Long Beach State Wins Sixth Straight Women's Tennis Title

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Long Beach State's Hannah Grady remained perfect against Big West opponents this season as she clinched the team title with her victory at No. 1 singles. Photo by Steve Chen

The 2009 Big West Women's Tennis Tournament champion Long Beach State 49ers.

Top-seeded Long Beach State tied a league record with its sixth consecutive tournament championship as the 49ers fought off a valiant UC Irvine squad, 4-1, in the finals of the Big West Women's Tennis Championship at Indian Wells Tennis Garden Sunday.

The 49ers, who have hoisted the crown in each of the six years Indian Wells Tennis Garden has hosted the championship, also set a Big West record with their seventh championship overall.  LBSU won its first title in 2002.

Long Beach State earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships by virtue of defeating UC Riverside, Cal State Northridge and UCI at Indian Wells.  The 49ers will be making their sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Three-time Big West Player of the Year Hannah Grady remained unbeaten against conference opponents this season as she clinched the team victory for Long Beach State with a determined 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph against UCI freshman Stephanie Hammel.  The No. 1 singles player for LBSU finished her career with a 43-1 dual match record against Big West foes.

The 49ers captured the doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions to offset an Anteater win at No. 1.  Deborah Armstrong and Lisa Sutton won the clinching match at No. 2, 8-6, over Courtney Byron and Miranda Young.

In a battle of freshmen at No. 2, UCI's Courtney Byron tied the match at one apiece when she outlasted Rachel Manasse 6-3, 7-6 (5).  Long Beach State won the next three contests at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 1 to wrap up the match.  Anais Dallara earned a 6-3, 6-4 win against Clare Fermin at No. 4 and Julie Luzar battled to a 6-1, 7-6 (7) win versus Rebecca Kwan.

Grady's subsequent win extended the 49er winning streak at Indian Wells Tennis Garden to 18 straight matches.

The Anteaters were leading in the third set at No. 6 and in a second-set tiebreaker at No. 3 when the match was halted.

The win improves Long Beach State's record to 18-7, while UC Irvine drops to 16-8.

BIG WEST WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDEN • INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.
SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2009 • FINALS
NO. 1 LONG BEACH STATE 4, NO. 2 UC IRVINE 1

DOUBLES
1. Fermin/Kaloi (UCI) def. Grady/Jessica Weeks (LBSU) - 8-4
2. Armstrong/Sutton (LBSU) def. Byron/Miranda Young (UCI) - 8-6
3. Dallara/Manasse (LBSU) def. Bartlett/Kwan (UCI) - 8-3

Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2

SINGLES
1. Hannah Grady (LBSU) def. Stephanie Hammel (UCI) - 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Courtney Byron (UCI) def. Rachel Manasse (LBSU) - 6-3, 7-6 (5)
3. Deborah Armstrong (LBSU) vs. Brooke Bartlett (UCI) - DNF
4. Anais Dallara (LBSU) def. Clare Fermin (UCI) - 6-3, 6-4
5. Julie Luzar (LBSU) def. Rebecca Kwan (UCI) - 6-1, 7-6 (7)
6. Lisa Sutton (LBSU) vs. Heidi Kaloi (UCI) - DNF

Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5, 1