Coming off a clean sweep of Big West competition, the Long Beach State women’s tennis team will enter the Big West Championships as the top seed. The road to Indian Wells, Calif., however, will feature a quick stop in Fresno, where the No. 15-ranked Bulldogs await as the 49ers’ last opponent in regular-season dual play.
LBSU (16-5) recently defeated Pacific 7-0 to finish 8-0 in Big West play. Junior Hannah Grady, 24-8 this season, finished undefe ated against Big West opponents after knocking off Pacific’s Jolanta Twaroska 6-1 and 6-2. Grady, the defending Big West Player of the Year and ranked 101st nationally as a singles player, has become a favorite to win the honor for a conference-record third consecutive year.
One record already set, however, is the LBSU career record for single victories by senior Stephanie Bengson, who hit the mark with a wipeout of Loyola Marymount’s Tamera Tanner 6-0 and 6-0 last Saturday. The win was Bengson’s 71st career singles victory and broke Havaja Frljuckic’s record of 70. The Australia native followed her historic day with a victory over Pacific’s Svenja Arens Sunday to also finish undefeated in Big West singles action this season. Bengson is 20-10 overall this season and is just two wins away from the LBSU career record for combined victories (147).
Freshman Stephanie Jeanes, who joined the team this spring for dual competition, has made a sudden impact for the 49ers with a 16-5 record, which is best amongst her 49er teammates this spring. Along with junior Jessica Weeks, Jeanes has helped LBSU excel in doubles competition, as she has a 14-6 record in doubles play. Jeanes’ clutch victory over UC Santa Barbara’s Charlotte Scatliffe led LBSU to a narrow 4-3 victory over the Gauchos April 3 in Santa Barbara.
The upstart 49ers, however, have had their struggles with some of the top-ranked teams in the nation, the latest being No. 18-ranked Pepperdine Mar. 21. LBSU lost to the Waves 5-2 in Malibu, but so did Fresno State in a 4-3 setback – the Bulldogs’ most recent loss. Fresno State bounced back to win three consecutive matches and remain in the nation’s top-20. Fresno State will be LBSU’s fifth top-20 opponent this season and a possible preview of the level of competition The Beach will face in the NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs (14-7) are powered by two singles players ranked in the top-20 and two doubles tandems in the nation’s top-25. No. 14-ranked Melanie Gloria’s last five opponents were all nationally-ranked talents and she could be slated to face Grady in the one-on-one matchup. Gloria is 19-8 in singles action this year, while No. 20-ranked Anastasia Petulchova is 31-6 on the season and is paired with Renata Kucerkova as the No. 25-ranked doubles squad with a 33-7 overall record this season.
Gloria and Tinesta Rowe (22-11 singles record), meanwhile, form the No. 3-ranked doubles team in Division I with a 26-8 record this season. They will be the highest-ranked doubles opponent for the 49ers, who will likely match them with Grady and Bengson. The duo is 39th in the nation in doubles play with a 20-7 record. The freshman team of Deborah Armstrong and Lisa Sutton follow with a 14-5 record and could pair against Kucerkova and Petulchova.
