Friday, May 3
Malibu, Calif.
10 a.m.
Long Beach State University
vs
California
Photo by: Photo/Josh Barber
Beach Tennis Faces Cal In NCAA Tournament Friday
5/2/2019 10:51:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Long Beach State is making their 13th NCAA Tournament Appearance.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – After closing the season winning six of their last seven matches, Long Beach State will face California in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship. That match will be hosted by Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif., and is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 3.
Long Beach State (17-5) enters the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time, all under head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello who received her ninth Big West Coach of the Year award for her efforts during the 2018-19 campaign.
This is the first appearance for the Beach in Malibu, though LBSU has faced the hosts Pepperdine on three separate occasions in the postseason. The Beach has a 3-12 record all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, winning first round matches in 2006, 2012 and 2014.
Big West Freshman of the Year Wiktoria Rutkowska will anchor the top of the lineup. In addition to her debut honors, Rutkowska was also named to the Big West first-team in both singles and doubles with her partner Dominique Meyer, also a freshman. Rutkowska went 20-13 overall on the year, and was 15-9 with Meyer while playing in the top flight.
Playing at No. 2, freshman Emma Bardet finished off Long Beach State's 4-3 win over Hawai'i in the Big West Tournament championship to seal the team's postseason berth, and joined Rutkowska as the only two freshman earning first-team All-Big West honors as well as being the only two representatives on the first team in singles for LBSU.
Long Beach State's lone upperclassman, Natalia Munoz, joined Rutkowska in earning all-conference honors in both singles and doubles. A second-teamer in both disciplines, Munoz leads the team in victories this season in both singles and doubles, posting a 16-3 mark in dual match singles and an identical record with sophomore Lalita Devarakonda in doubles.
Freshman Zara Lennon and sophomore Sadaf Sadeghvaziri will round out the singles lineup for the Beach, and sophomore Carlota Casasampere competed with Lennon at No. 3 in doubles during the Big West Tournament.
No. 17 California (12-8) will be a formidable opponent for LBSU. The Golden Bears have won all five previous meetings between the teams, and feature a trio of ranked singles players in No. 21 Julia Rosenqvist, No. 48 Olivia Hauger, and No. 79 Anna Bright. Bright and Hana Mraz are one of the top doubles teams in the nation, ranked No. 20, while the other two pairs for Cal are also ranked entering the postseason.
With a win, Long Beach State would face the winner of sixth seed and hosts Pepperdine and Fairfield at 1 p.m. on May 4. Fairfield (14-7) were the MAAC champions, while No. 6 Pepperdine (21-3) were the West Coast Conference champs.
Long Beach State (17-5) enters the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time, all under head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello who received her ninth Big West Coach of the Year award for her efforts during the 2018-19 campaign.
This is the first appearance for the Beach in Malibu, though LBSU has faced the hosts Pepperdine on three separate occasions in the postseason. The Beach has a 3-12 record all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, winning first round matches in 2006, 2012 and 2014.
Big West Freshman of the Year Wiktoria Rutkowska will anchor the top of the lineup. In addition to her debut honors, Rutkowska was also named to the Big West first-team in both singles and doubles with her partner Dominique Meyer, also a freshman. Rutkowska went 20-13 overall on the year, and was 15-9 with Meyer while playing in the top flight.
Playing at No. 2, freshman Emma Bardet finished off Long Beach State's 4-3 win over Hawai'i in the Big West Tournament championship to seal the team's postseason berth, and joined Rutkowska as the only two freshman earning first-team All-Big West honors as well as being the only two representatives on the first team in singles for LBSU.
Long Beach State's lone upperclassman, Natalia Munoz, joined Rutkowska in earning all-conference honors in both singles and doubles. A second-teamer in both disciplines, Munoz leads the team in victories this season in both singles and doubles, posting a 16-3 mark in dual match singles and an identical record with sophomore Lalita Devarakonda in doubles.
Freshman Zara Lennon and sophomore Sadaf Sadeghvaziri will round out the singles lineup for the Beach, and sophomore Carlota Casasampere competed with Lennon at No. 3 in doubles during the Big West Tournament.
No. 17 California (12-8) will be a formidable opponent for LBSU. The Golden Bears have won all five previous meetings between the teams, and feature a trio of ranked singles players in No. 21 Julia Rosenqvist, No. 48 Olivia Hauger, and No. 79 Anna Bright. Bright and Hana Mraz are one of the top doubles teams in the nation, ranked No. 20, while the other two pairs for Cal are also ranked entering the postseason.
With a win, Long Beach State would face the winner of sixth seed and hosts Pepperdine and Fairfield at 1 p.m. on May 4. Fairfield (14-7) were the MAAC champions, while No. 6 Pepperdine (21-3) were the West Coast Conference champs.
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