By It’s time to prepare for all the fall sports teams making their return at the start of the school year. This guide will help you get caught up with what’s going on with Long Beach State Athletics.
Long Beach State is a Division I school that is home to the Big West conference. The Big West is considered a mid major conference, which means that the programs are not among the so-called “Power Five conferences.”
This past spring semester, Long Beach proved to be a force in the NCAA, having multiple nationally ranked teams and winning a national championship in men’s volleyball.
Now the fall sports look to bounce back in spectacular fashion after an overall underwhelming season, and it starts with the women’s volleyball team.
Women’s Volleyball
Women’s Volleyball is coming off a (10-19) season, after losing middle blocker Ashley Murray to injury and having multiple injuries plague the team. Sophomore Hailey Harward and junior Megan Kruidhof showed promise and look to help lead the team back into the NCAA tournament. If sophomore YiZhi Xue continues to make strides, the team has a chance to reclaim the Big West.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team had a very average (9-6-3) season last year, failing to qualify for the Big West Conference Tournament. Fortunately there were some standout players that will be returning this season to make a playoff run. Sophomore defender Kaitlin Fregulia was named Big West Defender of the Year and to the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Second Team, while freshmen Rola Badawiya and Sarah Pilster were named to the All-Freshman Team.
Men’s Water Polo
The No. 6 men’s water polo team (15-12) looks to right its wrongs after losing to UC Irvine in the semifinals of the Golden Coast Conference Tournament. The good thing is that there is a ton of talent making their return this season. Redshirt sophomore Austin Stewart was named to the All-GCC Second Team and junior Austin Stevenson earned All-GCC Honorable Mention. Rounding out the awards was freshman Marwan Darwish, who was named to the GCC All-Freshman Team. The team is missing its star player Duncan Lyde, but the team looks to be in good hands under head coach Gavin Arroyo, who is working as an assistant coach for Team USA.
Cross Country
The Long Beach State men’s and women’s cross country teams closed out the 2017 season at the NCAA West Regional. While the team did not find much success, redshirt junior Mikayla Florez was the top runner with a time of 21:41.7. The team struggled to place in higher spots this season, but look to bounce back with its plethora of young talent.
The fall sports have a lot to prove after a lackluster 2017-2018 season, but things look to be going in the right direction for all four teams this upcoming year. Check http://www.longbeachstate.com/ for upcoming game schedules.
