Manarino Retires as Softball Coach

Head Coach Pete Manarino, who built Long Beach State softball into a perennial power, amassing five College World Series and 17 NCAA Regional appearances, announced his retirement in June after 23 years of coaching. A national search is under way to find his successor.

Manarino, who took over the program in 1984 as its third coach in four years, assembled an overall record of 843-508-2 (.624), which included five Big West titles and five conference coach of the year honors. When he topped 800 wins in 2005, he was just one of just 19 coaches to do so. His 843 wins are more than any other current or former 49er coach in the university’s 57-year history and rank in the top-15 all-time in NCAA history.

During his tenure, the 49ers had eight conference pitchers of the year and one player of the year. Overall, the 49ers produced 30 first team all-conference selections and 88 all-conference performances. Thirty-two of those players were named All-Region and three were All-Americans. Manarino’s players were named Academic or Scholastic All-Americans eight times.

Women’s Tennis Finishes 26th in Nation

The Long Beach State women’s tennis team concluded its banner 2006 season with its highest final national ranking in school history. The 49ers, who won their third consecutive Big West Conference championship, finished ranked No. 26 in the country. Long Beach, which finished with a 22-5 record, began the season ranked No. 57 in the country and were nationally ranked all season.

Individually, freshman Hannah Grady was named the Big West Conference Player of the Year and finished ranked No. 53 in the country in singles with a 19-6 singles record.

Men’s Crew Wins Race in Dad Vail Regatta

CSULB’s men’s varsity four crew team captured the gold medal at the Dad Vail Regatta held in May on the Schukyll River in Philadelphia. Its winning time of 6:31.57 edged out such notables as Georgia, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Dayton.

“We had lane six in the finals and everybody was saying that nobody ever wins out of lane six, but we did,” said coach Scott Strong. “This is a big deal because it’s the first time a West Coast school has ever won.”

CSULB’s varsity four is comprised of junior 3-man Brian Buchanan, senior stroke Jason Geggie and coxswain Jackie Taheny—all returners from the 2005 squad—along with senior 2-man Ryan Held and junior bowman Sam Proctor.

In May, the 49ers earned a silver medal at the Western Intercollegiate Association Rowing Championships at Lake Natoma near Sacramento.

At June’s 104th Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in Cherry Hill, N.J., CSULB’s men’s varsity four with cox came in 13th in the nation.

All-Academic Athletes Named

Twenty-two Long Beach State student-athletes earned accolades this spring as the Big West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation named their All-Academic teams.

To be named to the Big West All-Academic squad, student-athletes must have a 3.2 cumulative GPA, while the MPSF standard is a 3.0 cumulative GPA or better. Both conferences require honorees to attend the member institution for at least one year and be a significant contributor to athletic success.

For a list of this year’s honorees, visit the 49er Athletics Web site at www.longbeachstate.com.

49ers Light Up L.A. Sparks

Former 49er women’s basketball standout Virginia “Penny” Toler has the distinction of scoring the first basket in the history of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 1997 as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks.

Moving to the Sparks’ front office as general manager in 1999, she has helped make the team one of the WNBA’s most successful franchises, so in recognition of her contributions to women’s professional basketball, the Sparks retired her No. 11 jersey in a game half-time ceremony on July 5.

As a 49er, Toler was a two-time All-American with a school-record 513 assists and a .795 free-throw percentage. She played professionally in Europe before joining the Sparks.

The Sparks also named Cypress College women’s basketball head coach Margaret Mohr (1988, B.A.; 1996, M.A., kinesiology and physical education; 1990, credential) as an assistant coach. Mohr and Toler were teammates on the 49ers’ 1987 team that played in the NCAA Final Four.