It’s that time of year when students try to figure out ways to make up for their mistakes in the first eight weeks of school so they can salvage their grades by the end of the semester.
The same is true for the Long Beach State athletic teams.
So it’s time for the LBSU teams to receive their midseason progress reports.
Women’s Volleyball
In the first Long Beach State sporting event of the year, the women’s volleyball team looked as if it might not just challenge for the Big West title, but even the national title.
In its season opener, The Beach dominated No. 13 Missouri, defeating the Tigers in three straight games.
After the game, LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro said what is to date the sports quote of the year, “This is Long Beach State, what do you expect?”
For one night, it seemed the women’s volleyball team was back to its old form, when it was constantly in the top-10 and challenged and even won national titles.
But that night in late August now seems long, long ago.
The Beach currently holds a 14-4 record and is 4-1 in the Big West. For most teams that would be a successful start to the year, but LBSU is to women’s volleyball what Texas is to football, and being “pretty good” isn’t good enough.
In fairness, LBSU’s four losses are respectable ones.
Five days after beating Missouri, The Beach lost to Oregon (14-3). LBSU also fell to No. 1 Nebraska (17-0), Sacramento State (20-4) and Big West rival No. 19 Cal Poly (14-4).
The problem is, other than that opening night win over Missouri, The Beach’s only other quality wins are against Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara, but those wins were at home and neither CSUN nor UCSB are ranked in the top-25.
Injuries are also becoming a problem.
Naomi Washington, who ranks fifth on the team in kills, is probably out with an injured shoulder for the rest of the season. Robin Miramontes, who ranks fourth on the team in kills, has been battling a variety of injuries all year and sat out during last weekend’s matches.
The Beach is about to begin a five-match road trip, with the big match being against Cal Poly on Oct. 27.
The winner of that match will probably have the inside track on winning the Big West, but if LBSU couldn’t beat Cal Poly at home with Washington, will The Beach be able to beat the Mustangs on the road without Washington?
Midseason Grade: C+
Final Prediction: second in the Big West; second round in NCAA Tournament.
Women’s Soccer
It’s time to acknowledge LBSU women’s soccer head coach Maurico Ingrassia as a National Coach of the Year candidate.
The turn around Ingrassia has led of the women’s soccer team has been nothing short of phenomenal.
In three years, Ingrassia has turned around a struggling program into one of the top two or three mid-major teams in the country.
If you are looking for a comparison, LBSU is to women’s soccer what Gonzaga is to men’s basketball.
The 49ers are currently 12-2-1 and is 3-0-1 in the Big West. They are ranked No. 20 by Soccer America magazine and No. 30 by SoccerBuzz.com.
If it were not for one bad loss on the road to Eastern Washington, it is probable LBSU would be ranked in the top-15 in both polls.
Midfielder Hayley Bolt is the team leader on the field, with six goals and four assists. She should be the Big West Player of the Year, and becuase she is just a sophomore, Bolt might win the award multiple times in her LBSU career.
The strength of the 49ers is thier defense, which has 11 shutouts in 15 matches.
The play of the backline, led by captain Natalie Messina, along with Julie Mergordan, Amanda Perry, Sara Baca, Tiffany Vaught and Jenna Duncan, has been phenomenal all season and seems to be getting even better.
The only player in the Big West who might challenge Bolt for Player of the Year honors is LBSU goalie Liz Ramos, who is posting a 0.35 goals against average, which is the fifth lowest in the country.
The big match left on the schedule is a date with Cal State Fullerton on the road on Oct. 25.
The match will be nationally televised (Fox Soccer Channel) and the winner will most likely win the regular season Big West title and host the Big West Tournament.
At this point of the season, it would be a surprise if LBSU doesn’t qualify for the NSCAA Tournament, even if it doesn’t get the automatic bid awarded to the Big West champion.
Midseason Grade: A-
Final Prediction: Big West Champion; second round of the NSCAA Tournament.
Men’s Water Polo
Of the three fall team sports, first-year head coach Gavin Arroyo inherited the most difficult challenge.
LBSU competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in men’s water polo, which very well might be the most difficult conference of all the college sports.
To give you some idea, last week LBSU was ranked No. 14 in the country, but was in last place in the nine-team conference.
The Beach is 5-9 and 0-1 in the MPSF.
Five of The Beach’s nine losses have been by two goals or less and the team seem to be improving as the season has gone on.
The goal from here on out for the men’s water polo team should be simple – don’t finish in last place.
That might seem like a low bar, but the last place team does not qualify for the MPSF tournament, so finishing in the top-eight is important.
Arroyo is optimistic about the potential of his team and he says the squad has “lots of room for improvement.”
Jay Gerardi, who was an All-American honorable mention last season, is currently leading the team in goals with 29 and Jeff Greenwood has scored 25 times.
But offense has not been the problem, it is the defense that has hurt the team. LBSU is averaging 10.6 goals against per game.
If LBSU can tighten up the defense by the end of the year, The Beach could give one of the top teams in the MPSF a run for their money come tournament time.
Midseason Grade: C
Final Predicton: seventh in MPSF.
Questions and comments can be e-mailed to sportsd49er@gmail.com.
