Report by LBSU

Long Beach State won two matches to grab the doubles point, but lost four matches in singles as the tennis team’s bid to win a seventh straight championship came up short as the 49ers fell to UC Irvine 4-1 in the Big West Championships.

Long Beach State had beaten the Anteaters in the last two seasons in the finals, and got off to a good start on Sunday with two wins in doubles. Jaklin Alawi and Rachel Manasse beat Holladay/Kwan at No. 1 doubles 8-2, while Sarah Cantlay and Julie Luzar picked up their third win of the tournament in doubles, beating Bartlett/Bisharat 8-2.

In singles, however, it was UC Irvine that earned the big victories. April Bisharat defeated Anais Dallara at No. 2 singles 6-0, 6-3 to tie the score in the match, and wins at No. 5 and 6 by the Anteaters made the score 3-1 in favor of UC Irvine.

Both Deborah Armstrong and Rachel Manasse led their matches at No. 3 and No. 4, but Jaklin Alawi dropped the first set to Courtney Byron 7-5, and a second set loss by a 6-4 margin allowed UC Irvine to clinch the match prior to the end of the other matches.

The 49ers, coming into the week ranked No. 45 in the nation, finish the season at 19-6 in dual matches, barring an at-large selection into the NCAA Tournament, beginning on May 14. The NCAA announcement for the tournament pairings will be on May 4.

DOUBLES

Alawi/Manasse, LBSU def. Holladay/Kwan, UCI 8-2

Armstrong/Dallara, LBSU vs. Byron/Smith, UCI DNF

Cantlay/Luzar, LBSU def. Bartlett/Bisharat, UCI 8-2

SINGLES

Courtney Byron, UCI def. Jaklin Alawi, LBSU 7-5, 6-4

April Bisharat, UCI def. Anais Dallara, LBSU 6-0, 6-3

Deborah Armstrong, LBSU def. Stephanie Hammel, UCI DNF

Rachel Manasse, LBSU def. Brooke Bartlett, UCI DNF

Rebecca Kwan, UCI def. Anna Jeczmionka, LBSU 6-3, 6-2

Kristina Smith, UCI def. Sarah Cantlay, LBSU 6-3, 6-3