Women's tennis conference play begins this week as Long Beach State puts a 19-match winning streak in Big West regular season matches on the line against Cal State Fullerton on Friday.
NOTEWORTHY
Long Beach State Opens Defense Of Women’s Title
Long Beach State, the six-time defending women’s tennis tournament champion, begins its quest for a seventh straight crown when Cal State Fullerton visits the Rhodes Tennis Center on Friday at 2:00 p.m. The 49ers have won 19 straight regular season matches against Big West opposition, a streak that dates back to the 2007 season. LBSU has posted identical 8-0 records to win each of the last two conference regular season championships. The last 49er loss in a Big West regular season match came in 2007 to UC Irvine, which went on to earn the crown that year.
UC Davis Breaks Out To Early Lead In Men’s Standings
It was a big win for head coach Daryl Lee and his UC Davis men’s tennis program. The Aggies upset No. 71 Pacific, 4-3, in Stockton last Saturday to move to 1-0 in conference play and saddle the Tigers, the 2009 regular season co-champion, with an early deficit in the standings. UC Davis earned victories at No. 3 and No. 6 singles by freshmen Toki Sherbakov and Connor Coates after both players had lost the first set. The Tigers had a bit of tough luck with an injury at No. 2 singles that forced Ivan Garcia-Castro to retire in the third set after he and his opponent had split the first two sets. In its first two seasons of Big West competition, UC Davis went 1-4 in league play both times.
This Week’s Matchups
Activity will be busy on the men’s side this weekend. UC Davis plays three matches in three days against Portland State, Montana State and Portland. UC Riverside travels to Las Vegas to take on Southern Mississippi, host No. 75 UNLV and No. 68 New Mexico State. UC Santa Barbara receives a couple of tough road tests in No. 62 Brigham Young and No. 53 Utah. No Big West men’s team plays a home match this week as UC Irvine also travels to San Diego State.
Several women’s teams are at home this week. Cal State Northridge opens its season on Saturday at home against UC San Diego. Cal Poly returns to action after a three-week hiatus, hosting Santa Clara and playing San Francisco at a neutral site in Pebble Beach, Calif. UC Davis, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara all have two contests.
ITA Poll To Be Released On Feb. 4
The next edition of Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) team rankings will be released on Feb. 4. On the women’s side, Long Beach State and UC Irvine are ranked No. 51 and No. 58, respectively. The Pacific men are ranked No. 71. New singles and doubles rankings will not come out until Feb, 18. Currently, the women’s rankings list Pacific’s Jenifer Widjaja at No. 60, followed by Cal Poly’s Suzie Matzenauer at No. 98 and UC Irvine’s Stephanie Hammel at No. 109 in singles. Pacific junior Artem Gramma is No. 108 in men’s singles.
Three Big West women’s doubles teams also have been recognized in the ITA poll. Cal Poly’s top two doubles teams - Amy Markhoff and Matzenauer, and Brittany Blalock and Steffi Wong – were ranked No. 42 and No. 58, respectively. Long Beach State incoming freshman Jaklin Alawi and teammate Rachel Manasse are rated No. 58.
Indian Wells To Host Big West Tennis Championships
For the seventh straight year, Indian Wells Tennis Garden is hosting the Big West Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championship. One of the most prestigious facilities in the United States, Indian Wells will host the six men’s and nine women’s teams from April 29-May 2. The Long Beach State women and UC Santa Barbara men took home the 2009 crowns. The 49ers have won all six previous years the championship has been in Indian Wells, while the Gauchos have captured four straight titles on the men’s side.