Long Beach State University
Pepperdine
Shorthanded Beach Fall To No. 17 Pepperdine, 6-1
3/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Long Beach, Calif. - No. 17 Pepperdine (8-1) came to Rhodes Tennis Center on Thursday afternoon and lived up to the billing, handing Long Beach State (7-3) its first home loss of the season, 6-1. LBSU got a nice win from Laura Eales at No. 3 singles, but couldn't overcome the loss of top singles player Maeva Razakasoa, who missed Thursday's match with an injury.
"It was a tough match against a very good Pepperdine team," said Beach head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello. "We learned a lot and will hopefully be better tomorrow for it."
Eales scored a nice win for the Beach, moving up in the lineup from her regular No. 5 spot to the No. 3 singles match. She was a 7-6, 6-3 winner over Matea Cutura, bringing in a nice point for the Beach. Elsewhere, matches were more challenging than expected due to Razakasoa's absence. At the top of the lineup, Ebba Unden faced the No. 2 ranked player in the country, Luisa Stefani, and lost 6-0, 6-3. Hayley Thompson also went up against a ranked opponent at No. 4 singles, losing 7-5, 6-0 against No. 97 Dzina Milovanovic.
Sophomore Ella Monsey was able to move up into the starting lineup, assuming the No. 6 singles role as Georgie Sanders bumped up to No. 5. Monsey went up against Michaela Capannolo and came up short, 6-2, 6-2.
At doubles, there were also changes to the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the lineup. With Razakasoa out, the usual No. 3 team of Unden and Sanders was bumped up to No. 2 and Julie Gerard was partnered with sophomore Alex Jones for the first time this year. Their match went unfinished after staying very close, while Unden and Sanders lost 6-2 to the No. 12 ranked team of Cutura and Christine Maddox. At No. 1 pairs, the No. 48 ranked Beach team of Thompson and Eales came up short against the No. 29 team in the country, Stefani and Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai, also by a 6-2 margin.
LBSU will look to bounce back tomorrow at 11 a.m. against No. 31 North Carolina State. Note the adjusted start time for the Friday contest in anticipation of rain. The match was previously scheduled for 2 p.m. but was moved to an 11 a.m. start time on Thursday.
Singles Results
No. 2 Luisa Stefani (PEP) def. Ebba Unden (LBSU) 6-0, 6-3
Laura Gulbe (PEP) def. Julie Gerard (LBSU) 6-2, 6-3
Laura Eales (LBSU) def. Matea Cutura (PEP) 7-6, 6-3
No. 97 Dzina Milovanovic (PEP) def. Hayley Thompson (LBSU) 7-5, 6-0
Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai (PEP) def. Georgie Sanders (LBSU) 6-1, 6-1
Michaela Capannolo (PEP) def. Ella Monsey (LBSU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles Results
No. 29 Stefani/ Runglerdkriangkrai (PEP) def. No. 48 Eales/Thompson (LBSU) 6-2
No. 12 Cutura/Maddox (PEP) def. Unden/Sanders (LBSU) 6-2
Gerard/Jones (LBSU) vs. Gulbe/Milovanovic (PEP) Unfinished
Players Mentioned
