BEACH TENNIS Unofficial Page

Beach hits # 35, Grady LBSU Athlete of the Week

2006-02-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Beach Tennis has reached an all-time program high of # 35 in today's national rankings. This is a tremendous accomplishment for Long Beach State tennis and as coach has said, "We are much better than we were six weeks and we still have more room to improve with each girl. We can still go further."

This week the 49ers face two of their toughest conference rivals.

On Thursday at 2pm, the Beach hosts the dreaded Anteaters of UC Irvine. This has been a big rivalry the last few years with LB having won six straight meetings including eliminating UCI in two championship final matches. Last year UCI ran a big student promotion and were all fired up after winning the doubles point... only to get humbled in five of six singles matches. At # 68, they are (in my opinion) the second best team in the conference and our girls will face a determined opponent.

On Saturday at 11am, the Pacific Tigers roll in. Ranked # 63 for an unknown reason (after losing to # 75 St. Mary's and getting crushed by Oregon), Pacific has a dangerous but inconsistent line up. Some days yes, some days no. But they did beat LB indoors last year only to lose in the rematch as the conference championship final.

On paper, the Beach should take these two matches. Let's keep the momentum rolling ladies and beat the soundly just for the fun of it.

HANNAH GRADY -- LONG BEACH STATE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Congrats to freshman Hannah Grady, last weeks Big West Tennis Player of the Week, for this week being named the Long Beach State Athlete of the Week. Hannah went 3-0 in singles including wins over two nationally ranked opponents and also 3-0 with Jessica Weeks in doubles. Congrats once again to Hannah.

Go Beach TENNIS

49ers Roll Past Portland, 7-0

2006-02-27T08:41:00.000-08:00

Grady, Bengson and Weeks all perfect 6-0 for the week

February 26, 2006

PORTLAND, OR--

No. 46-ranked Long Beach State (8-2) closed out a perfect weekend with a 7-0 win at the University of Portland (2-8) on Sunday afternoon.

Freshman Hannah Grady won her fifth consecutive singles match at the No. 1 position to lead the 49er triumph.

Long Beach got off on the right foot by winning all three doubles matches. At the No. 1 spot, newly annointed No. 1 doubles team of Grady and Jessica Weeks won 8-4 over Lindsey Griffin and Katie Kennel. At No. 2 doubles, Katy Williams and Sandra Rocha won 8-4 over Laura Leoni and Jaclyn Soltysik, while at the No. 3 spot, Stephanie Bengson and Rachael Porsz won 8-1 over Anna Gullickson and Jenna Tanzer.

In singles play Grady rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Cristin Sammiss. Grady, who defeated two nationally-ranked players on Friday and Saturday, had little trouble against Sammiss. Grady has now won five consecutive singles matches at the No. 1 position.

No. 91-ranked Williams breezed to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Griffin at the No. 2 spot and Bengson won 6-1, 6-2 at three singles over Soltysik. The bottom of the 49er order came up big as well with all winning their matches. At No. 4 singles Weeks claimed a 6-3, 6-3 win over Tanzer and at the five spot Porsz won 6-4, 6-3 over Kennel. Krystina Katayama played at No. 6 singles for the first time this spring and came away with a 1-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7 win over Gullickson.

The match took 'forever' as Portland only has three tennis courts. With the long delay between doubles and #4-6 singles, it was decided to give regular # 4 Sandra Rocha some much deserved rest.

DOUBLES
1. Williams/Rocha, LBSU def. Griffin/Kennel, UP, 8-4
2. No. 25-Grady/Weeks, LBSU def. Leoni/Soltysik, UP, 8-4
3. Bengson/Porsz, LBSU def. Gullickson/Tanzen, UP 8-1

SINGLES
1. Hannah Grady, LBSU def. Cristin Sammiss,UP, 6-1, 6-1
2. No. 91-Katy Williams, LBSU def. Lindsey Griffin, UP, 6-4, 6-3
3. Stephanie Bengson, LBSU def. Jaclyn Soltysik, UP, 6-1, 6-2
4. Jessica Weeks, LBSU def. Jenna Tanzer, UP, 6-3, 6-3
5. Rachael Porsz, LBSU def. Katie Kennel, UP, 6-4, 6-3
6. Krystina Katayama, LBSU def. Anna Gullickson, UP, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7

Beach wins # 7 in a row... downing # 54 Denver 7-0

2006-02-25T19:04:00.000-08:00

Grady Wins Second Match Over Ranked Player in Two Days at No. 1 PositionFebruary 25, 2006

EUGENE, OR-- No. 46-ranked Long Beach State (7-2) made it 2-for-2 in the Pacific Northwest, sweeping past # 54 Denver (3-5) 7-0 on the campus of the University of Oregon on Saturday.

"Our team came up here read to battle," said Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello, who beat No. 22-ranked Oregon yesterday. "We posted two strong wins against some ranked opponents."

The team's seventh straight win of the season was led by Hannah Grady who combined with partner Jessica Weeks for an 8-2 win at the No. 2 doubles position, before she posted a 6-1, 6-3 upset over No. 59-ranked Suzana Maksovic at the top of the order. No. 91-ranked Katy Williams was a winner at the No. 2 singles position winning in straight sets over Annette Aksdal. LBSU swept all six singles spots and won two of three doubles matches.

Putting the win in perspective, # 54 Denver has only faced ranked opponents in their eight matches this season; including narrow 3-4 losses to # 20 BYU and # 42 Colorado.

The 49ers close out the road trip at the University of Portland on Sunday.

DOUBLES
1. Maksovic/Aksdal, DU def. Williams/Rocha, LBSU, 8-6
2. No. 25 Grady/Weeks, LBSU def. Sackmaster/Iwinski, DU, 8-2
3. Bengson/Porsz, LBSU def. Boothman/Machem, DU 8-4

SINGLES
1. Hannah Grady, LBSU def. No. 59-ranked Suzana Maksovic, DU, 6-1, 6-3
2. No. 91 Katy Williams, LBSU def. Annette Aksdal, DU, 6-3, 6-4
3. Stephanie Bengson, LBSU def. Rachel Sackmaster, DU, 6-3, 6-7, 10-6
4. Sandra Rocha, LBSU def. Kyla Iwinski, DU 6-2, 6-1
5. Jessica Weeks, LBSU def. Marisa Mechem, DU, 7-5, 6-2
6. Rachael Porsz, LBSU def. Lorinda Boothman, DU, 6-2, 6-1

Beach Drowns # 22 Ducks

2006-02-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

February 24, 2006

EUGENE, OR--

Long Beach State picked up possibly its biggest win in women's tennis history with a 5-2 win at No. 22-ranked Oregon on Friday afternoon. The win, which was the sixth in a row for the No. 46-ranked 49ers (6-2), provided numerous individual highlights as Long Beach began a three-match road trip.

The 49ers won four of the six singles matches and two of the three doubles matches to earn the doubles point, and the victory. "We played great today," said Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello. "We fought real hard and defeated an excellent team on the road."

Long Beach began the afternoon by winning two doubles matches and winning the doubles point. At No. 3 double the 49ers Rachael Porsz and Stephanie Bengson won 8-1 over Anna Powaska and Carmen Seremeta. The 49ers then clinched the doubles point at the No. 2 spot as No. 25-ranked Hannah Grady and Jessica Weeks won 8-5 over Anna Leksinska and Claudia Hirt.

In singles action the 49ers won four of the matches, with two of the victories coming in three sets.

At the No. 1 spot, Grady rebounded from a tough first set to defeat the No. 44-ranked Dieskova 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

At No. 2 singles, 91st ranked Williams cruised to a 7-5, 6-0 win over Powaska. Bengson prevailed at the three spot, 6-3, 7-6 (1) over Seremeta and Weeks won at No. 5 singles 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 (5) over Leksinska. Weeks' third set tie-break win was the fourth point to clinch the match for Long Beach.

The victory was the second in a row over the Ducks. Last year the then # 24 Oregon team came to Long Beach and the 49ers prevailed 4-3 at the 49er Campus Courts.

Note: The match also marks the 49ers first 'indoor' win since May 2003. Last year, LB went 0-4 playing indoors.

DOUBLES
1. #49 Dieskova/Olivos (Oregon) def. Williams/Rocha (LBSU), 8-5
2. #25 Grady/Weeks (LBSU) def. Leksinska/Hirt (Oregon), 8-5
3. Porsz/Bengson (LBSU) def. Powaska/Seremeta (Oregon), 8-1

SINGLES
1. Hannah Grady (LBSU) def. #44 Dominika Dieskova (Oregon) 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2
2. #91 Katy Williams (LBSU) def. Anna Powaska (Oregon) 7-5, 6-0
3. Stephanie Bengson (LBSU) def. Carmen Seremeta (Oregon), 6-3, 7-6 (1)
4. Ceci Olivos (Oregon) def. Sandra Rocha (LBSU), 6-4, 6-2
5. Jessica Weeks (LBSU) def. Anna Leksinska (Oregon), 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 (5)
6. Claudia Hirt (Oregon) def. Rachael Porsz (LBSU), 7-5, 6-4

Hannah Grady Named Big West POY

2006-02-22T16:13:00.000-08:00

IRVINE, CA--

Freshman Hannah Grady (left) was selected on Wednesday as the Big West Conference Female Tennis Athlete of the Week. Grady was 2-0 last week in singles play, losing just one game in four sets, and 2-0 in doubles action.

Grady was today named, with her doubles partner Jessica Weeks, as the # 25 ranked doubles team in the nation.

Williams, Weeks/Grady Break Into National Rankings

2006-02-22T10:36:00.000-08:00

Beach Tennis freshman Katy Williams broke into the national singles rankings today at # 91. This is her first ranking of her career and comes off a 5-2 spring start and very strong 13-5 overall record. In the fall, Katy beat the currently ranked # 60 and # 75 players in the nation to earn this ranking. One of her two loses this spring is also to the current # 1 player in the nation.

In doubles, the team of Hannah Grady and Jessica Weeks earned a 49er program all-time high of # 25 in the national polls. The two freshman are 5-0 this spring since linking up upon Hannah's arrival in January.

As a team, Beach Tennis today moved down one spot on the coaches poll national team rankings to # 46 despite a strong 2-0 (6-1 and 7-0) week. Two teams actually slid ahead of LB following strong Top 25 wins during the week.

Beach Tennis heads to the northwest this weekend for three indoor matches versus # 22 Oregon, # 54 Denver and WCC foe Portland. The Beach defeated 'then # 24' Oregon last year at the 49er Courts 4-3 so this will be a major test for both squads.

Go Beach TENNIS

49ers Post Fifth Straight Win - Sweep Hawaii

2006-02-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

from LB web site (with correction)

February 18, 2006

LONG BEACH, CA-- No. 45-ranked Long Beach State women's tennis (5-2) posted its fifth straight win, sweeping past visiting Hawaii (0-5) 7-0 behind No. 1 singles player Hannah Grady and No. 2 player Katy Williams. The 49ers posted sweeps at all six singles spots and lost just a combined six points in doubles play, sweeping all three sets to leadoff the match.

Grady made quick work of Kana Aikawa, winning 6-0, 6-1 for the deciding point, while Williams disposed of Chloe Bihag 6-3, 6-2. The 49ers, who went up 6-0 in four of six singles sets, also saw first set sweeps from No. 4 player Sandra Rocha, No. 5 Rachael Porscz and No. 6 Emmanuelle Tabatruong. The match last just two hours and 35 minutes.

The 49ers will head to the Pacific Northwest for three indoor matches, against No. 23 Oregon, No. 46 Denver and Portland.

Doubles
1. Williams/Rocha def. Aikawa/Cappella 8-0
2. Grady/K. Katayama def. Sandborn/E. Katayama 8-3
3. Bengson/Porsz def. Bihag/Wasko 8-3

Singles
1. Hannah Grady def. Kana Aikawa 6-0, 6-1
2. Katy Williams def. Chloe Bihag 6-3, 6-2
3. Stephanie Bengson def. Erin Katayama 6-1, 6-1
4. Sandra Rocha def. Samantha Cappella 6-0, 6-2
5. Rachel Porsz def. Julia Sandborn 6-0, 6-3
6. Emmanuelle Tabatruong def. Fenja Shaw 6-0, 6-3 (pictured)

Bengson named Co-Big West Player of the Week

2006-02-21T09:48:00.000-08:00

2/16/2006

Long Beach State's Stephanie Bengson, UC Riverside's Yasaman Sakhakorn Share Women's Honor

Long Beach State sophomore Stephanie Bengson (Albion Park, NSW, Australia) and UC Riverside freshman Yasaman Sakhakorn (Saugus, CA) were named co-recipients of Big West Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week as both players fared well from the No. 3 singles position.

Bengson helped the 49ers to a 7-0 victory versus Cal State Fullerton with her triumph over Mai-Ly Tran, 6-3, 6-2. She also defeated Loyola Marymount's Erin Ivey 6-4, 6-0 in LBSU's 6-1 win over the Lions.

In doubles action, Bengson and Rachael Porsz won both of their matches at the No. 3 spot. The duo defeated CSF's Ashley Dunbar and Cheyenne Inglis 8-3 and LMU's Patrycia Hubl and Sladjana Kos 8-4.

Congrats to Steph as she continues her impressive return from no fall tennis matches due to an injury.

49ers Roll Past CSUN, 6-1

2006-02-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

49ers Win Five of Six Singles Matches

February 15, 2006

NORTHRIDGE, CA-- The No. 45 (not 47 as posted by the LB SID) ranked Long Beach State women’s tennis team won its fourth consecutive match with a 6-1 win at Cal State Northridge on Wednesday evening.

The 49ers improved to 4-2 on the season and 2-0 in Big West Conference play while CSUN fell to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in Big West action.

The 49ers got off on the right foot by winning all three doubles matches. At No. 1 doubles, Sandra Rocha and Katy Williams won 8-5 over Silvia Gutierrez and YuYu Myinttun. Hannah Grady and Jessica Weeks won at No. 2 doubles 8-6 over Canna Furuta and Kanykey Koichumanova, while at the No. 3 spot Rachael Porsz and Stephanie Bengson won 8-6 over Ana Matijasevic and Olga Yepremian.

In singles play the 49ers won five of the six matches, all in straight sets. Grady won easily at the No. 1 spot routing Gutierrez 6-0, 6-0. Williams prevailed at No. 2 singles 6-1, 6-3 over Furuta and Rocha won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 singles over Myinttun. The two other wins came at the five and six spots. Weeks won at five singles 7-5, 6-4 over Matijasevic and Porsz won at the six positioin 6-2, 6-0 over Sonya Kumar.

The 49ers will next be in action on Saturday, February 18 when they host the University of Hawaii at 11 am at the 49er Campus Courts.

DOUBLES
1-Rocha/Williams (LBSU) def. Gutierrez/Myinttun (CSUN), 8-5
2-Grady/Weeks (LBSU) def. Furuta/Koichumanova (CSUN), 8-6
3-Porsz/Bengson (LBSU) def. Matijasevic/Yepremian (CSUN), 8-6

SINGLES
1-Hannah Grady (LBSU) def. Silvia Gutierrez (CSUN), 6-0, 6-0 (pictured)
2-Katy Williams (LBSU) def. Canna Furuta (CSUN), 6-1, 6-3
3-Kanykey Koichumanova (CSUN) def. Stephanie Bengson (LBSU), 7-6, 6-3
4-Sandra Rocha (LBSU) def. YuYu Myinttun (CSUN), 6-1, 6-0
5-Jessica Weeks (LBSU) def. Ana Matijasevic (CSUN), 7-5, 6-4
6-Rachael Porsz (LBSU) def. Sonya Kumar (CSUN), 6-2, 6-0

Beach Tennis moves up to # 45

2006-02-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

Beach Tennis achieved a program high of # 45 in the national rankings in the February 14th ITA rankings.

The previous high was last weeks # 47 and prior to that a # 49 last season.

Now inside the top 15% of the 310 D1 teams nationally, the 49er women face conference rival CS Northridge Wednesday at 2pm.

Go Beach Tennis

Coach Becomes All Time Wins Leader during weekend sweep

2006-02-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

The No. 47-ranked Long Beach State women’s tennis team won a pair of dual matches this weekend and in the process Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello broke the school's record for most career wins as a women's tennis head coach at 118. She has since moved to 119 as the Beach defeated CSFullerton 7-0 and then LMU 6-1 over the weekend.

LONG BEACH STATE 6, LMU 1

DOUBLES
1-Rocha/Williams (LBSU) def. Mesterova/Baker (LMU), 8-6
2-Grady/Weeks (LBSU) def. Ivey/Sundac (LMU), 8-4
3-Bengson/Porsz (LBSU) def. Hubl/Kos (LMU), 8-4S
INGLES
1-Pavla Mesterova (LMU) def. Hannah Grady (LBSU), 7-5, 7-5
2-Katy Williams (LBSU) def. Robyn Baker (LMU), 6-0, default
3-Stephanie Bengson (LBSU) def. Erin Ivey (LMU), 6-4, 6-0
4-Sandra Rocha (LBSU) def. Patrycia Hubl (LMU), 6-2, 7-6
5-Jessica Weeks (LBSU) def. Maja Sundac (LMU), 6-1, 6-2
6-Rachael Porsz (LBSU) def. Sladjana Kos (LMU),6-2, 6-1

LONG BEACH STATE 7, CS FULLERTON 0

DOUBLES
1-Le/Inalpulat (CSUF) def. Rocha/Williams (LBSU), 8-4
2-Grady/Katayama (LBSU) def. Tran/Injejikian (CSUF), 8-2
3-Bengson/Porsz (LBSU) def. Dunbar/Inglis (CSUF), 8-3
SINGLES
1-Hannah Grady (LBSU) def. Ruya Inapulat (CSUF), 6-1, 6-0
2-Katy Williams (LBSU) def. Gina Le (CSUF), 6-2, 6-4
3-Stephanie Bengson (LBSU) def. Mai-Ly Tran (CSUF), 6-3, 6-2
4-Sandra Rocha (LBSU) def. Cheyenne Inglis (CSUF), 6-3, 6-2
5-Rachael Porsz (LBSU) def. Shaghig-Shelly Injejikian (CSUF), 6-4, 6-2
6-Emmanuelle Tabatruong (LBSU) def. Ashley Dunbar (CSUF), 6-1, 6-0

Beach Tennis hits record (so far) ranking

2006-02-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

Beach Tennis jumped up ten spots to # 47 in today's Fila ITA National Rankings. This is the highest ranking all time for the 49er Women's Tennis program.

Women's Tennis is home Friday vs. conference rival CS Fullerton at 2pm...

and then returns the next morning, Saturday at 11am vs. LMU. Saturday is HOMECOMING with numerous activities around campus and basketball for the women (3) and Men (5:30) later in the day.

LMU is much improved and features a sophomore transfer at # 1 who was ranked much of last year while at U. Texas-Arlington.

One more win needed: With just one more win, Coach Hilt-Costello will become the winningest coach in LB tennis history and will complete the sweep of coaching records (117 total wins, .602 winning percentage, most wins in a season <23>, only appearance in conference final <5> conference title <3),>, only to have a nationally ranked team <6>. That last record should fall Friday!

Baseline Boosters.... thanks again to all for your support. The Baseline Booster Club provided 2006 Team Poster is out and available at the matches this weekend!

Hope to see you Friday afternoon or Satuday mid-day at the 49er Courts.

Go Beach Tennis

Upcoming Matches

Fri 2/10 vs. Fullerton 2pm 49er Courts
Sat 2/11 vs. LMU 11am 49er Courts (Homecoming)
Wed 2/15 at CS Northridge 2pm Northridge, CA
Sat 2/18 vs. Hawaii 11am 49er Courts
Fri 2/24 at Oregon 1pm Eugene, OR
Sat 2/25 vs Denver 10am Eugene, OR
Sun 2/26 at Portland 10am Portland, OR
Thu 3/2 vs. UC Irvine 2pm 49er Courts
Sat 3/4 vs. Pacific 1pm 49er Courts
Tue 3/7 vs. Boston College 2pm 49er Courts
Fri 3/10 at UC Riverside 2pm Riverside, CA
Thu 3/16 vs. Nebraska 2pm at Pacfic Life Open in Indian Wells, CA
Mon 3/20 vs. Kansas State 2pm 49er Courts
Tue 3/21 vs. Illinois-Chicago 2pm 49er Courts
Fri 3/31 at Fresno State 1:30pm Fresno, CA
Thur 4/6 vs. Florida Int’l 2pm 49er Courts
Sat 4/8 vs. UC Davis Noon 49er Courts (Last home match)
Fri 4/14 at Cal Poly 1:30pm San Luis Obispo, CA
Sat 4/15 at UCSB Noon Santa Barbara, CA
Fri 4/28 – Sun 4/30 at Big West Tournament, Indian Wells, CA

Beach Beats # 46 San Diego State for 1st time ever

2006-02-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

# 57 Beach Tennis broke the curse Thursday with a 4 1/2 hour win over # 46 San Diego State. A perennial # 25-45... SDSU was previously 27-0 versus The Beach.

Doubles: After splitting the first two matches, # 2 doubles of Hannah Grady and Jessica Weeks rallied from being down 3-6 to win their match and the momentum building doubles point 9-8. It took an hour and 40 minutes just to play doubles.

Singles: Jessica Weeks and Stephanie Bengson got The Beach out to a 3-0 lead with impressive displays. For Steph, coming off being shut down for five months due to a shoulder injury... let's just say 'Banger' is back.

San Diego State then gained a point when the girl at # 1 came from down 2-5 in the first to defeat Hannah Grady.

The dual match was almost decided at # 2 when Katy had double match point but her opponent held serve to stretch the day another 45 minutes.

While Manu, back in line up for first time in two years after shoulder surgery, was unable to sustaint her first match play, Sandra rocked at # 4 to win the match for The Beach and Katy then closed out her match with an impressive third set.

A big day for The Beach and a solid start of the climb up the national rankings.

Beach Tennis returns to the 49er courts next Friday versus Fullerton and then next Saturday the 11th versus LMU on Homecoming.

We hope to see you at the courts.

And please, feel free to support Beach Tennis by joining the Baseline Boosters!

Go Beach TENNIS

LB 5, SD 2

DOUBLES MATCHES
1.Hauerlandova/Nielsen, SDSU def. Rocha/Williams, LBSU 8-2
2. Grady/Weeks, LBSU def. Krausova/Yusupov, SDSU 9-8 (7-2)
3. Bengson/Porsz, LBSU def. Cadua/Vidov, SDSU 8-3

SINGLES MATCHES
1. Dita Hauerlandova, SDSU def. Hannah Grady, LBSU 7-5, 6-4
2. Katy Williams, LBSU def. Alesya Vidov, SDSU, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4
3. Stephanie Bengson, LBSU def. Eliska Krausova, SDSU 6-4, 6-2
4. Sandra Rocha, LBSU def. Milana Yusupov, SDSU 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
5. Jessica Weeks, LBSU def. Sisse Nielsen, SDSU 7-5, 6-1
6. Esther Cadua, SDSU def. Emmanuelle Tabatroung, LBSU 4-6, 6-2, 6-0

Order of finish: 5, 3, 1, 6, 4*, 2

Pepperdine Gets Key Points to 6-1 Win

2006-01-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

Two Doubles Teams Beat Ranked Opponents but in singles drop four '7-game' sets and a three setter too.

Beach Tennis took out two highly ranked doubles teams but lost each of five very competitive singles opportunities in 6-1 loss to # 28 Pepperdine on Saturday.

In a match pre-viewed as winnable for the 49ers, it did not play out that way as Pepperdine rallied in just about every singles match at key game and tie-break moments. Just a couple of 'key points' and sets would have gone the other way... potential changing the momentum and pressure. 'Opportunities'

This Beach Tennis team is definitely talented enough to be a top 25 team THIS YEAR if those kinds of matches can be won. Using the computer rankings as are done, these are the kind of matches that will need to be won to reach that point. Fortunately more of these are on the way this season.

It is early with a freshman and sophomore filled team and wins over the ranked teams should still be ahead.

It is a process .... and any combo of 4 wins the match!

THIS THURSDAY at 2pm, Beach Tennis opens the 2006 home schedule vs. # 47 San Diego State. The 49ers are a better team on paper and based on the fall results! This should be a good match as the 49ers... who have been very close the last two years seek the programs first ever win over SDSU. And this is SDSU's first visit to the 49er Courts in more than 20 years.

Big West Conference Notes:

•Rival UC Irvine lost 5-2 to Pepperdine a week ago with points won at # 1 (three set stunner; something odd happened?) and # 6 (5-7, 1-6). UCI previously lost 7-0 at USC in a blow out.
•Cal Poly took a 4-3 win over CS Northridge Friday... taking the final match at # 1 6-4 in the third after CSUN was up 4-1 in final set but cramped. She did however finish the match unlike a certain Belgian pro! Should note CSUN did play the match without their # 1.
•Cal Poly won again today 6-1 at Fullerton to go 2-0 in conference action.
•Pacific lost 6-1 at Arizona today
•and UCSB (also without # 1 player) lost 7-0 at Fresno State.

# 28 Pepperdine 6, # 57 Long Beach State 1

DOUBLES
1-Rocha/Williams (LBSU) def. # 22 ranked Kosakowski/Asimgil (Pepp), 8-5
2-Grady/Weeks (LBSU) def. # 21 ranked Dulgheru/Dickes (Pepp), 8-5
3-Braverman/Raba (Pepp) def. Porsz/Katayama (LBSU), 8-3
SINGLES
1- # 15 ranked Bianca Dulgheru (Pepp) def. Hannah Grady (LBSU), 6-3, 6-1
2-Sylvia Kosakowski (Pepp) def. Katy Williams (LBSU), 7-6 (5), 6-0
3-Caroline Raba (Pepp) def. Stephanie Bengson (LBSU), 7-6 (4), 6-2
4-Natalie Braverman (Pepp) def. Sandra Rocha (LBSU), 6-3, 7-5
5-Eva Dickes (Pepp) def. Jessica Weeks (LBSU), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
6-Merve Asimgil (Pepp) def. Rachael Porsz (LBSU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2

2006-01-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

Beach Tennis Battles but Falls at #5 USC to Open 2006

2006-01-21T10:53:00.000-08:00

In what was the 49ers best ever performance versus a Top 10 team, the ladies were in nearly every match and legitimately had a chance at three to five points.

Aside from the scores, several key thoughts on the match:

1) In doubles, the # 2 team of Weeks/Grady came from 0-3 down to win 8-5.

2) # 1 doubles was up and nearly ahead by three games with a game point but could not grasp that opportunity.

3) Jessica Weeks, playing in her first dual match, had a set point in the first set. Again, how things might have been different. She competed very well against an opponent that has previously been nationally ranked.

3) Hannah Grady, in her first ever collegiate match, took the first set, was leading 'on-serve' 6-5 in the second and had one match point in the 2nd set tiebreaker. Given that this was Hannah's first 'competitive match since June'... and the USC's # 1 has previously been the # 9 ranked player in the nation prior to a fall injury limiting her match count, it was an incredible first perfrormance. In the second set tie-breaker, each girl traded mini-breaks before Hannah lost the set. As the dual match had already been decided, the match ended with a very quick 10 point super-tie break that in no way is fair given the level of both girls.... but it was getting late and very cold.

4) USC beat our conference rival UC Irvine yesterday in very quick and thorough style... thus the comparisons are very positive for LB and USC did have a dual match under the belt.

In the booster club president's opinion, this is by far the most talented Beach Tennis team to ever begin a season and the depth goes up and down the line up. Too bad the match vs. # 5 isn't possible in about 4-6 weeks when our freshman get just a bit more comfortable.

The 49ers will next be in action on Saturday, January 28 when they compete at No. 28-ranked Pepperdine at 11 am in Malibu.

USC 6, Long Beach State 1

DOUBLES
1-Nelson/Magnani (USC) def. Rocha/Williams (LBSU), 8-4
2-Fink/Vermeulen (USC) def. Grady/Weeks (LBSU), 8-5
3-Anastasiu/Matias (USC) def. Porsz/Katayama (LBSU), 8-1

SINGLES1-Lindsey Nelson (USC) def. Hannah Grady (LBSU) 3-6, 7-6, 10-5
2-#3-Amanda Fink (USC) def. Katy Williams (LBSU) 6-2, 6-0
3-#78-Dianne Matias (USC) def. Stephanie Bengson (LB) 6-4, 6-0
4-Carine Vermeulen (USC) def. Sandra Rocha (LBSU), 6-4, 7-5
5-Anca Anastasiu (USC) def. Jessica Weeks (LBSU), 7-6, 6-3
6-Rachael Porsz (LB) def. Whitney Peterson (USC)3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Beach Tennis heads into 2006 season ranked again

2006-01-10T14:16:00.000-08:00

Beach Tennis earned it's highest pre-season ranking yet with a # 57 in today's FILA National Rankings.

Thirteen of the 22 teams the 49ers will face this season are ranked in the Top 75 of 311 programs in the nation (Top 20%).

This year's opener will be at # 5 USC on Friday, January 20th. The Trojans line up features three nationally ranked singles players at # 3, # 69 and # 78) plus a top ten returner from last year who did not play enough fall matches to earn a ranking.

The Big West Conference earned an all-time season starting high of four nationally ranked teams in today's poll with # 57 Long Beach, # 63 Pacific, # 68 Irvine and # 69 Santa Barbara. The conference did not have a singles player or doubles team ranked to begin the year. The strongest of the Big West player in the fall was Beach Tennis freshman Katy Williams who recorded a 2-1 record over currently ranked opposition (loss to # 31, straight set wins over # 35 and # 71).

Spring practice began last Friday with all eight 49ers on the court, healthy (knock on wood) and eager to pursue a third consecutive conference title and NCAA Championships berth.

Go Beach TENNIS

2006 Schedule

1/20 @ # 5 USC

1/28 @ # 28 Pepperdine

2/2 vs. # 47 San Diego State

2/10 vs. Cal State Fullerton **

2/11 vs. LMU (Homecoming at LB State)

2/15 @ CS Northridge **

2/18 vs. Hawaii

2/24 @ # 27 Oregon

2/25 vs. # 52 Denver in Oregon

2/26 @ Portland

3/2 vs. # 68 UC Irvine **

3/4 vs. # 63 Pacific **

3/7 vs. # 75 Boston College

3/10 @ UC Riverside **

3/16 vs. # 38 Nebraska in Indian Wells at the Pacific Life WTA/ATP Open

3/20 vs. # 67 Kansas State

3/31 vs. Illinois-Chicago

4/6 vs. # 30 Florida International

4/8 vs. UC Davis **

4/14 @ Cal Poly **

4/15 @ # 69 UC Santa Barbara

4/28-30 Big West Tournament at Indian Wells

Beach Tennis Boosters Are Everywhere

2005-12-20T15:57:00.000-08:00

David at SEC football in Florida!

Katy and Sandra Earn West Region Rankings

2005-12-02T14:41:00.000-08:00

The ITA today (Dec. 2) released the Fall regional rankings. For the schools in the Southwestern US, two 49ers made the rankings.

Singles: Freshman Katy Williams is ranked # 24 in the west, while Junior captain Sandra Rocha earned the # 27 spot in the west.

Other Big West singles players ranked included # 17 Marielle Gruenig of UCSB and # 25 Sylvia Guitterez of CSUN. Cal Poly's Danon Beatty also was ranked # 26 up in the NW region.

Currently # 115 in the nation Stephanie Bengson did not earn a fall ranking while rehabbing her shoulder.

Doubles: Williams and Rocha teamed to be the # 15 ranked doubles team in the west. No other Big West Conference doubles team is ranked. Interestingly, Williams/Rocha split matches this fall with the # 5 ranked San Diego State team; losing the first meeting but in the second meeting they had a convincing lead before the SDSU team quit.

Team rankings debut on January 10th!

The complete rankings list can be seen at http://www.itatennis.com/ and go to the rankings on the left.

Go Beach TENNIS

Beach Tennis Adds German For 2007 Season

2005-11-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

49ers Announce Fall Signee
German Denise Liebschner Inks With LBSU

November 16, 2005
From www.longbeachstate.com

LONG BEACH, CA-- Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello announced that Denise Liebschner (Dresden, Germany) has signed a National Letter-of-Intent with Long Beach State for next season.

Liebschner hails from Dresden, Germany and has a career-high ranking of No. 11 in the German Junior National Rankings. She has won the Berlin Junior Open and the Dresden International Under 18 Tournament.

An outstanding student as well, she becomes the fifth current International player for the 49ers with a GPA of 3.6 or higher.

"Denise hits a very heavy ball from both the forehand and backhand," said Hilt-Costello. "She is an aggressive baseliner who will finish points at the net. We anticipate she will make an immediate impact in our singles and doubles line-up next year. She recently visited Long Beach State on her own and will be a great addition to our strong team chemistry too.

"She will join a 49er squad that will be returning all eight players from this year's 2005-06 squad.

Fall Round Up for Beach Tennis

2005-11-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

January Brings Dual-Match Season After Improved Fall 05

November 15, 2005

Beach Tennis concluded the fall season with a couple of tournament titles and a very strong records versus Big West and nationally ranked opposition. (Last fall, the entire 'championship winning' squad accounted for just a half-dozen wins in the fall).

There remains much room for improvement from a team that featured 3 juniors, 2 sophomores and 2 freshman this fall. Still to come are Big West Freshman of the Year Stephanie Bengson who missed the fall rehabbing her shoulder and freshman Hannah Grady.

Fall Achievements and Results:

Katy Williams/Sandra Rocha won the Fullerton Intercollegiate Doubles Title
Rachael Porsz won the Fullerton Intercollegtiate Consolation Singles
Porsz/Jessica Weeks won the Fullerton Intercollegiate Consolation Doubles
Katy Williams fell in final of the San Diego State Fall Classic Singles
Williams/Rocha won the San Diego State Fall Classic Consolation Doubles

Player x Player with fall results

Katy Williams
Singles: 8-3 Win over # 102, loses to # 77, 111 & 124
Doubles: 9-2

Sandra Rocha
Singles: 6-3 Win over # 123, loses to # 18 & 77
Doubles: 9-2

Jessica Weeks
Singles: 5-4 Lost to # 76
Doubles: 5-4

Rachael Porsz
Singles: 6-6
Doubles: 5-4

Manu Tabatruoung
Singles: 5-6
Doubles: 2-6

Krystina Katayama
Singles: 3-5
Doubles: 2-6

Beach Tennis returns to the courts for practice on Friday, January 6th in preparation for the season opener at # 7 USC just 14 days later on January 20th.

Go Beach TENNIS

Beach Tennis Adds Another for January 06

2005-10-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

Hannah Grady Signs Financial Aid Agreement

October 10, 2005
www.longbeachstate.com

LONG BEACH, CA-- Long Beach State Head Women’s Tennis Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello announced today the signing of Hannah Grady (Coventry, England) to a Financial-Aid-Agreement. Grady will arrive at Long Beach in January for the start of the spring 2006 dual match season and is the third freshman, all from England, to sign with Long Beach State this year.

The left-hander comes to Long Beach State having achieved:

• WTA women’s singles career high world ranking of # 548 in 2005.
• ITF junior ranking of # 167 in the world.
• 2001 and 2002 # 1 ranked junior in Great Britain
• 2003 Scottish Junior Champion.
• In 2004, represented Team GB winning the Maureen Connolly Trophy versus the US.
• Competed at Wimbledon in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 juniors
• Played the 2004 French Open junior draw.

Grady becomes the fourth British member of the current 49er Tennis team and third freshman, joining Katy Williams and Jessica Weeks as well as junior Rachael Porsz.“Hannah has extensive tournament experience which should continue to add to our forward momentum in the rankings,” said Hilt-Costello. “Her January addition to Beach Tennis will provide us the deepest and most talented roster we have started a season with. She also has a doubles background, including several tournaments with fellow 49er Jessica Weeks, which should make an impact also. We are very excited about the potential of our squad in the coming years.”

The 2006 Beach Tennis team now features three freshmen, one sophomore and four juniors. Amongst the 49ers returnees are No.115-ranked, and 2005 Big West Freshman of the Year, sophomore Stephanie Bengson, and back-to-back conference first team doubles honoree, junior Sandra Rocha.

The spring dual-match season begins January 20 at No. 7-ranked USC and will feature 12 of its 22 matches versus nationally-ranked opponents.

Coach Hilt-Costello begins her ninth year as Head Coach at Long Beach State. She starts the season with 116 career wins at LBSU and needs just one victory to set the record for most wins as women’s tennis head coach at The Beach. Her teams have won the 49ers only conference titles (3; 2002, 2004 & 2005), conference final appearances (5 consecutive) and NCAA tournament berths (3).

The 2005 squad also earned their second National All-Academic Team Award as well as having four international student-athletes earn National All-Academic honors with grade point averages of 3.60 and above.

Beach Tennis 2005 Championship Movie

2005-09-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

September 25, 2005

Beach Tennis' junior Rachael Porsz has created a movie celebrating the 2005 Championship winning team for a class.

A transfer from Georgia University and State College, Rachael was a key contributor to the 49er title run in her first year at The Beach.

She has offered to share it with Beach Tennis fans.

http://www.csulb.edu/~rporsz/beachtennismovie.wmv

Enjoy

Go Beach TENNIS

Beach Tennis Day is a fun success

2005-09-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

September 10, 2005

Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello and Assistant Coach Hally Cohen send thanks for the support of the boosters that participated in the 3rd Beach Tennis Day.

A full day of practice and doubles with the 2005 Beach Tennis Team successfully raised funds to enhance the academic and scholarship support provided team members (tutors, dorm expenses...).

Thanks to Cindy, Al, Sally, Sue, Kerry, Lancy, Mary, Jessica, Veronica & David for their support and participation.

Go Beach TENNIS

Beach Tennis Takes 3rd Title in Four Years

2005-04-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

2005 Big West Conference Champions and Beach Tennis Bosters

49ers Win Big West ChampionshipBeach Defeats Pacific 4-2
April 24, 2005

INDIAN WELLS, CA—For the second consecutive year, and the third time in the last four years, the Long Beach State women’s tennis team claimed the Big West Conference championship. The No. 60-ranked 49ers (15-10) defeated No. 68-ranked Pacific (19-6) by a 4-2 score on Sunday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The 49ers also won Big West titles in 2002 and 2004. Long Beach has won six consecutive Big West Tournament matches and 11 of its last 12. It was the Beach's fifth consecutive conference title match appearance.

“We are extremely excited to win back-to-back Big West Conference championships,” said 49er Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello. “It’s a great accomplishment for the program to win the league title again. The team played tremendous all weekend, in all three matches. The girls were mentally tough and physically ready to battle for as long as it took. I’m very proud of the way we played this weekend.”

The 49ers came out strong from the beginning, capturing the doubles point with relative ease. At No. 1 doubles, Nicole Bouffler and Sandra Rocha won 8-1 over Vana Mrazovic and Katharina Heil. The Beach clinched the doubles point at No. 3 doubles as Stephanie Bengson and Krystina Katayama won 8-2 over Katharina Trumpf and Anja Herrmann. At No. 2 doubles, which did not finish, the 49ers Alanah Carroll and Rachael Porsz led 5-4 over Natalia Kostenko and Viktoria Szendrei.

Singles action began on even terms as three 49ers won their first set, while three Tigers players won their first set. Pacific got on the scoreboard first in singles as Herrmann won at No. 5 singles over Claudia Argumedo 6-2, 6-3. Kostenko then put Pacific up 2-1 by winning 6-4, 6-2 over Bengson at No. 2 singles.

From there it was all 49ers. Long Beach had three singles matches all end within five minutes of each other. Porsz evened the score at 2-2 with a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles over Trumpf. Porsz trailed 5-3 in the second set, but battled back to win the final four games.

Nicoletta Ratiu then won at No. 6 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Szendrei.

Just one minute later Bouffler won at No. 1 singles defeating the No. 110-ranked Mrazovic 6-2, 6-4, giving the 49ers the championship. Bouffler had lost her previous two meetings with Mrazovic. In Stockton earlier this season Mrazovic won 6-1, 6-4, while last season the Tiger No. 1 player won 7-5, 6-2 over Bouffler during the regular season.

The lone singles match not to finish came at No. 3 singles as Heil led Rocha 6-4, 0-6, 3-0.

In the tournament the 49ers were able to exact revenge for two regular season losses. In the semifinals the 49ers reversed a loss to UC Santa Barbara with a 4-0 victory on Saturday. Sunday the 49ers returned the favor to Pacific, after the Tigers had defeated the 49ers in Stockton in early February by a 4-3 margin.

Long Beach State now advances to the NCAA Championships.

DOUBLES
1-Bouffler/Rocha (LBSU) def. Mrazovic/Heil (UOP), 8-1
2-Carroll/Porsz (LBSU) vs. Kostenko/Szendrei (UOP), Did Not Finish, LBSU led 5-4
3-Bengson/Katayama (LBSU) def. Trumpf/Herrmann (UOP), 8-2

SINGLES
1-Nicole Bouffler (LBSU) def. #110-Vana Mrazovic (UOP), 6-2, 6-4
2-Natalia Kostenko (UOP) def. Stephanie Bengson (LBSU), 6-4, 6-2
3-Sandra Rocha (LBSU) vs. Katharina Heil (UOP), Did Not Finish, UOP led 6-4, 0-6, 3-0
4-Rachael Porsz (LBSU) def. Katharina Trumpf (UOP), 6-1, 7-5
5-Anja Herrmann(UOP) def. Claudia Argumedo (LBSU), 6-2, 6-3
6-Nicoletta Ratiu (LBSU) def. Viktoria Szendrei (UOP), 6-3, 6-2