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sports
Four set to battle
for regional title
By Marten Lewerth
On-line Forty-Niner
When the semifinals
of the NCAA Regional competition open tonight at The Pyramid,
nothing will be taken for granted by any of the four teams
involved.
Especially when considering the power and tradition behind
each of the programs.
Between Long Beach State, Northern Iowa, UCLA and Hawai'i
are a combined nine NCAA titles and, during the 2001 season,
three conference champions as well as three conference players
of the year.
But only one will advance to the Final Four next week in San
Diego.
"Everybody has kind of a nervous energy right now,"
said Beach middle blocker Cheryl Weaver. "But, we still
have to get our work done."
The Region I action will open with a match between No. 11-ranked
Hawai'i (29-5) and No. 14-ranked UCLA (20-8) at 5 p.m., followed
by host LBSU (30-0) against No. 17-ranked Northern Iowa (31-1)
at 7 p.m.
"We're just glad to be at home," said 49er Head
Coach Brian Gimmillaro. "The competition is good and
we're looking forward to playing tonight."
Before The Beach can face off against the Panthers, however,
UCLA and Hawai'i must first settle who will advance to Friday
night's final.
"We made it our goal all season to get to the Regionals,"
said Wahine Coach Dave Shoji. "We feel confident and
we're looking forward to it."
Ninth-seeded Hawai'i finished 13-0 in the Western Athletic
Conference this season, and are led by sophomore hitter Kim
Willoughby, who is pacing the country offensively with a whopping
7.15 kills per game.
On the other side of the court, the Bruins finished with a
record of 12-6 in the Pac-10 (4th) and are making their 20th
appearance in the NCAA Tournament. As the No. 8-seed, UCLA
defeated both Penn and Penn State to advance to the Regionals.
"It's been an up and down year for us," said Bruin
Coach Andy Banachowski, who is in his 36th season at UCLA.
The Bruins defeated Hawai'i in a three-game sweep earlier
in the season, but the stakes are higher now.
"I think Hawai'i has gotten better since last time we
saw them," Banachowski said. "Willoughby has a lot
of confidence, and that translates to the rest of the players."
Friday's later match will feature two teams that met last
in 1991 when LBSU downed Northern Iowa, 15-7, 15-3, 15-6,
in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
But that was 10 years ago.
Although The Beach claimed the No. 1 seed in the nation after
compiling a perfect 28-0 regular season, its opponent, Northern
Iowa, lost only once during the year to finish at 29-1.
"We know this is a very skilled, successful team we're
playing," Gimmillaro said.
The Panthers won the Missouri Valley Conference title with
a 17-1 record.
"We're very excited to be here," said Panther Head
Coach Bobbi Petersen. "And we're going to go out there
and give it our best shot."
For senior outside hitter Kim McCaffrey, the chance to face
the No. 1 team in the country is a dream come true.
"We're trying to go where we've never gone before, to
give Northern Iowa some respect" McCaffrey said. "We'll
be ready to play."
But so will the 49ers, according to two-time All-American
Weaver.
"As of last December when we got knocked out [by Hawai'i
in the third round], we've been focused on winning a national
championship," Weaver said.
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