SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Friday the 13th proved to be a good day for Long Beach State’s women’s tennis as it defeated San Diego State, 4-2.
It would be the 49ers’ top four singles who secured the match with their victories.
First off the court was No. 2 singles Deborah Armstrong in her convincing win over Holly Bagshaw, 6-3, 6-2. In a long-rally and high-tempered No. 3 singles match, Rachel Manasse came out on top over Ester Cadua, 6-3, 6-2.
No. 68 Hannah Grady, the No. 1 singles player for LBSU, was continuously lagging a game behind the Aztecs’ Julia Trunk to start but turned things around as she won three straight games to snag the first set, 7-5. From there, Grady was smooth sailing and captured the second set, 6-1, to win the match.
The 49ers’ Anais Dallara and the Aztecs’ Milana Yusupov, the No. 4 singles pairing, both battled in a match decided by a tie breaker. Dallara took the first set, 6-4, but the second set was another matter.
Dallara managed to fight off a potential set point for Yusupov, holding to tie the game 5-5. Each player’s serve was broken to force a tie break to decide the match. Yusupov couldn’t come up with enough to overcome Dallara, who guaranteed an LBSU victory with her win, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
Both No. 5 and No. 6 singles went to SDSU’s Olivia Coleman and Roxanne Ellison over LBSU’s Julie Luzar and Jessica Weeks. Coleman defeated Luzar, 6-3, 7-5, while Ellison topped Weeks, 7-5, 6-2.
Due to rain, the doubles action was unable to finish. Grady/Weeks led Trunk/Bagshaw, 6-3, Manasse/Dallara led Cadua/Kitts, 6-2, and Armstrong/Sutton were tied with the Ellisons, 5-5.
LBSU will return home next Friday to face Cal State Northridge at the Rhodes Tennis Center. Action is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
