Fall sports comes to an end

By Moria Khou
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer

Injuries and inexperience are two words that help sum up the entire fall season at Long Beach State; yet, the approach of the 2005 season equals a renewed sense of optimism.

Women's volleyball is arguably the most successful sport at Long Beach State. Under Head Coach Brian Gimmillaro's tutelage for the past two decades, the team has won three titles and has seen plenty of All-Americans come through the system.

This year however, the 49ers were plagued with injuries to key players, Makini Thompson, Rosie Lewis, Natalie Uhart, Heather Hetzer, Erika Chidester, just to name a few. Nonetheless, Gimmillaro's squad still managed a 24-7 overall record and received another bid to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament.

Setter Jillian Mazzarella is the lone senior to depart, but not before receiving first-team All-Conference honors. Sophomore Robin Miramontes and junior Heather Laudato also collected Big West honors. The biggest winner of all was freshman Alexis Crimes, who swept the board with first-team All-Conference, Big West Conference Freshman of the Year, American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-West Region Team, as well as, the West Region Freshman of the Year.

The coaching staff will look to build upon this year's success going into next season with Crimes, Miramontes, Laudato and Sara Kroneberger as the team leaders. Redshirt freshmen Thompson and Dyanne Lawlor will also be a main stay in the lineup, but one big question mark will be the setter position.

Nicole Vargas, an incoming freshman setter from St. Joesph High School, might be the possible solution but it is too early to determine if she can fill in for Mazzarella. Optimism still reign supreme at The Beach after Gimmillaro was able to ink Allison Daley, a 6-foot outside hitter from Grass Valley who is one of the top recruits in the country.

Men's water polo team can be stamped with inexperience and inconsistency, as the team was unable to finish off an abundance of close matches.

Coached by Rick Azevedo, the team inside the pool concluded the season at 17-12 overall and a fifth-place finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament.

Due to misfortune, the water polo team suffered eight defeats by two goals or less, including a heart wrenching 6-5 loss to UC Irvine in the opening round of the MPSF Tournament.

Azevedo's squad will return next season with the core of the team intact. Senior Erik Geoffroy after a remarkable 2003 season will return fully recovered from a knee injury, which caused him to sit out this year. Sophomore Reid Tomassi will also be a player to watch out for. A surprise addition was junior Brett McCleave who led the team with 50 goals, while being named the MPSF Newcomer of the Year and second team All-MPSF. Junior goalkeeper Thomas Onyshko will be at the helm on defense one last time, as he makes a run for first place on the all-time save list at Long Beach State.

The biggest change for the 2005 season is the transition from the MPSF Conference to the Big West Conference. The move benefits the 49ers because they will no longer have to compete in the same division as top-ranked teams, USC, UCLA and Stanford. Long Beach's biggest opponent will now be UC Irvine and the water to trudge to get to the NCAA championship will be made a little smoother.

Women's Soccer began the 2004 campaign on a promising note with three wins and a tie; however, the team managed just three more wins for the rest of the season to go 6-9-3 overall.

Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia took over the team from previous coach Peter Reynaud. The road to victory might be a little shifted for 2005 as senior and team captain Allison Wiegand departs. Wiegend who played every position (except goalie) became the school's first four-time All-Big West selection and will leave a huge role to fill.

Sophomore defender, Natalie Messina received All-Big West honorable mention and will be crucial to the 49ers' success along with goalkeeper Tara Gotthardt.