Champions • Hannah Grady was named Big West Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year (top). Sandra Rocha was named to the second team all-league for singles play (bottom). Brandy Baker / Online Forty-Niner

49er women’s tennis win 2006 Big West Title

By Kim Oswell
Online Forty-Niner
Sports Editor


Three times is the charm for the women’s tennis team who won the 2006 Big West Championship. Long Beach State is ranked No. 27 and claimed its third consecutive title, fourth overall, at the 2006 Big West Conference Tennis Championships at Indian Wells Tennis Gardens April 30.

The 49ers were matched against the No. 48-ranked UC Irvine Anteaters and won 4-0. The Beach has a long winning record against UCI including defeating them in the Big West Championship in 2002 and 2004.

Freshman Hannah Grady was named Big West women’s tennis player and freshman of the year. Grady is ranked No. 67 in the nation in singles and has won 17 of her last 18 matches. Her partner Jessica Weeks and she are ranked No. 41 in the country in doubles play.

LBSU Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello received the nod for Big West Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season.

Under her coaching, the 49ers have made it to the championship match at the Big West Championships the last six years. Hilt-Costello has had 137 career wins at The Beach, which ranks No. 1 all-time at LBSU.

The list of rankings and awards seem endless for the 49er women with Katy Williams being named to first team all-league in singles and Stephanie Bengson and Sandra Rocha each named to second team all-league in singles. Grady and Weeks earned first team all-league for doubles play along with Rocha and Williams. Bengson and Rachael Porsz were awarded honorable mention for doubles.

The Beach offers a tennis camp for eight one-week sessions during the summer, instructed by Hilt-Costello from June 26 to Aug. 18. The camp is designed for children between the ages of 5 and 15 and offers skill development for all skill levels.

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