Four
49ers awarded All-conference honors
By Todd Leland
On-line Forty-Niner
 After
a fourth place finish at the Mountain Pacific
Sports Federation Championships the 49er
women’s water polo team was in need of some
good news.
It came Wednesday as four players from Long
Beach were awarded All-MPSF honors.
“I am really proud of the fact that this
program was recognized with four players
on the all-conference team,” fourth-year
head coach Tony Azevedo said in a release.
“It just shows how balanced we were this
season.”
Sophomore Roberta Stewart led the four honorees
as she was named to the All-MPSF First Team
for the second consecutive year. Stewart
led The Beach this season with 48 goals,
the ninth best single-season total in 49er
history.
Joining Stewart were teammates Angelica
Garcia, Ashley Richardson and Cassie Azevedo.
Garcia, a junior, was selected Third Team
All-MPSF as she finished the season with
38 goals for the 49ers. Richardson, the
only senior among the four, was selected
Honorable Mention along with freshman Avezedo.
Azevedo was second on the team this season
with 39 goals, while Richardson closed out
her Long Beach State career with a school-record
184 goals.
“The fun part is that we will return three
of those four next season,” Avezedo added
speaking about underclassmen Stewart, Garcia
and Azevedo.
With four All-MPSF selections Long Beach
State doubles the amount of players that
have been selected in the program’s previous
six seasons. The Beach had two All-MPSF
selections in 2002, one in 2001 and another
in 1999.
The 24-8 record the 49ers compiled this
season was the team’s best finish ever and
its fourth place MPSF finish tied a record
as well.
In the MPSF Championships the 49ers started
off with a 9-4 win against fifth-seeded
California. Cassie Azevedo led The Beach
with four goals as the 49ers built a 4-1
halftime lead. Five other 49ers scored one
goal apiece and goalie Bri Hawkins made
eight saves to secure a 9-4 victory.
In the semifinals The Beach faced defending
national champion Stanford. Long Beach was
outscored 6-0 in the first three quarters
as Stanford built an insurmountable lead.
Stewart would find the back of the cage
for the 49ers late in the fourth quarter,
but it was too late as Stanford advanced
with a 9-1 victory.
The Beach would end its season in the consolation
match losing to USC 10-5. The Trojans held
an early 4-1 advantage but the 49ers stormed
back with three goals in the third quarter
to close the deficit to 7-4. USC would answer
with three more goals and The Beach could
only add one as USC took a 10-5 lead and
the victory.
As a team the 49ers set records for wins
(24), winning percentage (.750), conference
wins (8) and home victories (11). The loss
to USC saw the final performances of seniors
Sarah Mayfield and Richardson for The Beach.
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