The Long Beach State women’s water polo team won its eighth consecutive game by taking down Princeton 8-2 last week at Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center. The Beach (14-10) got a hat trick from junior Maria Eleni Mimidi and a stellar performance from goalkeeper Eirni Patras. The junior had 16 saves on the night, which ties her career high, and is third most in LBSU history for most saves in a game.
The Beach returns to Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center at 7 p.m. on Wednesday to host Brown.
LISTEN to our interview with coach Gavin Arroyo.
Men’s Volleyball
Top-ranked LBSU was at USC on Saturday night was held in USC’s tiny North Gym, which has just 500 fixed seats. With the Trojan band blaring in the tiny facility, Long Beach saw its 23-match win streak come to an end in their first defeat of the season, 25-21, 25-21, 25-17. READ MORE
Baseball
The Dirtbags (3-19) continued to struggle over the weekend while being swept by rival Cal State Fullerton at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field in the annual nonconference series between the Big West rivals. The Titans outscored LBSU 17-7 on the weekend.
“I don’t care if you’re playing the 2016 Long Beach PONY team, if you play like that, you’ll lose.” LBSU coach Troy Buckley said. “Some of it you just shake your head. I would sit there and wonder if we actually practice. We do. But it’s one of those things where you’re at a loss for words. You’re looking for small successes. You might get it, but its not manifesting into a team win.”
Center fielder Brooks Stotler had six hits in four games last weekend with three doubles. First baseman Jacob Hughey drove in a run on Friday night to extend his RBI streak to five games. The Millikan High alum has a team-high 14 RBI.
Dirtbags senior Laine Huffman is still dealing with a hamstring injury, and doesn’t have a set date to return.
LBSU hosts USC tonight at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field, and then heads to Berkley for a weekend series at Cal.
Softball
Pitchers decided LBSU’s doubleheader against Loyola Marymount at home on Saturday. The Beach (13-16) bounced back from a 3-0 loss in the first game with an 8-0 (5 innings) win over the Lions behind a no-hitter from Ashley Coleman. She only put one runner on with a fourth-inning walk, and has allowed six hits in her last four starts. It is the 32nd no-hitter in LBSU program history, and Coleman won the Big West Pitcher of the Week award.
Sophomore Alyssa Gonzalez and freshman Maddy Ruffin both had three hits in the win, and Gonzalez had three RBIs and three runs scored.
LBSU is at Hawaii to open the Big West Conference schedule this weekend.
Track & Field
Redshirt senior Herman Day is the new national leader in the decathlon after winning the event at the UCR Spring Classic last weekend. He won five of the 10 events on the way to scoring a meet record 7,410 points. That is the third-most in school history. The Beach swept the decathlon as John Broadhead and Derreck Affor also finished on the podium.
Beach Volleyball
LBSU won all four of its matches as part of the Belmont Shore Challenge last week, and has won six of its last seven. The Beach were led by the No. 1 pair of Nicci Reinking and Zoi Konstantopoulou, who went 4-1 on the week.
LBSU is headed north this weekend to visit another famous beach as Cal Poly hosts this multi-team showcase at Pismo Beach. CSU Bakersfield, Sacramento State, Hawaii, Cal State Northridge and UC Davis are also part of the two-day event.
Women’s Golf
In one of its best performances of the year, LBSU finished sixth at the Briar’s Creek Invitational ahead of nationally ranked opponents. Senior Cara Barker shot a 2-under in the final round to move up 35 spots on the leaderboard, and junior Maria Davis finished tied for 18th.
Women’s Tennis
The Beach beat Cincinnati 4-0 and then took down Hawaii 5-0 in Big West action to finish off a strong week. LBSU is back at Rhodes Tennis Center on Saturday for a Big West match against UCSB. The Gauchos are the only conference team without a loss in Big West action, but the Beach has the best overall record at 11-3.
