By
The Long Beach State women’s tennis team defeated Northridge 4-1 Friday, improving its record to 4-0.
CSUN (3-2, 0-2 Big West) had lots of energy throughout the match, looking eager to get its first conference victory, something Long Beach (4-0, 2-0 Big West) didn’t allow.
“Northridge is always a tough, scrappy team and we knew that coming into the game,” head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello said.
The match began with the 49ers clinching the doubles point after two wins, setting the tone for the competitive outing.
The first victory came from Wiktoria Rutkowska and Dominique Meyers, winning 6-2 and improving their overall record to 9-1 for the season. The second came from a 7-5 victory by Natalia Munoz and Lalita Devarakonda.
Devarakonda had trouble keeping up with the pace of the game for stretches, but eventually made the match-winning play, solidifying the point.
Singles matches were tough for the 49ers, with many players struggling at the start. Munoz was the exception, winning two sets 6-2, 6-1.
Rutkowska struggled against Monika Van de Vondel the entire match. The tides changed in Rutkowska’s favor after a dispute involving the Matador’s point calling.
“It broke her down and that’s when I started to take the advantage,” Rutkowska said.
Rutkowska went on to win the game 6-3, 6-1, putting the 49ers in a great position to secure a victory.
Pessimism set in for 49er fans, with clouds setting on Long Beach and the chances of rain increasing, which could have led to the game being scrapped.
This didn’t phase Devarakonda for a majority of her match as she won both sets 6-3 and ignored any outside forces from stopping the game.
Looking to stay undefeated, the 49ers have a Feb. 22 match at noon against the University of San Francisco.
