By Nevada had been undefeated only a couple days prior, but a rough outing against UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach has put a blemish on the Wolf Pack’s record.
Long Beach State (3-0) defeated Nevada (5-2) with a early 4-0 advantage, clinching the game for the 49ers at the Rhodes Tennis Center Saturday. Nevada looked eager to bounce back from its previous loss, but Long Beach was able to take control of the game. It was a shutout that gave Long Beach some newfound confidence after dropping some matches last week.
“We were put into this position last week against SDSU and we lost so I feel like we were ready for this,” junior Natalia Munoz said.
The 49ers won the doubles point with the duo of Munoz and sophomore Lalita Devarakonda clinching it after a competitive 7-6 set. This was a great development for a doubles team that had been on the receiving end of such a loss just one game ago.
Freshmen Wiktoria Rutkowska and Dominique Meyer also contributed to the point, jumpstarting the game with a 6-0 victory.
The singles matches was looking tough for the 49ers, with the Wolf Pack leading in four of the six games early on. Two exceptions belonged to Munoz and freshman Emma Bardet, winning their matches in two sets 6-3, 6-1.
Rutkowska was the third singles win and game-clincher, ending the match in two sets 7-6, 6-3 with the first set decided after a 7-2 tiebreaker. With her teammates still playing, Rutkowska made the win clear by yelling, “Here we go Beach!”
“I love it when we get to put four points on the board before they even get a match off,” head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello said. “Everybody was doing their job today.”
The 49ers look to carry this momentum for their next game 2 p.m. Friday against Northridge at the Rhodes Tennis Center.
