 
In her 11 seasons as head coach, Jenny Hilt-Costello has built the 49er women's tennis program up into the national elite. Reaching No. 18 in the national rankings during the 2006 season acknowledged the arrival of Beach Tennis during a run that has included eight consecutive winning seasons, eight consecutive years advancing to the title match of the Big West Conference Tournament and eight consecutive nationally-ranked seasons. The 2008 season was a stellar year on and off the courts and even underneath the courts, capped off by the sixth Big West title and sixth NCAA Tournament. The team went 19-7, but what may have been more impressive is the fact that every player had a GPA over 3.2. Individually, all five eligible 49ers were named ITA Scholar-Athletes, with Stephanie Bengson, Hannah Grady and Jessica Weeks being multiple winners. Five of the six players in the fall received 4.0 GPAs. The tennis team had had 10 of the last 13 highest GPAs amongst athletic teams at LBSU. The program's fall GPA was 3.78. The fall GPA was a program-high. The tennis program also received two gifts during the spring to further enhance their program, as they played off campus at El Dorado Park in 2007-08 as the Rhodes Tennis Center was constructed on campus, thanks to the $1.25 million donation by Terry Rhodes. The facility, opened in Fall, 2008 has a new scoreboard thanks to $50,000 from the Hendricks and Robbins familes. In 2007, Beach Tennis once again reigned as Big West Conference Champions, winning the title for the fourth consecutive year. Long Beach was ranked all year in the ITA Rankings and ended the 2007 campaign ranked No. 40 nationally. The 49ers advanced to the NCAA Championships for the fifth time in school history, finishing with a 17-9 overall mark. Sophomore Hannah Grady was selected as the Big West Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and finished the campaign ranked #123 in the country in singles play. The 2006 season's Top-20 ranking was just part of the Beach Tennis story as they posted a 22-5 record versus fourteen ranked opponents, capturing a third consecutive Big West Conference title and advancing to the round of 32 in the NCAA Championships before narrowly falling to the number two team in the nation. The No. 26 final national ranking was a 30-spot jump from the start of the season. Hilt-Costello was named the Big West Conference Coach of the Year for a fifth time in 2008. She also received the award in 2001, 2004 and 2005, and 2006. In 2004, she was selected the ITA West Region Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year award. The 49ers have compiled a 130-46 (.739) mark the past seven seasons, including a sparkling 64-10 (.865) against Big West Conference foes. The conference final appearance (seven consecutive), league championships (five), NCAA tournament qualifications (five) and Top-75 national ranking (seven consecutive years) all are the only times in school history that each has been achieved even once. With a career coaching mark of 155-90 (.633) in 10 years, Hilt-Costello currently holds all the 49er women's tennis coaching records for single season and career wins and highest winning percentage. During her tenure as head coach, 49er teams have featured four Big West Conference Players of the Year, 11 have earned national rankings and 26 Big West First Team singles and doubles honorees. Hilt-Costello has coached the only two 49ers to be invited to participate in the NCAA Singles Championships and the first doubles pair to reach the NCAA Doubles Championships. Hilt-Costello served from 2002-2006 on the NCAA Division-I Women's Tennis Committee. Hilt-Costello's student-athletes also succeed in the classroom having received five (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) ITA National All-Academic Team Awards for having over a 3.40 team grade point averages. Arriving at Long Beach State in the fall of 1995, Hilt-Costello served as an assistant coach for two years, as well as teaching kinesiology classes. Hilt-Costello played collegiate tennis at UCLA, where she graduated with a B.A. in psychology. She played all four years at UCLA, beginning as a walk-on and earning the spot of team captain as a senior. She earned a career-high national singles ranking of No. 35 and doubles ranking of No. 9. While she was at UCLA, the Bruin teams advanced to NCAA Tournament play all four years, including 1991 when they reached the National Championship team final her freshman year. Prior to her collegiate career, Hilt-Costello's junior career included advancing to the 1988 USTA National Father-Daughter Doubles championship match at the U.S. Open. Born in Madison, WI, and raised in Sacramento, CA, Jenny and her husband John have a home in Long Beach. |
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