49ers Receive Regional Rankings
Two Singles and Two Doubles Teams Regionally Ranked

December 8, 2006

LONG BEACH, CA-- Long Beach State was well represented on the ITA West Regional Rankings which were released today. The 49ers had two singles players (Hannah Grady, Katy Williams) and two doubles teams (Grady/Weeks, Bengson/Williams) earn rankings.

Grady, the reigning Big West Player of the Year, is ranked No. 15 in the tough West Region in singles, while Williams checks in at No. 26. In doubles, the duo of Grady and Jessica Weeks are ranked No. 6 while Williams and Stephanie Bengson are ranked No. 12.

Grady had a strong fall season finishing at 3-2, including two wins over nationally-ranked opponents. Ranked No. 38 in singles in the pre-season ITA Rankings, Grady defeated No. 97 Becky Bernhard of UC Irvine and No. 117 Austin Smith of North Carolina. Williams, who is ranked No. 85 nationally, went 4-4 in her fall singles competition.

In doubles, Grady and Weeks were 1-2 in the fall, but all three opponents were nationally-ranked. Ranked No. 23 nationally, Grady and Weeks earned a win over the No. 37-ranked doubles duo from the University of South Carolina at the Riviera All-America Championships. They also dropped a tough 8-6 decision to UCLA's Zalamada and Schnack at Riviera. Zalamada and Schnack are ranked No. 4 in the region and No. 15 nationally. Bengson and Williams, playing for the first time as a doubles pair this fall, went 2-1 in doubles action. They dropped a close match to USC's DeVera and Fink (8-5) at the ITA Regionals in San Diego. DeVera and Fink are ranked No. 3 in the region and No. 57 in the nation.

The 49ers begin the spring portion of their schedule on January 24 when they take on No. 3-ranked USC. The home opener for The Beach will be on January 26 when they host the University of San Francisco at 2 pm at the 49er Campus Courts. Long Beach has won three consecutive Big West Conference Championships, and four overall, heading into the 2006-07 campaign. The 49ers finished last year at 22-5 and ranked No. 26 in the country, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championships.

West Region Singles Rankings (December 8, 2006)
1. Lindsey Nelson, USC
2. Sara Fansler, USC
3. Bianca Dulgheru, Pepperdine
4. Riza Zalameda, UCLA
5. Amanda Fink, USC
6. Yasmin Schnack, UCLA
7. Diane Matias, USC
8. Tracy Lin, UCLA
9. Ashley Joelson, UCLA
10. Holly Bagshaw, San Diego State
11. Alex McGoodwin, UCLA
12. Elena Gantcheva, UNLV
13. Danielle Steinberg, Arizona
14. Sylvia Kosakowski, Pepperdine
15. Hannah Grady, Long Beach State
16. Sabrina Capannolo, Arizona State
17. Roxanne Clarke, Arizona State
18. Kristina Nedeltcheva, UNLV
19. Julie Smekodub, USC
20. Juliette Mavroleon, Arizona
21. Nikol Dimitrova, UNLV
22. Anca Anastasiu, USC
23. Kady Pooler, Arizona State
24. Pavla Mesterova, Loyola Marymount
25. Eliska Krausova, San Diego State
26. Katy Williams, Long Beach State
27. Judy DeVera, USC
28. Becky Bernhard, UC Irvine
29. Elizabeth Lumpkin, UCLA
30. Rebecca Rankin, Arizona State

Doubles
1. Pooler / Clarke, Arizona State
2. Matias / Fansler, USC
3. Fink / DeVera, USC
4. Zalameda / Schnack, UCLA
5. Steinberg / Mavroleon, Arizona
6. Grady/ Weeks, Long Beach State
7. Kosakowski / Bandere, Pepperdine
8. Jakowlew / Toporowska, Arizona
9. Rankin / N. Abdala, Arizona State
10. Nelson / Smekodub, USC
11. Lumpkin/ McGoodwin, UCLA
12. Williams / Bengson, Long Beach State
13. Lin/ Joelson, UCLA
14. Nielsen / Krausova, San Diego State
15. Simic / Scatliffe, UC Santa Barbara