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Long Beach State University Athletics
Top-Seeded Beach Tennis Opens Big West Tournament Thursday
4/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Long Beach, Calif. - Coming off another unbeaten regular season in conference play, No. 62 Long Beach State opens the 2016 Big West Women's Tennis Tournament as the No. 1 seed, looking to claim its seventh straight tournament title. The Beach will open their tournament run on Thursday morning at 8 a.m., facing the Cal Poly Mustangs (4-15, 1-7 Big West) at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif. Should the 49ers defeat Cal Poly, they would advance to Friday's semifinals at 9 a.m. against either (4) Hawai'i or (5) UC Irvine. The championship match is scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 30, at 9 a.m.
2016 Big West Women's Tennis Tournament Bracket
LAST TIME OUT
• Long Beach State got to enjoy a week off after wrapping up the regular season with wins over Cal State Fullerton and Oregon. Those victories pushed LBSU's winning streak to 10 entering the postseason.
• LBSU needed to take care of business against Fullerton to avoid a three-way tie for the conference title, and the Beach proved more than capable. The 49ers won in a clean sweep, 7-0, to finish off a third straight unbeaten conference schedule.
• The Beach then picked up another ranked win, knocking off then-No. 44 Oregon, 5-2. Maeva Razakasoa, Julie Gerard and Hayley Thompson all won in straight sets against the Ducks, while Georgie Sanders was the other singles winner to help close the regular season on a high note.
ACROSS THE NET -- CAL POLY
• No 8 seed Cal Poly defeated No. 9 seed UC Riverside to advance to the quarterfinal round, winning 4-0. The Mustangs won the doubles point easily, then got straight-set wins from the bottom three players in their lineup to secure the win.
• When these teams met back on Apr. 1 in San Luis Obispo, LBSU scored a comfortable 7-0 sweep of the Mustangs. Only one player was pushed to a third set in singles action as the Beach rolled to a win.
REIGN AT INDIAN WELLS
• Long Beach State has dominated the Big West Tournament over the last 15 years, winning 12 titles and finishing as the runner-up the other three times. That means there has not been a Big West Tournament final without Long Beach State competing since the year 2000.
• The 49ers have also won five straight tournament titles to earn an automatic invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
• LBSU has been the No. 1 seed in the tournament 10 times since 2001, winning the tournament in seven of those previous nine appearances.
BIG WEST STREAK
• Behind another unbeaten Big West regular, Long Beach State has now won 28 consecutive Big West regular season matches dating back to Mar. 2, 2013.
• Including Big West Tournament action, Long Beach has won 37 straight matches vs. Big West opponents.
WEEKLY CONFERENCE HONORS
• Junior Maeva Razakasoa was named the Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week for the third time this season following wins over Cal State Fullerton and Oregon. Razakasoa wrapped up an 8-0 record in conference play, setting herself as the clear favorite for Big West Player of the Year honors.
• Razakasoa was 2-0 in singles, but had more important wins in doubles play with partner Julie Gerard. In both matches during the final week, they were down 5-4 in the decisive doubles match, but each time they stormed back to win 7-5 and claim the doubles point.
• This is the third win for Razakasoa this season after she was named the Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Apr. 6 and Mar. 2. She is now a five-time winner in her three years in Long Beach, but this is the first time she has taken the award multiple times in one season.
• The win gives LBSU four weekly awards this season. Junior Laura Eales was named the Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Mar. 16, winning for the second time in her career after she received this honor on Feb. 4, 2015.
MAJOR VICTORIES
• Even in defeat against Arizona State, Long Beach State got three key wins over ranked opposition, two in singles and one in doubles play.
• Maeva Razakasoa knocked off then-No. 36 ranked Desirae Krawczyk at top singles by a score of 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3, recording her second win over a ranked opponent this season. In the most recent rankings, Krawczyk checks in as the No. 34 player in the nation.
• At No. 2 singles, Ebba Unden scored a big win over then-No. 98 Kassidy Jump, taking a very even match by the score of 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Jump is now ranked No. 117.
• In doubles, Laura Eales and Hayley Thompson partnered up and beat the then-No. 54 ranked doubles team of Ebony Panoho and Alexandra Osborne by a score of 6-3. Panoho and Osborne have since moved up to No. 21 in the nation.
Players Mentioned
