Water
polo coach forms cohesive unit
Fourth-year
coach at last has a team that is fully comprised
of players he recruited and should have
successful season.
By
Michael Bower
On-line Forty-Niner
Rick
Azevedo, the Long Beach State men's water
polo coach, is feeling pretty good about
this year's team, and rightfully so.
After
all, it is the first team he has had in
his five years as head coach, which only
includes his own recruits.
"I
think the biggest thing this year is that
everybody here is my recruit ... My recruits
have now been with me for four years, and
they know what to expect," Azevedo
said.
The
recruits did not let down their coach last
weekend as they had a very strong showing
at the Southern California Tournament by
beating seventh-ranked UC Irvine, and fifth-ranked
UCLA.
The
eighth-ranked 49ers (6-3) went 2-2 in the
very competitive tournament, also facing
first-ranked USC, and sixth-ranked UC San
Diego. The Beach fell to USC, 9-7, in the
final minute of the game, and then blew
a 9-7 lead in the fourth quarter to lose
to UC San Diego 11-10, but it was still
the 49ers' best effort in recent years.
"That
is our best result in four years,"
Azevedo said. "It is the top 12 teams
in the country. It's one of those tournaments
that you go in there and see how everyone
really is."
Azevedo
could not be more pleased with where his
team is.
"I
feel extremely good about the team,"
he said. "I feel like the team has
matured far more than I would have thought
by now. I am very happy with how things
are going."
Junior
Erik Geoffroy led the way on offense for
The Beach. Geoffroy scored 12 goals in four
games over the weekend giving him a team-high
27 for the year. In the two 49er wins Geoffroy
scored four goals in each game, and has
at least two goals in every game this year.
"Erik
is a prolific scorer," Azevedo said.
"A lot of the time the pressure is
on him to put it away, and he is doing that."
Geoffroy
sparked The Beach's 9-5 win over the UCLA
Bruins by scoring three of his four goals
in the first half. It marked the second
straight win over the Bruins going back
to last year. Before last year The Beach
dropped 20-straight to the Bruins.
A
new Azevedo recruit, Freshman Reid Tomassi,
who scored seven goals in the tournament,
is an example of just how good Azevedo is
as a recruiter.
"Five
months ago (Tomassi) is playing in the state
of Florida in a little high school and has
never played organized water polo,"
Azevedo said. "It's amazing that he
went into that tournament and scored seven
goals...He is learning very quickly and
is probably one of the top scorers in the
country."
Azevedo
said that his team is ready to take the
next step, which is winning the NCAA title.
"
We have already been to the final four,"
Azevedo said. "I think we have the
capability to win the (NCAA championship)."
The
water polo team will enjoy the week off
before heading to the Northern California
Tournament at Stanford on Oct. 4.
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