Long Beach State's dynasty at Indian Wells Tennis Garden continued Sunday as the 49er women defeated UC Irvine, 4-1, to earn its eighth Big West Women's Tennis Championship crown in nine years.
The 49ers captured the Big West's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Championships on a day when they collected their ninth tournament title overall.
It also improved the 49ers to 6-1 all-time against the Anteaters in championship matches.
LBSU notched the all-important doubles point to take the 1-0 lead. Rachel Manasse and Laura Bernard claimed the point with their win at No. 3 over Courtney Byron and Hannah Holladay.
The 49ers staked themselves to a 3-0 lead as Manasse topped Byron 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2 and Sarah Cantlay defeated Kat Facey 6-1, 7-5 at No. 4.
UCI dented the scoreboard with Marivick Mamiit's 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Klaudia Malenovska at No. 5. However, the 49ers closed out any hopes for a comeback as freshman Laura Bernard won the clinching match at No. 5, defeating Franziska Goettsching 6-3, 6-4.
The 49ers bettered their record to 18-5 on the season and await their first round opponent in the NCAA Championship. The Anteaters concluded their season at 16-8.
LBSU learns its first round opponent and destination for the NCAA Championships on Tuesday, May 1 at 2:00 p.m. (PDT) on NCAA.com.
BIG WEST TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDEN
WOMEN'S FINALS
(1) LONG BEACH STATE 4, (3) UC IRVINE 1
Doubles
1. Manasse/Bernard (LBSU) def. Byron/Holladay (UCI) - 8-4
2. Dallara/Malenovska (LBSU) vs. Goettsching/Smith (UCI) - DNF
3. Cantlay/Luzar (LBSU) def. Ali Facey/Kat Facey (UCI) - 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1
Singles
1. Anais Dallara (LBSU) vs. Kristina Smith (UCI) - DNF
2. Rachel Manasse (LBSU) def. Courtney Byron (UCI) - 6-2, 6-3
3. Laura Bernard (LBSU) def. Franziska Goettsching (UCI) - 6-3, 6-4
4. Sarah Cantlay (LBSU) def. Kat Facey (UCI) - 6-1, 7-5
5. Marivick Mamiit (UCI) def. Klaudia Malenovska (LBSU) - 6-2, 6-3
6. Karolina Rozenberg (LBSU) vs. Stephanie Hammel (UCI) - DNF
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5, 3