TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1999

Water polo team makes nationals

By Tyler Hemstreet

On-Line Forty-Niner

The rollercoaster ride of a season for the Long Beach State women's water polo team has happily come to an end.

The 49ers managed to squeek their way into the May 7 women's water polo nationals (ranked No. 11) and will play No. 6 ranked San Diego State at 11:45 a.m. at Hickey Pool at UC Davis.

The post-season surge for a pass to the USA Collegiate Nationals seemingly ended for the 49ers with a 7-3 loss to UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, at the regional at UC San Diego.

The loss dropped them to fifth place, at 2-3, in the final standings. USC, UCLA, San Diego State, and UCSB finished in the top four and advanced to the Collegiate Nationals.

The three day tournament took its toll on the team, and it was reflected in their play on Sunday.

Before losing the final game to the Gauchos, the UCLA Bruins continued their domination of Long Beach by crushing them 12-5.

On Saturday, The Beach defeated Loyola Marymount 8-5 behind Elizabeth Garcia's three goals and added support from Jessica Johnson and Karen Helm, who tallied two a piece.

Garcia, Johnson and Helm continued the scoring spree by combining for four goals in the next game, but it was not enough to overcome UCSB, and the Gauchos eked by with a 7-6 win.

The team finished the season with a record of 14-20 and ranked tenth in the nation.