Beach Tennis Closes Out The Fall Season At The UNLV Watanabe Classic

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State Women's Tennis team has had a productive fall season thus far and the Beach looks to close it out on a high note this weekend when they compete at the UNLV Watanabe Classic in Las Vegas Nov. 10-12.

The five-team tournament, hosted by UNLV, will feature Long Beach State, UTSA, NAU, and Utah Tech. Doubles action will begin on Friday, Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. The tournament will consist of four eight-player singles draws, and two eight-team doubles draws.

Friday will begin with the Doubles Quarterfinals, followed by the Singles Quarterfinals. Doubles and Singles Semifinals will take place on Saturday, with the finals for both Doubles and Singles being played on Sunday.

TOURNAMENT DRAWS / RESULTS

#1 DOUBLES DRAW
Ramstedt/Cook (LBSU) vs. Tuells/Baccino (UTSA) – Friday, Nov. 10 at 10 a.m.
Dondonay/Franco Martinessi (LBSU) vs. Shoshyna/Guadiana (NAU) – Friday, Nov. 10 at 10 a.m.

#2 DOUBLES DRAW
Medik/Tranberg (LBSU) vs. Mircheva/Fang (UNLV) – Friday, Nov. 10 at 10 a.m.
Akyurek/Becirovic Novak (LBSU) – BYE

#1 SINGLES DRAW
Justine Dondonay (LBSU) vs. Ekua Youri (UTSA) – Friday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m.
Rhona Cook (LBSU) vs. Zita Kovacs (UNLV) – Friday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m.

#2 SINGLES DRAW
Doga Akyurek (LBSU) vs. Magda Tuells (UTSA) – Friday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m.
Peppi Ramstedt (LBSU) vs. Anna Sterk-Utah (Utah Tech) – Friday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m.

#3 SINGLES DRAW
Hana Becirovic Novak (LBSU) vs. Kylie Kezos (Utah Tech) – Friday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m.
Sarah Medik (LBSU) vs. Dolavee Tumthong (NAU) – Friday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m.

#4 SINGLES DRAW
Paulina Franco Martinessi (LBSU) vs. Ava Neyestani (NAU) – Friday, Nov. 10 at 12 p.m.
Mathilde Tranberg vs. Raquel Roshak (Utah Tech) – Friday, Nov. 10 at 12 p.m.

ABOUT THE BEACH

Long Beach State has played a tough fall slate, but has turned in solid performances in all three tournaments in which they've competed.
The Beach opened the season at the Cal Fall Tournament where they were led by senior Rhona Cook, who cruised through the Gold Draw to capture the title. She defeated Cal's Lan Mi, 6-4, 6-3, to win the title.
In their home tournament, the Beach Tennis Fall Tournament, LBSU breezed through doubles action to set up an all Long Beach State final.
The duo of Justine Dondonay and Paulina Franco Martinessi won the Black Draw Doubles Title, while the tandem of Mathilde Tranberg and Hana Becirovic Novak claimed the Gold Draw Doubles Title.
In singles competition, Dondonay defeated LBSU teammate Doga Akyurek for the White Draw Championship as she won by scores of 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Two weeks ago, LBSU competed in the ITA Southwest Regionals. The highly competitive tournament gave the Beach some good reps under their belt against several Big West opponents, as well as some non-conference counterparts as well.
Long Beach State Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello is in her 27th year at the helm of the Beach Tennis program. She owns an overall record of 401-188 for an impressive .680 winning percentage. The winningest coach in Beach Tennis history, Hilt-Costello holds LBSU tennis coaching records in single-season wins (22), career wins (401), and highest winning percentage (.680).

JUSTINE SHINES AT HOME

Senior Justine Dondonay led Long Beach State at the Beach Tennis Fall Tournament as she came away with both a singles and doubles title in during the three-day competition.
Dondonay paired with sophomore Paulina Franco Martinessi and secured the Black Draw Title with an impressive 6-1 win over LBSU teammates Peppi Ramstedt and Rhona Cook.
In singles action, Dondonay was excellent as she captured the White Draw Championship with an exciting battle against Akyurek. After dropping the first set, 6-3, Dondonay came back to win, 7-5, 6-2, in a gritty three-setter.

RHONA IS COOKING

Senior Rhona Cook kicked off her senior season in a big way. The Chester, United Kingdom native turned in an incredible performance to open the year at the Cal Fall Invitational as she captured the Gold Draw Title.
Cook faced junior Lan Mi from host school, Cal, in the Finals of the Gold Draw. She promptly took down Mi in the first set, 6-4. In the second set, the two battled out an epic rally of 32 strokes before Cook went down the line to win 6-3.
While Cook shined in singles action, she also was solid in double play. She teamed up with Peppi Ramstedt and the duo defeated Gonzaga's Carolina Wernli and Lia Espinal with a convincing 8-2 victory.

STAYING SOCIAL

Follow Long Beach State Women's Tennis on Instagram and Twitter at @LBSUTennis. Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics via Twitter. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter at @LBSU.

TENNIS TRADITION

The traditional player cheer pre-match and each time the team wins a match point is "Here We Go Beach!" All Beach fans are encouraged to follow the team's cheer with their own "Here We Go Beach!"

NEXT UP
After the holidays Long Beach State gets back into action as it hosts the Beach Tennis Winter Invite at Rhodes Tennis Center January 19-21. It marks the squad's final tournament action before starting the dual season on Friday, Jan. 26 against Fresno Pacific at 10 a.m. at Rhodes.

Calendar

Beach Tennis Closes Out The Fall Season At The UNLV Watanabe Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Doga Akyurek

Hana Becirovic Novak

Rhona Cook

Justine Dondonay

Paulina Franco Martinessi

Sarah Medik

Peppi Ramstedt

Mathilde Tranberg

Long Beach State University Athletics

Beach Tennis Closes Out The Fall Season At The UNLV Watanabe Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Doga Akyurek

Hana Becirovic Novak

Rhona Cook

Justine Dondonay

Paulina Franco Martinessi

Sarah Medik

Peppi Ramstedt

Mathilde Tranberg

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