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Lady
Trojans serve 49ers defeat in season opener
By
Michelle Smith
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
The
No. 58-ranked Long Beach State women's tennis
team swung into action for the 2005 season
opener and were swept 7-0 by the No. 7-ranked
Trojans at USC's Marks Stadium, Friday afternoon.
At
the number one doubles court, Nicole Bouffler
and Sandra Rocha defeated the Trojan's tandem
of Nicole Leimbach and Carrie Vermeulen,
8-3, handing The Beach it's only upset of
the day.
Meanwhile,
the 49ers lost at the number two and three
doubles courts, which gave USC the doubles'
point leading into singles play.
In
singles play, Bouffler was competetive against
Leimbach at the feature court, but ultimately
fell short 7-5, 6-2. The rest of the 49ers
did not fare any better, as USC swept the
49ers in all six singles matches.
At
court two, No. 29-ranked Lindsey Nelson
defeated Alanah Carroll 6-1, 6-0 and at
court three, Anca Anastasiu defeated Stephanie
Bengson 6-1, 6-1. Dianne Matias defeated
Rocha 6-3, 6-2 in court four, Vermeulen
defeated Rachael Porsz 6-1, 6-4 in the court
five and Judy DeVera defeated Nicoletta
Ratiu 6-0, 6-3 in court six.
The
49ers similarly were swept in last year's
opener against USC. The Ladies of Troy have
dominated the all-time series against The
Beach, 20-0.
LBSU
finished last season strong with an 18-9
record, winning the Big West Conference
Championship. The club continued to the
NCAA Tournament where they were eliminated
by UCLA in the first round.
The
49ers have only two seniors on the ten-person
roster, Bouffler and Claudia Argumedo.
Argumedo
ended the 2004 season with a 12-12 record.
Bouffler was a first-team All-Big West Conference
selection in both singles and doubles play.
In singles, Bouffler went 26-11. In doubles
play, alongside her partner Rocha, the two
combined for a 20-7 record.
There
are four newcomers to the team this season.
Porsz transferred from Georgia College and
State University. As a junior player, Porsz
was ranked No. 335 by the International
Tennis Federation and rated 1.5 by the England
Lawn Tennis Association.
The
three freshmen are Bengson, Ivana Karapandzic
and Ratiu. Bengson, who achieved a No. 18-ranking
in the Australian 18 and Under National
Rankings joined the team in January after
graduating from high school early. Karapandzic
attained a Sacramento Community Tennis Association
regional ranking of No. 75 in 2003. The
final newcomer, Ratiu, is ranked No. 252
by ITF World Junior in singles play and
is ranked No. 167 in doubles.
Coach
Jenny Hilt-Costello enters her eighth season
at LBSU with a record of 101-65. The coach
has led the 49ers to four consecutive appearances
in the Big West Tournament Championship
match, with victories in both 2002 and 2004.
Hilt-Costello was voted Big West Coach of
the Year last season.
The
Beach hit the road against San Diego State
on Friday and returned home Saturday to
host Northern Arizona at 9 a.m.
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