Malenovska is Good

Klaudia Malenovska, the No. 2 singles player, earned Big West Player of the Week. 

Malenovska won her first four matches since coming back from suspension.  Her winnining streak was derailed last week by No. 30 Pepperdine.  The team as a whole lost that match 4-3.

Photo courtesy of LBSU

During interviews, Malenovska mentioned that her success was due to confidence on the court.  Malenovska also said she gains more confidence as her playing time increases.

The 'Niners' next action comes on March 31 against Illinois-Chigaco.

Three-Game Win Streak

The 'Niners finished off a homestand with a three-game winning streak.

The Beach beat Louisville this Thursday at home, 5-2.

This win was important because it showed off the team's depth – three of its points came from the lower half of the lineup.

The No. 1 and No. 3 singles players dropped their respective match in super-tiebreakers.

No. 2 singles action player Klaudia Malenovska proved she is a force to be wrecked with her third consecutive win since sitting out a year and a half.

Malenovska won her singles match in two sets – her first two-set match this season.

Big Weekend for the 49ers

There were three games played this weekend, so lets get started:


Friday, March 11
The Beach dropped a second straight match.  It was a close match too; Boston College won by the score of 4-3.

The No. 1 singles player, Anais Dallara, dominated her opponent once again.  She beat Alex Kelleher in two-sets, 6-2, 6-0.  Rachel Manasse got the only other singles win, 2-6, 6-0, 6-3.

The 'Niners got the doubles point though, winning two out of the three doubles matches.

Jaklin Alawi, Deborah Armstrong, Sarah Cantlay and Julie Lazar all lost their singles match.

Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello was disappointed with the loss.


Saturday, March 12
The match against the 29th-ranked Sacramento State Hornets was marked by the return of Klaudia Malenovska and Deborah Armstrong tying former 49er Hannah Grady's record for most combined wins.

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Malenovska was serving a NCAA suspension for accepting prize money while playing overseas.  She was out for the entire last season and the first 11 matches of this season.

Malenovska said she was nervous during her first match, but shook off the nerves to win in three sets, 4-6, 7-6 , 7-6.

Armstrong reached 172 combined wins with her singles play victory, tying current assistant coach Hannah Grady.

Overall, the 'Niners overcame its two-game losing streak with a 5-2 win.







Sunday, March 13
Today's match was a quick one.  The Long Beach State women's tennis team had a 7-0 sweep against Columbia.

Deborah Armstrong extended the combined wins record to 174 with a doubles and singles victory.

Armstrong showed humility, saying Grady deserves more credit since Grady played a couple spots higher.

Klaudia Malenovska played in her second match in over a year, going three sets but ended up victorious.

The typically dominant Anais Dallara struggled in her second set, but still came out with a win, 6-2, 7-5.

3/4-3/5 Games

The 49ers played two games this weekend: the first on the road against San Diego State and the second at home versus UC Santa Barbara.

Friday's game was a close match, but LBSU still came out victorious 4-3.

The 49ers swept San Diego State in the doubles competition.  This was vital since they have not played too good at doubles play.

Saturday's match against UC Santa Barbara was also a close, but The Beach was not the winner in that one.

This was an especially tough loss; it marks the team's first loss in the Big West conference in three years.
The girls swept the doubles point again but could not muster enough to win the game.

Anais Dallara played very well, wining her match in two sets, 6-3 each.

Deborah Armstrong was the only other winner of the day, beating out her opponent 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello was very angry after the match.  I was able to hear her yell and use explicit language in the clubhouse after the match.