Thursday, April 24
San Diego, Calif.
1 p.m.
Long Beach State University
vs
(9) UC Irvine
Photo by: John Fajardo
Big West Championship Opens Thursday For Beach Tennis
4/23/2025 9:20:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Long Beach State takes aim at four wins, a tournament championship and a 14th trip to the NCAA Championship.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State begins their tournament run at the Big West Championship on Thursday, April 24, taking on UC Irvine in a rematch of the Black and Blue Rivalry in the first of four potential matches from San Diego.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Big West Championship
vs. (9) UC Irvine
Thursday, 1 p.m.
Barnes Tennis Center
Live Stats
vs. (5) UC San Diego OR (8) UC Davis
Friday, 3 p.m.
Barnes Tennis Center
Live Stats
vs. (1) UC Santa Barbara
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Barnes Tennis Center
Live Stats
Championship Match
Sunday, 11 a.m.
Barnes Tennis Center
Live Stats
BIG WEST BACKGROUND
No team has won more Big West Tournament titles than Long Beach State, who have captured the trophy on 13 occasions, all under the leadership of head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello. Long Beach State last won the championship in 2019, with UC Santa Barbara having the next most, with four championship titles. Cal Poly won the last championship during the 2024 season. The Beach enters the tournament as the (4) seed, finishing the regular season tied for third with Hawai'i but losing the tiebreaker with the Rainbow Wahine.
A TEAM, COMPLETE
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.
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.
The Beach features seven freshmen and one returning player, junior Paulina Franco Martinessi.
RANKED ONCE MORE
The outstanding start to the season for Long Beach State returned Beach Tennis to the ITA rankings for the first time since the 2016 season. Now 12-5 on the year, Long Beach State was ranked No. 53 in the March 11 rankings, joining UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly from the Big West in the Top 75. The Beach have stayed ranked since, and are No. 73 in the April 22 rankings.
LAST TIME OUT
Long Beach State went on the road and put up a dominant win in the Black and Blue Rivalry, winning 6-1 on the road from Irvine. The Beach took the doubles point and then grabbed five singles wins, with Pamela Badillo cruising in a 6-1, 6-0 victory while Long Beach State also won in each of the top three flights.
SCOUTING SESSION
The win Friday set up a rematch with the 'Eaters, as Long Beach State will look to take early control again against UC Irvine. A win would match up Long Beach State against the winner of UC San Diego or UC Davis on Friday. A double-bye setup for the top two seeds means that the third match for the Beach would pit LBSU against the top seed, UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals with the championship match set to be held on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
JAGARE HONORED
Freshman Thea Jagare claimed the first Big West weekly honor of the season for Long Beach State after picking up four wins across doubles and singles last week for Long Beach State. Jagare was unbeaten in singles play leading up to the award as the Beach played in three matches at the Rhodes Tennis Center against Drake, Hawai'i and Dartmouth. The freshman from Sweden is now 21-8 overall in singles this season with an 11-3 record in dual matches while primarily playing in the third flight.
ON A ROLL
Long Beach State's 4-0 win over Drake extended the team's winning streak to eight straight matches, a run that dated back to February 8. The winning streak started with Big West win over CSUN at the Rhodes Tennis Center, and then continued with wins over San Diego State, at Loyola Marymount, at Georgetown, at Navy and at George Washington.
BIG WINS IN THE BIG WEST
A comeback win in the top flight for doubles set the tone for Long Beach State, who once again showed their resilience on the way to a 5-2 win over Cal Poly. The Beach grabbed the doubles point against the Mustangs, who had entered the week ranked No. 38 in the country. The Beach then won four singles matches led by a second win from freshman Cecilia Costa in singles. Beach Tennis recorded their first league win in February, outlasting CSUN at the Rhodes Tennis Center and then cruised past Cal State Fullerton in a 6-1 win on the road against the Titans. The Beach held off UC Davis for a 4-3 win on the road against the Aggies and then closed the season strong with a 7-0 win over UC Riverside and a 6-1 win at UC Irvine.
BACK EAST
Long Beach State made their annual major non-conference road trip, this year visiting the Washington D.C. area for three matches in three days. Long Beach State opened the trip with a 4-1 win over Georgetown, and then followed that up with another 4-1 win over Navy on the second day. For the first time in four matches, the Beach dropped the doubles point against George Washington, but rallied with a dominant singles performance, winning the top four flights in straight sets for a 4-2 win to close the trip.
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 enters the year with an overall record of 416-198 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, and highest winning percentage. 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
A win in the Big West Championship would set up Long Beach State for a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the 14th appearance in program history.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Big West Championship
vs. (9) UC Irvine
Thursday, 1 p.m.
Barnes Tennis Center
Live Stats
vs. (5) UC San Diego OR (8) UC Davis
Friday, 3 p.m.
Barnes Tennis Center
Live Stats
vs. (1) UC Santa Barbara
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Barnes Tennis Center
Live Stats
Championship Match
Sunday, 11 a.m.
Barnes Tennis Center
Live Stats
BIG WEST BACKGROUND
No team has won more Big West Tournament titles than Long Beach State, who have captured the trophy on 13 occasions, all under the leadership of head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello. Long Beach State last won the championship in 2019, with UC Santa Barbara having the next most, with four championship titles. Cal Poly won the last championship during the 2024 season. The Beach enters the tournament as the (4) seed, finishing the regular season tied for third with Hawai'i but losing the tiebreaker with the Rainbow Wahine.
A TEAM, COMPLETE
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.
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.
The Beach features seven freshmen and one returning player, junior Paulina Franco Martinessi.
RANKED ONCE MORE
The outstanding start to the season for Long Beach State returned Beach Tennis to the ITA rankings for the first time since the 2016 season. Now 12-5 on the year, Long Beach State was ranked No. 53 in the March 11 rankings, joining UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly from the Big West in the Top 75. The Beach have stayed ranked since, and are No. 73 in the April 22 rankings.
LAST TIME OUT
Long Beach State went on the road and put up a dominant win in the Black and Blue Rivalry, winning 6-1 on the road from Irvine. The Beach took the doubles point and then grabbed five singles wins, with Pamela Badillo cruising in a 6-1, 6-0 victory while Long Beach State also won in each of the top three flights.
SCOUTING SESSION
The win Friday set up a rematch with the 'Eaters, as Long Beach State will look to take early control again against UC Irvine. A win would match up Long Beach State against the winner of UC San Diego or UC Davis on Friday. A double-bye setup for the top two seeds means that the third match for the Beach would pit LBSU against the top seed, UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals with the championship match set to be held on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
JAGARE HONORED
Freshman Thea Jagare claimed the first Big West weekly honor of the season for Long Beach State after picking up four wins across doubles and singles last week for Long Beach State. Jagare was unbeaten in singles play leading up to the award as the Beach played in three matches at the Rhodes Tennis Center against Drake, Hawai'i and Dartmouth. The freshman from Sweden is now 21-8 overall in singles this season with an 11-3 record in dual matches while primarily playing in the third flight.
ON A ROLL
Long Beach State's 4-0 win over Drake extended the team's winning streak to eight straight matches, a run that dated back to February 8. The winning streak started with Big West win over CSUN at the Rhodes Tennis Center, and then continued with wins over San Diego State, at Loyola Marymount, at Georgetown, at Navy and at George Washington.
BIG WINS IN THE BIG WEST
A comeback win in the top flight for doubles set the tone for Long Beach State, who once again showed their resilience on the way to a 5-2 win over Cal Poly. The Beach grabbed the doubles point against the Mustangs, who had entered the week ranked No. 38 in the country. The Beach then won four singles matches led by a second win from freshman Cecilia Costa in singles. Beach Tennis recorded their first league win in February, outlasting CSUN at the Rhodes Tennis Center and then cruised past Cal State Fullerton in a 6-1 win on the road against the Titans. The Beach held off UC Davis for a 4-3 win on the road against the Aggies and then closed the season strong with a 7-0 win over UC Riverside and a 6-1 win at UC Irvine.
BACK EAST
Long Beach State made their annual major non-conference road trip, this year visiting the Washington D.C. area for three matches in three days. Long Beach State opened the trip with a 4-1 win over Georgetown, and then followed that up with another 4-1 win over Navy on the second day. For the first time in four matches, the Beach dropped the doubles point against George Washington, but rallied with a dominant singles performance, winning the top four flights in straight sets for a 4-2 win to close the trip.
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 enters the year with an overall record of 416-198 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, and highest winning percentage. 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
A win in the Big West Championship would set up Long Beach State for a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the 14th appearance in program history.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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