Tennis • Senior Nicole Bouffler will be in action at the Rivieria All-America Championships on Saturday. Matt Brown/CSULB Sports Information

Tennis • Sophomore Sandra Rocha was a first team All-Big West doubles player for the 49ers last season. Matt Brown/CSULB Sports Information

 

Women's tennis ready to start 2004 season

By Henry Montemayor
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer

The Big West Conference champion women's tennis team hits the courts this weekend to open the individual side of the tennis season at the Riveria All-America Championships in Pacific Palisades.

The 49ers return all but one player from last year's championship team, so it is "very strong", Assistant Coach Halley Cohen said.

Two new players which Cohen feel will make an impact are Nicoletta Ratiu, from Romania, who has a reputation of being a big hitter, and Rachel Porse a transfer from England.

Both these players Cohen says have already shown to be hard workers. Ratiu joins the 49ers with an ITF junior doubles ranking of 167 and singles ranking of 252. Stephanie Bengson rounds out the new players coming to the 49ers. Bengson, from Albion Park, Australia joins two other Austrailian players on the team: Nicole Bouffler and Alanah Carroll. Bengson will be a true freshmen coming in this year, and joins the 49er with a No. 18 ranking in the Australian 18-and-under category.

"We are very excited that Stephanie and her family have agreed to quickly begin her college experience this January," Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello said. "This is a great opportunity for her to benefit from joining an already competitive roster and we anticipate she will make an immediate impact on our line-up."

Top returning players from last year's championship team include Bouffler and Sandra Rocha. Bouffler is the only 49er player to have a preseason ranking of 65, Cohen adds.

Rocha and Bouffler forms the No.1 doubles team, and both players will be participating in this weekend's ITA All American at the Riviera in both singles and doubles. Rocha joined the 49ers last year after playing four years in high school, garnering two first team CIF honors and four all-league honors. Rocha was also 1999 CIF champion in doubles and 2000 runner-up in CIF singles and doubles.