Long Beach State women’s tennis player Rachel Manasse outlasted fellow teammate Laura Bernard, 6-3, 6-4 to earn the Fullerton Invitational singles championship on Monday at the Rhodes Tennis Center at Long Beach State.
Since the pair played three doubles matches together, as well as the singles semifinals on Sunday, rather than forcing them to play a fifth match on the same day, the duo faced each other on their own home court.
However, the match still counts for official results and stands as the official championship of the Fullerton Invitational.
Manasse opened up the match by holding serve, and then earned a break to take a 2-0 lead in the first set. Bernard rallied to win the next three sets in a row, but Manasse held on to break back in a long sixth game that featured a number of deuce points to even the set. Manasse carried her momentum over in the next frame to take down the next three points to take the first set, 6-3.
In the second set, it was Bernard that started out quickly, winning the first two sets and taking a 3-2 lead. In another set that was a complete battle, Manasse earned another break to even up the set, and took a 5-3 lead on the way to a 6-4 second set win in a tightly contested match.
With Manasse’s win Monday, Long Beach has now won the Fullerton Invitational two years in a row. Anais Dallara claimed the title in 2010.
Manasse had to face teammate Julie Luzar in the semifinals on Sunday, with Manasse winning the matchup between the classmates, 6-2, 6-2. Bernard picked up a 6-2, 6-1 win in the other semifinal match.
Beach Tennis has the weekend off, and will then conclude the fall season by participating in the ITA West Regionals, beginning on October 20.
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