Saturday, February 15
Long Beach, Calif.
Noon
Long Beach State University
vs
CSUN
Photo by: John Fajardo
Beach Tennis Hosts CSUN, San Diego State This Week In Rhodes Tennis Center
2/13/2025 10:16:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Long Beach State’s first two home dual matches will be this weekend, starting with the Matadors on Saturday.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State returns to the Rhodes Tennis Center for their first two home dual matches, hosting CSUN Saturday in a Big West matchup before taking on San Diego State in a non-conference match on Sunday.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
vs. CSUN
Saturday, February 15, Noon
Rhodes Tennis Center
StatBroadcast
vs. San Diego State
Sunday, February 16, Noon
Rhodes Tennis Center
StatBroadcast
A TEAM, COMPLETE
Long Beach State added one more player to the young squad, as another freshman Johanna Hiesmair joined the program starting for the spring semester. Coming to the Beach from Austria, Hiesmair rounds out the eight-player squad.
Long Beach State retains an international flavor in the International City of Long Beach as all eight members of the team come from different countries and three separate continents. Representing Austria, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Paraguay, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the worldwide influence of tennis has come to meet and compete together in Long Beach.
The Beach features seven freshmen and one returning player, junior Paulina Franco Martinessi.
SCOUTING SESSION
Long Beach State leads CSUN in their all-time series 37-14, and the two teams are very familiar with each other even this season, as the Matadors took part in both the Beach Tennis Fall Tournament as well as the Winter Invite. At the Winter Invite, Long Beach State won all of their doubles matches and split singles down the middle.
San Diego State is also a familiar opponent from the fall, and the Aztecs come into the week 3-2 in dual matches, with both of their losses coming against ranked opponents in Oklahoma and Baylor. Yasmine Kabbaj leads the Aztec lineup, playing at No. 1 in both singles and doubles.
LAST TIME OUT
The Beach opened Big West play on the road at UC San Diego, and won the doubles point as well as two singles matches from Diana De Simone and Thea Jagare, but the Tritons were able to hold on for the win on their home courts 4-3.
BEACH TENNIS WINTER INVITE
Long Beach State finished with a combined record of 30-6 over three days at the Rhodes Tennis Center, including finishing the tournament's final day with an unblemished 30-6 overall record. In the mixed round robin format, Long Beach State won all three singles slates against CSUN, Portland and Miami of Ohio. Diana De Simone won all three of her singles matches in the second flight, and newcomer Johanna Hiesmair made her debut for the Beach with a pair of wins each in doubles and singles.
FALL REVIEW
Each player on the roster had strong moments throughout the fall as the team built together after coming together for the first time for competition in October. Diana De Simone had 10 singles wins across three competitions, leading the way for Long Beach State but nearly every player of the roaster was .500 or better in the fall as the team went 42-34 overall in tournament competition. In doubles, Cecilia Costa and Paulina Franco combined for a strong start together, going 5-3 overall while Daria Malaescu and Diana De Simone combined for an unblemished 3-0 record in the fall.
VEGAS BABY
Daria Malaescu highlighted the UNLV Fall Tournament for Long Beach State. The Romanian freshman did not compete in the ITA Southwest Regional but returned in a big way for the final tournament of the fall, going 6-0 and winning her flight in both singles and doubles. Competing with Diana De Simone in doubles, the pair were unbeaten in the fall after going 3-0 in Las Vegas.
ITA SOUTHWEST REGIONAL
Matched up with some of the top competition in the region with berths to the individual NCAA Championships on the line, Long Beach State had a number of strong performances in San Diego at the ITA Southwest Regionals.
Freshman Diana De Simone won a pair of qualifying matches in singles to advance to the main draw of 64, while freshman Cecilia Costa was placed straight into the main draw based on her previous accomplishments. The pair were both matched up against seeded opponents and were knocked out, though De Simone pushed sixth seed Emilija Tverijonaite of Arizona State to the limit in a three-set defeat, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Costa, along with Long Beach State's lone upperclassman in Paulina Franco Martinessi combined for a run in the doubles competition as well. Defeating Julia Haynes and Naomi Nguyen of UC San Diego 8-5 in their first match, the duo also won 8-5 against Castillo/Narendran of Arizona to advance to the Round of 16 where they were finally defeated 8-6 in a close match to end their time in the main draw.
BEACH TENNIS FALL TOURNAMENT
Featuring a new format, the Beach Tennis Fall Tournament featured nine out of the ten Big West programs competing in a full main draw in both singles and doubles across four days of packed action at the Rhodes Tennis Center.
Long Beach State saw six of the new freshmen make their collegiate debuts joining Paulina Franco Martinessi. Overall, the team posted a 19-13 combined record in singles while going 6-6 in doubles with all three teams playing together for the first time in competition.
LONG BEACH LEGEND
Long Beach State Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello is in her 28th year at the helm of the Beach Tennis program. She owns an overall record of 414-197 for an impressive .678 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). Under her leadership, Long Beach State has more overall victories and more conference victories than any other program in the Big West.
Hilt-Costello has been named The Big West Coach of the Year a league-record nine times (2001, 2004-06, 2008-09, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2019). In 2004, she was named the West Region Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year award. Hilt-Costello announced in January that the 2024-25 campaign would be her final season at Long Beach State.
RHODES TENNIS CENTER
The Terry L. Rhodes Tennis Center is the home of the nationally recognized Long Beach State Tennis Program.
The 12-court complex, which opened in the Fall of 2008, features a unique design with four feature courts divided by a 40-foot-wide public concourse. Grandstands for spectator seating have been placed on four of the six varsity courts. All six of which are lighted.
Two gifts from Long Beach State alums have resulted in the construction of the on-campus tennis complex for the Beach Tennis team. Terry Rhodes, a 1962 graduate, generously gifted $1.25 million dollars to enhance the new tennis complex and endow multiple women's tennis scholarships.
The Beach also play in front of a full-sized electronic scoreboard, courtesy of a generous gift from the Hendricks family. It was dedicated in memory of former LBSU Women's Tennis Coach Gloria Hendricks and her husband, Bob. The family also includes former Long Beach State tennis player Cindy (Hendricks) Robbins, her husband Les Robbins, both 1974 alums, and brother John Hendricks. The 40-foot-high scoreboard displays match scores on all six competition courts via wireless controls.
STAYING SOCIAL
Follow Long Beach State Women's Tennis on Instagram and X at @LBSUTennis. Fans can stay up to date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics via X. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram 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
Long Beach State will be back on the road next week, making just a short trip to face Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. Live scoring and court cameras will be available for the match, scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Thursday, February 20.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
vs. CSUN
Saturday, February 15, Noon
Rhodes Tennis Center
StatBroadcast
vs. San Diego State
Sunday, February 16, Noon
Rhodes Tennis Center
StatBroadcast
A TEAM, COMPLETE
Long Beach State added one more player to the young squad, as another freshman Johanna Hiesmair joined the program starting for the spring semester. Coming to the Beach from Austria, Hiesmair rounds out the eight-player squad.
Long Beach State retains an international flavor in the International City of Long Beach as all eight members of the team come from different countries and three separate continents. Representing Austria, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Paraguay, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the worldwide influence of tennis has come to meet and compete together in Long Beach.
The Beach features seven freshmen and one returning player, junior Paulina Franco Martinessi.
SCOUTING SESSION
Long Beach State leads CSUN in their all-time series 37-14, and the two teams are very familiar with each other even this season, as the Matadors took part in both the Beach Tennis Fall Tournament as well as the Winter Invite. At the Winter Invite, Long Beach State won all of their doubles matches and split singles down the middle.
San Diego State is also a familiar opponent from the fall, and the Aztecs come into the week 3-2 in dual matches, with both of their losses coming against ranked opponents in Oklahoma and Baylor. Yasmine Kabbaj leads the Aztec lineup, playing at No. 1 in both singles and doubles.
LAST TIME OUT
The Beach opened Big West play on the road at UC San Diego, and won the doubles point as well as two singles matches from Diana De Simone and Thea Jagare, but the Tritons were able to hold on for the win on their home courts 4-3.
BEACH TENNIS WINTER INVITE
Long Beach State finished with a combined record of 30-6 over three days at the Rhodes Tennis Center, including finishing the tournament's final day with an unblemished 30-6 overall record. In the mixed round robin format, Long Beach State won all three singles slates against CSUN, Portland and Miami of Ohio. Diana De Simone won all three of her singles matches in the second flight, and newcomer Johanna Hiesmair made her debut for the Beach with a pair of wins each in doubles and singles.
FALL REVIEW
Each player on the roster had strong moments throughout the fall as the team built together after coming together for the first time for competition in October. Diana De Simone had 10 singles wins across three competitions, leading the way for Long Beach State but nearly every player of the roaster was .500 or better in the fall as the team went 42-34 overall in tournament competition. In doubles, Cecilia Costa and Paulina Franco combined for a strong start together, going 5-3 overall while Daria Malaescu and Diana De Simone combined for an unblemished 3-0 record in the fall.
VEGAS BABY
Daria Malaescu highlighted the UNLV Fall Tournament for Long Beach State. The Romanian freshman did not compete in the ITA Southwest Regional but returned in a big way for the final tournament of the fall, going 6-0 and winning her flight in both singles and doubles. Competing with Diana De Simone in doubles, the pair were unbeaten in the fall after going 3-0 in Las Vegas.
ITA SOUTHWEST REGIONAL
Matched up with some of the top competition in the region with berths to the individual NCAA Championships on the line, Long Beach State had a number of strong performances in San Diego at the ITA Southwest Regionals.
Freshman Diana De Simone won a pair of qualifying matches in singles to advance to the main draw of 64, while freshman Cecilia Costa was placed straight into the main draw based on her previous accomplishments. The pair were both matched up against seeded opponents and were knocked out, though De Simone pushed sixth seed Emilija Tverijonaite of Arizona State to the limit in a three-set defeat, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Costa, along with Long Beach State's lone upperclassman in Paulina Franco Martinessi combined for a run in the doubles competition as well. Defeating Julia Haynes and Naomi Nguyen of UC San Diego 8-5 in their first match, the duo also won 8-5 against Castillo/Narendran of Arizona to advance to the Round of 16 where they were finally defeated 8-6 in a close match to end their time in the main draw.
BEACH TENNIS FALL TOURNAMENT
Featuring a new format, the Beach Tennis Fall Tournament featured nine out of the ten Big West programs competing in a full main draw in both singles and doubles across four days of packed action at the Rhodes Tennis Center.
Long Beach State saw six of the new freshmen make their collegiate debuts joining Paulina Franco Martinessi. Overall, the team posted a 19-13 combined record in singles while going 6-6 in doubles with all three teams playing together for the first time in competition.
LONG BEACH LEGEND
Long Beach State Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello is in her 28th year at the helm of the Beach Tennis program. She owns an overall record of 414-197 for an impressive .678 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). Under her leadership, Long Beach State has more overall victories and more conference victories than any other program in the Big West.
Hilt-Costello has been named The Big West Coach of the Year a league-record nine times (2001, 2004-06, 2008-09, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2019). In 2004, she was named the West Region Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year award. Hilt-Costello announced in January that the 2024-25 campaign would be her final season at Long Beach State.
RHODES TENNIS CENTER
The Terry L. Rhodes Tennis Center is the home of the nationally recognized Long Beach State Tennis Program.
The 12-court complex, which opened in the Fall of 2008, features a unique design with four feature courts divided by a 40-foot-wide public concourse. Grandstands for spectator seating have been placed on four of the six varsity courts. All six of which are lighted.
Two gifts from Long Beach State alums have resulted in the construction of the on-campus tennis complex for the Beach Tennis team. Terry Rhodes, a 1962 graduate, generously gifted $1.25 million dollars to enhance the new tennis complex and endow multiple women's tennis scholarships.
The Beach also play in front of a full-sized electronic scoreboard, courtesy of a generous gift from the Hendricks family. It was dedicated in memory of former LBSU Women's Tennis Coach Gloria Hendricks and her husband, Bob. The family also includes former Long Beach State tennis player Cindy (Hendricks) Robbins, her husband Les Robbins, both 1974 alums, and brother John Hendricks. The 40-foot-high scoreboard displays match scores on all six competition courts via wireless controls.
STAYING SOCIAL
Follow Long Beach State Women's Tennis on Instagram and X at @LBSUTennis. Fans can stay up to date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics via X. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram 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
Long Beach State will be back on the road next week, making just a short trip to face Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. Live scoring and court cameras will be available for the match, scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Thursday, February 20.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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