From the Bench

Coming off of a weekend loss to Brigham Young University, the 49ers are fired up to be at home this weekend, hosting the Long Beach State Invitational.

Participating teams include UC Irvine, Nevada and New Mexico State. The 49ers (6-1) will take on New Mexico State University Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Nevada Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

The loss to BYU Saturday dropped the 49ers to No. 5 in the nation in the latest USA Today/AVCA coaches poll.

"We took this weekend as a learning experience and we never want to feel like that again," setter Brittany Hochevar said.

Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro said: "[Beating BYU] would've been a solid lock on No. 1 in the country. With two left sides out, we're asking people to do things they've never been asked to do, which is very, very difficult."

Gimmillaro also talked about the pressures of being one of the elite programs in the nation.   "Everybody wants to beat you. If you have the best reputation in the country, winning is never enough," he said. "Our performance is always judged against the best."

Although LBSU continues to adjust to its new line-up, players are enthusiastic about hosting the tournament.

"I'm excited to play in front of the home crowd and put on a show for them," Hochevar said. "Everybody has to take on a different role, responsibility is heightened, and we're just now starting to come into our own and show a sense of unity."
-- Lyndsey Shinoda

The Long Beach State women's soccer team hopes to repeat last year's victory over rival Cal State Fullerton when it hosts the team Saturday.

The 49ers hope to repeat last year's result, a 2-1 win at Fullerton, at 1 p.m. at George Allen Field in both teams' first Big West Conference game of the season.

The Beach suffered two losses last weekend at the Fresno State Invitational, ending its unbeaten run at four, but Coach Julie Cochran doesn't think the results were indicative of the team's performance.

"In the game Sunday against San Francisco we played our best 90 minutes, even though we lost," Cochran said. "We showed character and pride in that game, and the performance was more important than the outcome."

The Fullerton game is unusual in that it comes two weeks before the rest of the conference games begin, and Cochran said this was intentional.

"This game is the only one scheduled for both teams this weekend," she said. "So we each have a full week to prepare -- and a full week to recover."

The 49ers finished 4-5 in conference play the past two years, tied for sixth in 1998 and tied for fourth in 1999.

Experience, team chemistry and improved fitness are all factors that should serve them well going into conference play this season, said junior Kim Domen.

"This year we've got more experience because we have nine returning starters, so we have a better shape on the field," Domen said. "This year we're getting along better and we all have a positive outlook, but we have to keep playing strong and not get ahead of ourselves."

Assessing the team's chances in the Big West this year, senior Jennifer Reott said: "It's a toss-up, whichever team shows up to play each game can win. Other teams have lost players, but we're returning almost our entire starting line-up."

Reott, named to last weekend's all-tournament team along with junior Amber Glende, added the team would learn from both losses.

"We struggled on Friday and battled in a tough game on Sunday but we have to pick ourselves back up," Reott said.

Games against regional divisional rivals are usually hard fought, Cochran said, and games against Fullerton are especially meaningful for Long Beach.

"When we play, it's a battle," she said.

 Cochran said the team is finding its potential.

"We're on the upswing of the learning curve still. We haven't hit the top yet."
 -- Phil Witte

With the first week of play behind them, the Long Beach State men's water polo team and Head Coach Rick Azevedo are preparing for one of the toughest weeks of the season.

The No. 7 ranked LBSU will be playing No. 16 ranked Princeton at Campus Pool at 5 p.m. Friday.

"[Princeton is] supposed to be the best in the east," Azevedo said.

The morning after their game against Princeton, the team will head to Corona Del Mar High School for the annual Southern California Tournament.

During the two-day tournament, the 49ers are scheduled to play No. 9 ranked UC Santa Barbara at 8:05 a.m. and then No. 1 ranked UCLA at 12:25 p.m. Saturday.

Additional games will be played depending on the previous results.

"We'll play five games in the span of three days against top-ranked teams," Azevedo said of the weekend schedule, "and that's good."
--  Jeff Dusing