In one of the tightest match-ups of the season, the No. 42 Long Beach State women’s tennis team defeated No. 59 Saint Mary’s, 5-2, at the Rhodes Tennis Center on Saturday.
Doubles action headlined the all-time wins leader in 49er history, Hannah Grady, and her partner Jessica Weeks in a battle with St. Mary’s Claire Soper and the No. 42 player in the nation, Alex Poorta.
The 49er duo is reunited as a tandem for their senior years after playing a year with other partners. Facing a strong challenge, the team veterans rallied back from down 4-3 to take the match, 8-6.
Solid play proved contagious for the 49ers (6-3), as the remaining 49er pairs won by scores of 8-6 and 8-5 to give the defending Big West Conference champions a sweep in doubles play and a point toward the best-of-seven final score.
LBSU sophomore Lisa Sutton lost in straight sets to Molly Aloia, 6-0, 6-4. While Sutton lost the match, she showed good resolve losing the second set by a much-improved score.
Things began to tilt the way of St. Mary’s as freshman Julie Luzar lost her match, 6-2, 6-3, on Court 5 to give St. Mary’s a 2-1 advantage.
On Court 1, Grady battled back after losing her first set to Poorta, improving her chances of moving back into the national top-100 and earning a point for the ‘Niners.
Almost simultaneously, Anais Dallara won her match with St. Mary’s Sabina Gunnarsson, 6-4, 6-4, on Court 4. The most diminutive player on the 49ers emerged with a big performance as the team went up 3-2 in total points and never looked back.
The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for freshman Rachel Manasse, who after a long, hard-fought battle with St. Mary’s sophomore Claire Soper, earned the fourth point of the day with a 6-4, 7-6 [3] win for the 49ers to clinch the match.
Teammates gathered to cheer sophomore Deborah Armstrong, the last singles competitor for Long Beach after exhaling a sigh of relief upon clinching the victory.
St. Mary’s (2-4) dropped its first match to an opponent not ranked in the top-30 in the nation.
The 49ers return to action Thursday at UC Irvine. First serve is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
The next match at the Rhodes Tennis Center will be Saturday at 11 a.m. versus Cal Poly.