The Long Beach State women’s tennis team travels to the Aztec Tennis Center to face off against undefeated San Diego State Friday. The 2 p.m. match will end with one team earning its first loss of the season.
San Diego (3-0) has played all of its games at home, dominating all opponents with a 7-0 advantage. The Aztec’s most recent win came against the UC Riverside Highlanders, which the 49ers beat 5-2 Saturday.
With San Diego coming in with its first spotless doubles record in more than 25 years, Long Beach (1-0) will have to focus its efforts on outlasting the Aztecs.
The 49ers have room for optimism, with their only singles loss belonging to freshmen
Wiktoria Rutkowska and Dominique Meyer, the same pair who went undefeated in the Beach Invitational.
In singles, Long Beach will need to keep an eye on San Diego senior Jenny Moinard, who had an overall record of 23-7 last season, going 1-0 against nationally ranked players.
Although the 49ers haven’t been as dominant, they have shown the tenacity to pull out wins. During the regular season, the freshmen have shown signs of comfort and success, sporting a 3-2 record in singles and doubles matches combined.
Head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello said she believes the team is just “shaking off the cobwebs since we’re just starting season.”
Another note from Hilt-Costello was that the team is still getting acclimated to the influx of freshmen it has, making up half its roster.
After facing San Diego State on the road, Long Beach will head back home for an 11 a.m. matchup Saturday to face off against University of San Diego.