard in a tie break in the second set to win 6-3, 7-6 (5).
The Beach made its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and returns seven of eight players for the 2015-16 school year. The Beach continued its dominance of the Big West with an undefeated regular season record and a sweep through the Big West Tournament.
Players Mentioned
