By Jack Haslett
Women’s soccer enters the 2024 season ranked No.1 in the conference according to the Preseason Big West Coaches Poll.
The Beach bolstered their roster with the addition of four incoming freshmen and the transfers of junior forward Liz Worden from women’s soccer powerhouse the University of Texas and sophomore defender Kylie Perez from the University of San Diego.
Worden was named to the Preseason Coaches Team alongside sophomore defender Brooklyn Antonucci.
LBSU played its first game of the season on Thursday against UCLA. The soccer team lost 3-0.
The Beach will play UC Irvine Oct. 27 in a rematch of the first round of last year’s Big West Championships when the Anteaters edged past The Beach on penalty kicks.
Junior forward Liz Worden transferred from Texas to Long Beach State as she starts her first year with LBSU. Worden played 18 matches with Texas and ended her 2023 season with three goals to go along with four assists. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko.
Men’s water polo begins their season at the Triton Invitational Saturday, Sep. 7.
Head coach Gavin Arroyo returns from an assistant coach role with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games looking to lead The Beach to an improvement over their 2023 season. Last year the team placed fifth in the The Big West after just a 2-3 record in conference play despite a solid 16-12 overall record.
The Beach lost their top scorer in the offseason when sophomore Robert Lopez Duart transferred to USC. Duart led LBSU with 87 goals in 2023 and was named Big West Freshman of the Year.
The Beach will face UC Davis Oct.11 after falling to the Aggies in a heartbreaking sudden death loss in round one of last year’s Big West Tournament.
Women’s tennis enters the 2024 fall season with a whole slew of new blood on the team. Seven of the eight Beach tennis players are incoming freshmen, with junior Paulina Franco Martinessi being the lone veteran.
“It’s a really talented group,” head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello said. “The freshmen really were the ones that captured our attention, just in terms of their eagerness and their goals.”
LBSU will host the Beach Tennis Fall Tournament on Oct. 3-6 at the Rhodes Tennis Center, featuring teams from across the conference.
Women’s volleyball determines a new future in the 2024 season under the leadership of interim head coach Natalie Reagan and her newly appointed staff.
Reagan and the Beach looks to improve upon the 2023 season where they finished fourth despite a stellar 21-10 overall record and 13-5 conference record in a tough Big West conference that leaves little margin for error.
Kameron Bacon is one of eight LBSU players who will be going on their senior season and she ended her 2023 season with 163 kills, second on her team. Bacon ranked 25th in the NCAA on blocks per set. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko.
Four All Big-West players from 2023 return to Long Beach this season.
Senior outside hitters Elise Agi and Natalie Glenn and senior middle blocker Kameron Bacon close out their Beach careers this season and redshirt junior setter Zayna Meyer defends her title as Big West Setter of the Year.
The Beach faces off against Hawaii in a rematch of the 2023 Big West Championship game Oct. 5 in the Walter Pyramid.
Golf this semester has both LBSU teams seeking to repeat appearances in the NCAA postseason as Big West conference champions entering in the 2024-2025 season.
The men’s team opens the fall season at the Ram Masters invitational hosted by Colorado State University on Sept. 17 while the women’s team opens their season Sept. 8 at the Branch Law Firm/ Dick McGuire Invitational.
Junior Jasmine Leovao returns to the Beach for a third season alongside her twin sister junior Janae Leovao. Jasmine seeks to repeat as the Big West Championship Medalist for the third straight season after a stellar 2023 where she appeared in the NCAA postseason for a second straight season.
