Bouffler upsets No. 55 Anderson

By Moria Khou
Daily Forty-Niner
Staff Writer

Senior Nicole Bouffler swung into action at the Rivera Tennis Club at Pacific Palisades, Tuesday and wound up splitting her season-opener.

The Australian native and No. 65 ranked player on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) list drew No. 55 ranked, Kelly Anderson of Georgia Tech.

Bouffler defeated the Yellow Jacket convincingly in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.

"I was very pleased with the way Nicole played [Wednesday]," 49ers' Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello said. " She beat a girl ranked above her [Wednesday] morning. Nicole controlled the flow of the match and played extremely well."

The senior automatically qualified for the 64-player field at the Rivera Tennis Club without any preliminary matches due to her national ranking. With the victory over Anderson, the 49er's tennis sensation advanced to the 32-player round.

In her second match of the day, Bouffler hit a roadblock as she squared off against the No. 4 seeded player in the bracket, Carolin Walter of Baylor University.

The sophomore from Texas entered the match on a hot streak, just having defeated the No. 31 ranked player in the country, Katherine Winterhalter of Fresno State, 6-3, 6-2.

Walters edged out Bouffler in the first set 7-5, but Bouffler rallied back to take the second set, winning by the same score of 7-5. However, Walters closed down Bouffler's comeback in the final set, 6-2, to take the match.

The Long Beach State women's tennis team will get back on the court Oct. 8-10 for the Cal State Fullerton Invitational.