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Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Tennis Hosts Two Ranked Teams This Week
3/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Long Beach State's unbeaten home record will be put to the test this week, as a pair of ranked opponents will make the trip to Rhodes Tennis Center. The 49ers are 7-0 at home this season, and are currently on a six-match winning streak to push their overall record to 11-2. Looking to derail those streaks will be No. 39 Dartmouth and No. 46 Denver. LBSU will host the Big Green (11-1) on Thursday at 2 p.m. before welcoming the Pioneers (6-5) for an 11 a.m. match on Sunday.
LAST TIME OUT
• Long Beach State continued its strong play with two more wins last week, defeating UT Arlington, 4-3, and Yale, 6-1.
• Senior Julie Gerard was a standout in the two matches, going a combined 4-0 across singles and doubles action. Both of her singles wins came in straight sets and she had a 6-0 doubles win with partner Maeva Razakasoa.
ACROSS THE NET - DARTMOUTH
• The Big Green travel to Long Beach winners of their last four matches, improving to 11-1 on the season. Dartmouth had been ranked as high as No. 23 in the country, but suffered a 6-1 defeat on the road at William & Mary.
• Dartmouth's match with Long Beach State will be its third of four matches in Southern California. The Big Green defeated San Diego (4-3) and San Diego State (5-2) last week, and also have a match in La Jolla, Calif. on Friday against Denver.
• Long Beach State and Dartmouth met last season, with the Beach winning 5-2 over then then-No. 46 Big Green. LBSU holds a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series with Dartmouth.
ACROSS THE NET - DENVER
• The Pioneers are 7-5 overall having lost their last two matches on the road. DU played at UC Santa Barbara, losing 5-2, then suffered a 6-1 loss at No. 14 Pepperdine.
• Denver boasts a few representatives in the national rankings, led by Maureen Slattery, who is ranked No. 116 in the singles rankings. In doubles, Slattery and partner Julia O'Laughlin are the No. 13 ranked doubles team in the country.
• LBSU and Denver have split the all-time series, with each school winning twice in four meetings.
100 WINS AND RUNNIN'
• With a 6-3, 6-0 win over Georgetown's Victorie Saperstein on Mar. 7, senior Maeva Razakasoa reached 100 career singles wins at Long Beach State. She is the new all-time leader in career singles wins, ahead of current LBSU assistant coach Anais Dallara.
• Razakasoa has a career win percentage of just under .800, and during dual match play, has played 65 of her 78 singles matches at the No. 1 spot in the Beach lineup.
• As of this week, Razakasoa's career singles win total is at 103, bringing her overall wins total at Long Beach State to 176. She is also on track to challenge Dallara's record for overall wins in a career.
SENIORS SPECIAL
• The 2017 senior class will go down as one of the best in Long Beach State history, and is already the winningest. All four of this year's seniors—Laura Eales, Julie Gerard, Maeva Razakasoa and Hayley Thompson—are in the Top 15 for overall wins in program history, still with a final semester yet to play.
• Razakasoa is a two-time and defending Big West Player of the Year. She is looking to claim the conference's top honor for the third time this season, which would put her one award shy of LBSU Hall of Famer Hannah Grady.
• Razakasoa briefly entered the national singles rankings on Feb. 8, checking in at No. 124 in the country.
Players Mentioned
