Long
Beach conquers first cup
By
Mario Burciaga
Summer Forty-Niner
Assistant Sports Editor
For the first time in school
history, Long Beach State was awarded the
Big West Conference Commissioner’s
Cup on June 7 for its outstanding athletic
performance during the 2005-2006 school
year.
LBSU claimed the award, racking up 1,640 points, with a point average of 126.2.
Of the 13 sports, LBSU won the BWC Title in women’s volleyball, women’s
tennis, women’s basketball and men’s track and field.
“I think the Commissioner’s Cup is awesome. It’s a great tribute
to our coaches, staff, student athletes and everyone who worked so hard to get
this award,” said Athletic Director Vic Cegles. “We have some excellent
facilities, we have quality coaches, and we have the opportunity to be very consistent,
but the bottom line is that we want to win championships.”
The Commissioner’s Cup is awarded annually to the Big West school with
the strongest athletic department. Each school team receives a certain amount
of points for its performance during the season, and then all the teams at
the school add up their points and divide it by the number of sports on campus.
University of California, Santa Barbara had more points than LBSU, with 1,720,
but had 16 teams compete so its average score was only 107.5. Cal State Fullerton
finished in third with 1,170 points, and a 97.5 point average.
“Obviously I was not here [last season] but you can look at who advanced
and notice it’s a team effort,” Cegles said on the potential of LBSU
athletics. “Dedication is the key to consistency and I feel we have that
here. We need to get better everyday but keep in mind that we need to take small
steps not big ones.”
It won’t be easy for Cegles, the new A.D., to retain the Commissioners
Cup, but with many LBSU sports programs expected to continue their success
next year, the 49ers are expected to again compete for the Commissioner’s
Cup.
Of the conferences’ eight universities, LBSU is only the third university
to win the cup.
University of Pacific received the Commissioner’s Cup twice, first in
the BWC induction of the award in 1998 and defended the title the next year.
UC Santa Barbara then dominated the award, claiming and holding the Commissioner’s
Cup the next five years until LBSU claimed the cup.
“It’s something we have been striving for the last few years. Obviously
we missed it by a couple of points last year but it’s nice that the school
received [the Commissioner’s Cup] this year,” said women’s
tennis head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello.
Though the Commissioner’s Cup is a big honor for most, winning a national
championship holds more value.
“[The Commissioner’s Cup] is not something I’m
consciously thinking about,” Hilt-Costello said. “It’s more
about winning the Big West, reaching the NCAA Regionals and winning a couple
of rounds in the playoffs.”
With similar thoughts about the Commissioner’s Cup was women’s
volleyball head coach Brian Gimmillaro, who said the Commissioner’s Cup
is not his ultimate goal but is very proud to represent the school and the
community.
“For 13 years we were the top volleyball program in the nation. We want
to get back to that level because our goal is to contend for a national championship,
that’s our goal,” said Gimmillaro.
In the midst of the school’s success, LBSU accumulated five conference
players of the year: Crystal McCutcheon (women’s basketball), Evan Longoria
(baseball), Hannah Grady (women’s tennis), Chris Richardson (track and
field) and Michelle Turner (softball). LBSU also and five coaches of the year:
Brian Gimmillaro (women’s volleyball), Mary Hegarty (women’s basketball),
Jenny Hilt-Costello (women’s tennis), Bob Livingstone (men’s golf)
and Andy Sythe (men’s track and field). LBSU also had four freshmen of
the year: Hayley Bolt (women’s soccer), Danny Espinosa (baseball), Ali
Daley (women’s volleyball) and Grady (tennis).
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