|
sports
LBSU places fourth
at MPSF championships
By Ben Dimapindan
On-line Forty-Niner
The expectations
have been high all season for the Long Beach State men's water
polo team.
Despite placing seventh last year in the Mountain Pacific
Sports Federation Championships, the 49ers, seeded fifth this
year, came to UC Berkeley's Spieker Aquatic Complex determined
and made a thrilling run through the tournament this past
weekend to finish fourth overall.
The road to fourth place - the best finish by LBSU since the
MPSF Tournament started in 1993 - was arduous from the beginning.
On Friday, The Beach faced fourth-seeded Pepperdine University
in the opening round.
LBSU seized control of the game with a three-goal second quarter
and cruised to an 8-6 victory, which clinched a spot for the
49ers in the championship semifinals for the first time in
school history.
Senior two-meter man Chris Segesman scored his only goal of
the tournament against the Waves and finished his LBSU career
with 165 goals, making him the fourth highest scorer in Beach
history.
In Saturday's semifinal match against top-seeded Stanford,
LBSU held the lead for most of the first half, but then Cardinal
freshman Tony Azevedo lit up the net for four goals.
Stanford outscored The Beach, 3-1, in the final quarter to
escape with a 7-4 victory.
In Sunday's consolation finals, the 49ers pushed UCLA to the
limit before falling, 7-6, in overtime.
After each team put two goals into the net in the first quarter,
The Beach took control in the second quarter behind the offensive
play of senior driver Tyler Wawrzynski, who finished the game
with a pair of goals, and headed into halftime with a 3-2
advantage.
However, the Bruins outscored LBSU, 3-2, in the second half,
which closed the gap enough to drive the two teams into extra
periods of play.
In the first overtime, each team scored once early on, but
near the end of the first extra period, UCLA took the lead
for good. The Bruins' Brett Ornsby fired the ball into the
back of the net on a penalty shot against LBSU goalie Brett
Adolph, who finished the game with 11 saves.
The Bruins held on for the win as neither team scored in the
second overtime.
With a 13-8 record, the 49ers, who went 15-13 last year, achieved
back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1988-89.
In addition, Stanford went on to defeat host Cal, 7-5, to
claim the 2001 MPSF crown and received an automatic berth
in the NCAA Championships.
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Search our site
DEPARTMENT
OF
JOURNALISM
ONLINE 49ER
DEPARTMENTS
ADVERTISING
ADMINISTRATION
DAILY
49ER ALUMNI
SUBSCRIPTION
SERVICE
GIVE
FEEDBACK
|
