By snoadmin
Sports fans don’t like to admit it, but following your favorite team isn’t much different than being addicted to “Days of our Lives.”
And Long Beach State athletics felt like a soap opera this season.
From the constant questions about the future of Larry Reynolds to the up-and-down season of the women’s volleyball team, to the current winning streak by the Dirtbags, the last 12 months of Long Beach State athletics has been a real roller coaster ride.
Of all the drama, here is my list of the top 10 49ers stories of the year.
No. 10 – Hoey and Lederer win Big West golf championships
It wasn’t surprising that Kay Hoey, who is ranked No. 16 nationally, brought home the women’s individual title at the Big West Conference golf championships. Hoey shot a 215 (71-73-71) over the three-day tournament, beating out UC Irvine’s Selanee Henderson by one stroke.
What was slightly surprising was the performance of Brett Lederer. Lederer, a senior, had never won a college golf tournament in his career but in his final golf collegiate tournament, he shot a 209 (70-69-70) to win the Big West Conference men’s championship by five strokes.
No. 9 – Dirtbags winning streak
The one ongoing story in the top 10 is the current 12-game winning streak by the Dirtbags.
It’s the longest streak for LBSU since 1998 and the fifth longest in Dirtbag history. While on the streak, the Dirtbags have slowly snuck up the national rankings (No. 18 by Baseball America) and are now alone in first place in the Big West.
No. 8 – Women’s soccer wins Big West regular season
One of the most memorable moments for me, personally, this year was after LBSU beat Cal State Fullerton last October to win its first ever Big West regular season title.
After the 1-0 win, I was walking toward head coach Mauricio Ingrassia to get a quote about the historic victory. But when I caught up with Ingrassia, he said, “Hold on, Pat. I have to see my wife.” He and his wife then embraced.
It never would have been in a movie because it was way too corny, but it was a real moment that would make even the most hardnosed person think, “Awwwww.”
No. 7 – Pete Manarino retires
Last June, one of the most successful women’s college softball coaches called it a career after coaching at LBSU for 23 years.
Pete Manarino won 843 games, which ranked him in the top-15 in all-time victories. He also led the 49ers to 17 NCAA Regionals, five College World Series and was named conference coach of the year five times.
No. 6 – Men’s basketball suspensions
Only twice this year did I open up my e-mail, and then yell, “Oh shit!”
This was the first time I did it.
In mid-February, with LBSU’s men’s basketball team competing for a Big West Conference championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament, the athletic department announced that the team was suspending two key players (Kejuan Johnson and Mark Dawson) and an assistant coach (Reggie Howard) because of possible recruiting violations.
At the time, it seemed as if the suspensions might lead to the demise of what was the best men’s basketball team at The Beach in over a decade. But the 49ers won all three games that Johnson and Dawson were suspended, and when they came back, LBSU was better than ever.
No. 5 – Women’s tennis wins its fourth consecutive Big West championship
In this millennium, LBSU’s women’s tennis team is the most consistent and successful athletic program at The Beach. This season, the 49ers won the Big West Conference championship for an amazing fourth consecutive year, beating Cal Poly 4-0 in the conference final.
No. 4 – Women’s volleyball advances to second round of the NCAA Tournament
The most difficult part of compiling this list was where to put the women’s volleyball team.
On one hand, the women’s volleyball team advanced further in the NCAA Tournament than any other 49er sport, but on the other hand, The Beach didn’t live up to its own expectations for the 2006 season.
So, to make a long story short, I settled with No. 4.
After finishing second in the Big West behind Cal Poly, The Beach hosted the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament inside The Walter Pyramid last November. After convincingly beating Pepperdine in the first round, LBSU lost in four sets to Hawaii in the second round.
No. 3 – Evan Longoria is picked No. 3 in MLB draft
The No. 3 pick in last June’s Major League Baseball amateur draft is the No. 3 Long Beach State story of the year.
No Dirtbag had ever been selected higher in the draft than Longoria and he has proved to be worthy of a top draft pick.
Longoria is currently ripping up the minor leagues, hitting .320 with nine homeruns and 30 RBIs (all team highs) for Tampa Bay’s Double AA team, the Montgomery Biscuits.
No. 2 – Larry Reynolds is out, Dan Monson is in
My second “oh shit” moment came when I got the e-mail telling me Larry Reynolds was not coming back to be the men’s basketball coach.
The speculation over the future of Reynolds’ job was under speculation for almost three years, but it finally came to an end when Athletic Director Vic Cegles announced, in late March, that his contract would not be renewed.
A couple of weeks later, Cegles announced Reynolds’ replacement would be Dan Monson, who led Gonzaga into the Elite Eight and was the coach at Minnesota for the past seven seasons before being forced to resign.
No. 1 – Men’s basketball wins Big West, goes to NCAA Tournament
Before this year, the last time the LBSU men’s basketball team won the Big West Conference, Monica Lewinsky was still an intern, “Seinfeld” was the most watched show on television, and I was in Ms. Campbell’s fifth grade class. In other words, it doesn’t happen very often, so it was an obvious choice for No. 1.
The 49ers won their 24th game of the season when they beat Cal Poly 94-83 in the conference championship on March 10.
Six days later, LBSU was brought back down to earth when Tennessee beat the 49ers 121-86 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But it was the Big West final that highlighted the year for 49er athletics.
