April 4, 2008

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA-- Senior Stephanie Bengson tied the 21-year old school record for singles wins and helped the 49ers clinch the top seed at the Big West Tournament in process, as No. 35-ranked Long Beach State (14-5) swept past Cal Poly (10-10), 7-0.

Bengson defeated Steffi Wong, 6-3, 6-3 in singles play to tie Havaja Frljuckic's (1984-87) 21-year old record of 70 wins and also clinched the match for the 49ers, putting LBSU 4-0 en route to the sweep.

Bengson also won in doubles play, teaming with partner Hannah Grady, to beat Cal Poly's team of Brittany Blalock and Wong 8-4. Cal Poly's team was ranked No. 52, while the 49ers top doubles team checked in at No. 53.

Grady, ranked No. 101, also won in singles play at the No. 1 position, winning 6-2, 6-0, as did Stephanie Jeanes. Bengson, Grady and Jeanes are all undefeated against the rest of the Big West this season.

This will be the third time LBSU is the No. 1 seed during their seven-year run to the Big West Finals, played this year April 25-27 in Indian Wells, CA. The 49ers host two home matches next Friday (El Dorado Park) and Saturday (Billie Jean King Tennis Courts) to close out their home schedule

DOUBLES (LBSU wins 2-of-3 for 1 points)
#53 Bengson/Grady, LB over #52 Blalock/Wong, CP 8-4
Jeanes/Weeds, LB over Brady/Malec, CP 8-2
Filip, Markoff, CP over Armstrong/Sutton, LB 8-5

SINGLES (LBSU wins 6-of-6 for 6 points)
# 101 Hannah Grady, LB over Brittany Blalock, CP 6-2, 6-0
Stephanie Bengson, LB over Steffi Wong, CP 6-3, 6-3*
Deborah Armstrong, LB over Whitney Peterson, CP 4-6, 6-2, 10-6
Stephanie Jeanes, LB over Shannon Brady, CP 6-1, 6-2
Jessica Weeks, LB over Amy Markoff, CP 7-6 (4), 6-4
Lisa Sutton, LB over Maria Malec, CP 6-3, 6-4