Tennis
heads to postseason with loss
By
Daniel Frias
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Long Beach State women's tennis team may
not have ended the season with a win when
they hosted No. 34 ranked Oregon at The
Campus Courts last Friday to finish its
2004 regular season, but it did come close,
very close. In fact The Beach was just one
point away from earning a victory.
"We
had a tight match with [Oregon] today,"
said 49ers' head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello.
"Unfortunately we were a little banged
up at that spot and on a different day Claudia
[Argumedo] would have pulled that match
off."
What
head coach Hilt-Costello was referring to
was the back injury that Argumedo suffered
that forced her to retire from the singles
match, awarding the win and the single's
point to Oregon.
The
49ers' two seniors Kelly Chan and Brooke
Sutton were honored before the match for
their contributions to the program. Chan
leads the team in career doubles wins and
finished her career playing at the No. 2
spot.
"It's
been really fun," said Chan. "I
have no regrets. I've had a great time here.
I have been lucky enough to have a great
group of girls on our team."
"Kelly
has been a great tennis player," said
Hilt-Costello. "She came into the program
with an open mind ready to work. The progress
she has made was huge. I'm glad we were
a part of that."
The
No. 59 ranked 49ers opened the competition
winning all three doubles matches for the
point, but had a bit more trouble in singles
play.
The
most impressive win of the day came in the
No. 1 singles match when Bouffler defeated
one of the top tennis players in the country.
Bouffler played a great game outperforming
Panova who is ranked No. 7 in the nation
in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
"She
was outstanding," Hilt-Costello said.
"Nicole played with a very smart game
plan. She mixed it up with hits, slices
and lobs. She never let Panova get into
a groove. Panova is a banger, but Nicole
didn't get caught up banging with her."
Bouffler
has played at the No. 1 spot all season
and has been the team's best player. She
finished her first regular season as a 49er
with a 15-8 singles and 24-10 total record.
In doubles competition Bouffler won 24 and
lost seven.
"Nicole
has brought a level of play and intensity
and compassion for other people that the
team needed and thrives on," said 49ers
assistant coach Hally Cohen. "She is
a great player."
Rocha
was the only other 49er with a win in singles
play when she beat Anna Leksinska in two
sets (6-1, 7-5). Tabatruong, Carroll and
Chan lost their singles matches. Argumedo
was making a comeback in her singles match
before her back starting giving her problems
forcing her to retire giving Oregon the
point and a 4-3 win over The Beach.
The
49ers finished the regular season with 15
wins and eight loses. Good enough for third
place in the Big West Conference behind
Cal Poly and Pacific, who ended the 49ers'
11 game win streak a couple weeks ago.
The
Beach enters the Big West Championships
as the No. 3 seed and will play No. 6-seeded
UCSB in the first round next Friday at the
Indian Wells Tennis Gardens.
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