The Say No Classic’s championship season started this weekend and one of the playoff bound teams have two Long Beach State 49ers playing prominent roles.  Both Larry Anderson and Tristan Wilson have been tearing it up this summer on team Power Balance and the first round of the playoffs was no exception.   Tristan had an exceptional game leading his team in both points (29) and rebounds (8), while Larry was aggressively taking the rock to the hole chipping in 26 of his own.   If this game was any indication of what to expect from these two players and their 49er teammates this season, this year’s version of 49er basketball should be a very good one with a trip to the big dance a strong possibility.

The following pictures were taken at the game: Ballin’ at Da Beach – Flickr

Box Score – Los Angeles Sparks

Saturday brought a pre mother’s day celebration to Long Beach as the LA Sparks hosted the San Antonio Silvers Stars at the Walter Pyramid. This was a special day for many local women’s basketball fans as the Sparks brought with them a former 49er star in Karina Figueroa. Well, former maybe a stretch since she was just playing for The Beach a couple of months ago and the spring semester is still on-going. Karina logged in 10 minutes and grabbed 2 rebounds playing out her dream. This week should bring news if she has made the final cut or not, but I am sure plenty of memories were made along the way.

Guard Marie Ferdinand-Harris led the way for the Sparks scoring 13 points, while fellow teammate DeLisha Milton-Jones (forward) chipped in 11 and grabbed 5 rebounds.  The Silver Stars’ leading scorer was Belinda Snell who knocked down 17 points.

The following images were taken during the game:

Images can be found at Ballin’ at Da Beach – Facebook – Flickr

Quotes from the game:

“Unfortunately, I missed a few shots,” Karina Figueroa said. “Trust me, I wanted to make them.”

“You hate losing games,” Coach Gillom said. “But, you have to realize that this is an exhibition game, and you can’t show a lot of stuff that you want to do in order to come back.”

“These are some things that we wanted to see, what we needed to work on,” Coach Gillom said. “We have a week to clean it up and get Candace back in the lineup, which is definitely going to help us to get our game plan together and put everything in that we need to put in.”

“In the fourth quarter, I felt like all they did was shoot free throws,” Ticha Penicheiro said. “It was really lopsided and we couldn’t get anything going on the break because we kept fouling and putting them on the line.  Bottom line, it’s a preseason game. Coach is looking at players and we’re all just trying to gel, so we can’t really make a big deal out of winning or losing and just continue to take steps forward.”

“I’m trying to be a team player and do the little things,” Figueroa said. “Whether it’s boxing out, even though I might not get the rebound, but getting in the right position, fighting through screens and getting loose balls.”

Coach Gillon speaking on making cuts, “That’s probably the toughest part right now,” she said.  “The players who do really well in practice seem nervous in the games, and don’t have a great performance.  The players who aren’t practicing as well are having good games, so it’s hard.  [ Karina's] a great practice player—I love her attitude.  Her passion for the game, her basketball IQ, you can’t coach that.”

Long Beach State University Women’s Basketball 2009-2010 from Lissa Lawrence on Vimeo.

Combining both classes, The Beach will have 6 new faces when pactice opens in the fall.  Expectations will be high next season as the majority of the LBSU fans will not be satisfied with anything less then a conference championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament.

From Long Beach State reports

Long Beach State men’s basketball coach Dan Monson announced today (May 5) the signing of three players to National Letters of Intent. Edis Dervisevic (Western Texas College), Khalid Gerard (Technical Career Institutes) and Corey Jackson (Fashion Institute of Technology) will join the 49ers for the 2010-11 season.

“Hopefully they can add a championship to the team,” Monson said. “We have been very close to winning the league the last couple of years. Hopefully these three have enough experience and can help us. Offensively it gives us some different ways to play. Last year we didn’t quite have enough offense to win a championship in this league and I think all three of them bring different elements to that.”

Below are capsules on the three players:

Edis Dervisevic, F, 6-8, 245, Jr., Bronx, N.Y. (Savior Lutheran HS/Western Texas College)

Played two seasons at Western Texas College in Snyder, Texas … As a freshman averaged 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while making 59 percent of field goal attempts and 48.3 percent of 3-pointers … Finished fifth in the WJCAC Region 5 in field goal percentage making 72-of-122 shots … Scored in double digits six times, including a 21-point game and a 20-point game … Battled an assortment of injuries as a sophomore while averaging 5.2 points per game … Junior college coach was Jason Sautter.

Coach Monson says: “He is the best passing big man that we have had. He gives us a different dimension in there which you are always looking for, guys who can play different than what you already have. He can impact our team a great deal offensively without even scoring because he has a great feel for the game, he is a great post passer, he’s a banger who gives a physical presence in there and yet he can step out and hit threes to stretch the defense which we haven’t had. I just like his skill set offensively because he is different than any of our other big guys.”

Khalid Gerard, G, 6-4, 210, Jr., St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (Charolette Amalie HS/Technical Career Institutes)

Played two seasons at Technical Career Institutes in New York City where he earned first-team All-Region 15 honors as a sophomore and honorable mention all-region recognition as a freshman … Finished sophomore season sixth in the NJCAA in scoring, while ranking fourth in the country in 3-point percentage … During career had 12 games with at least 30 points and two games with at least 40 points … Scored a career-best 48 points, while also scoring 43 points in a game … Made nine 3-pointers twice during career and seven 3-pointers four times … As a sophomore averaged 23.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists, while making 49 percent of 3-pointers and 48 percent of field goals … Led Region 15 in scoring and 3-point percentage, while ranking 13th in field goal percentage … As a freshman averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists while making 50 percent of 3-pointers and 52 percent of field goals … Finished among Region 15 leaders in scoring, 3-point field goal percentage and field goal percentage … Junior college coach was Pernell Hosier.

Coach Monson says: “Khalid is a flat out scorer and shooter. We struggled stretching defenses last year and being able to score baskets against zones and teams that were sagging on us. Khalid can play both wing spots, different than Corey, he can play the two but also play the three. He gives us a shooter in those spots and again that is one of the areas we really wanted to address and with Corey and Khalid we have some more perimeter skill packages that we haven’t had.”

Corey Jackson, G, 6-0, 195, Jr., Brentwood, N.Y. (Upper Room Christian HS/Fashion Institute of Technology)

Named second-team National Junior College Athletic Association Division III All-America … Earned Region 15 Player of the Year and first-team All-Region 15 honors … Finished 20th in the NJCAA in scoring … Averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while making 45.6 percent of field goals, 35.3 percent of 3-pointers and 73.5 percent of free throws … Finished fourth in Region 15 in scoring, while also finishing fourth in free throw percentage, 18th in field goal percentage, seventh in 3-point field goal percentage, 22nd in rebounds and 21st in steals (1.5 spg) … Named to the Region 15 All-Tournament Team after averaging 23 points per game, while leading FIT to the championship game … Scored 25 points in the quarterfinals in an 89-71 win, 23 points in the semifinals in a 83-66 win and 21 points in the championship game in a 98-81 loss … Junior college coach was Michael Kerr.

Coach Monson says: “Corey is a versatile guard. What I like most about him is that he is an off guard who can shoot the ball. He is strong, he can shoot the ball, he can get by people off the bounce and create his own shot, and he can also slide over and give Casper a break once in awhile. He fits that need of depth at the point and another shooter at the off guard position and one that can bounce the ball.”

In a very eventful weekend, the young ladies on Long Beach State’s women’s tennis team battled through some adversity and came up a wee bit short in their title quest.  The regular season champs lost to the UCI Anteaters 4-1 in the conference tournament final.  The 49ers return everyone for next season and look to start a new winning streak in what many expect to be their best team ever.

Images can be found at: Ballin’ at Da Beach – Facebook – Flickr

From Long Beach State reports

May 2, 2010

Indian Wells, Calif. – Long Beach State won two matches to grab the doubles point, but lost four matches in singles as the tennis team’s bid to win a seventh straight championship came up short as the 49ers fell to UC Irvine 4-1 in the Big West Championships.

Long Beach State had beaten the Anteaters in the last two seasons in the finals, and got off to a good start on Sunday with two wins in doubles. Jaklin Alawi and Rachel Manasse beat Holladay/Kwan at No. 1 doubles 8-2, while Sarah Cantlay and Julie Luzar picked up their third win of the tournament in doubles, beating Bartlett/Bisharat 8-2.

In singles, however, it was UC Irvine that earned the big victories. April Bisharat defeated Anais Dallara at No. 2 singles 6-0, 6-3 to tie the score in the match, and wins at No. 5 and 6 by the Anteaters made the score 3-1 in favor of UC Irvine.

Both Deborah Armstrong and Rachel Manasse led their matches at No. 3 and No. 4, but Jaklin Alawi dropped the first set to Courtney Byron 7-5, and a second set loss by a 6-4 margin allowed UC Irvine to clinch the match prior to the end of the other matches.

The 49ers, coming into the week ranked No. 45 in the nation, finish the season at 19-6 in dual matches, barring an at-large selection into the NCAA Tournament, beginning on May 14. The NCAA announcement for the tournament pairings will be on May 4.

When the Big West conference schedules were released many Southern California softball fans circled the double-header between the Cal Poly Mustangs and the Long Beach State 49ers.  The games were played on a beautiful Saturday afternoon but did not provide much suspense as both games ended in lopsided scores, 5-0 and 4-0.  The following images were taken during both games.

Images can be found at Ballin’ at Da Beach – Flickr – Facebook

From Long Beach State reports

April 24, 2010

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

LONG BEACH – The Long Beach State softball team suffered a 5-0 loss to Cal Poly before bouncing back with a shutout of its own as it defeated the Big West-leading Mustangs, 4-0, in the back end of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the 49er Softball Complex.

The Beach is now 21-21 overall and 5-6 in conference play, while Cal Poly sits at 19-18, 8-3 BWC.

Cal Poly 5, Long Beach State 0
In the series opener, Cal Poly raced out to an early lead and never looked back as it blanked the 49ers, 5-0.

Senior Ashley Weber led LBSU, going 2-for-3, while junior Liz Javier and freshmen Caitrin DeBaun and Bree Stephan each chipped in a hit.

Junior Brooke Turner picked up the loss as she earned the start and allowed four runs on one hit, one walk and two errors. Senior Bridgette Pagano tossed 7.0 innings of relief, giving up one run on seven hits.

The Mustangs struck early, taking advantage of a pair of 49er errors and three illegal pitches, to go up 4-0 in the top of the first. Cal Poly tacked on one more in the fifth frame when Dana Perez singled and eventually crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly.

Patton, the reigning Big West Pitcher of the Week, improved to 7-4 on the season.

Long Beach State 4, Cal Poly 0
Long Beach State answered in the back end of the doubleheader as it won an early pitchers’ duel by scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth to earn the split.

Sophomore Taylor Petty continued to impress on the mound, picking up her third shutout in six Big West Conference games. Petty scattered just four hits, while striking out six.

Despite being outhit, 4-3, The Beach used four Cal Poly errors to pull out the win. Bree Stephan, Caitrin DeBaun and senior Jodi Nakawatase all found their way into the hit column for LBSU.

Long Beach State broke open the scoreless game in the bottom of the sixth. Stephan and Weber reached on back-to-back fielding errors before DeBaun advanced both runners with a ground ball to the right side. Christina Schallig then hit a grounder to third base, which was bobbled by CP’s Kendal Hennings, allowing Stephan to score.

Alisha Rosen pinch ran for Schallig and stole second on the first pitch. Rosen and Weber then crossed the plate on a throwing error by shortstop Trista Thomas. Nakawatase eventually drove in Nalani St. Germain with a bloop single down the left field line to account for the 49ers’ final run.

Long Beach State concluded their spring season with another shutout defeating LMU 3-0 at George Allen Field.  Goals were scored by Nadia Link, Nicole Sweetman, and Karina Camacho.  This was the fifth shutout of the season for goalie Emily Kingsborough.  The Beach went 5-0-2 this spring, with strong wins against USC (5-0) and Pepperdine (2-0).

Images from the match:

From Long Beach State Reports

April 15, 2010

Box Score

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State’s postseason hopes died Thursday night as the 49ers dropped a 29-31, 28-30, 31-29, 31-29, 15-13 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match to Pepperdine at the Walter Pyramid.

The Beach (12-16, 8-13 MPSF) needed to win its final two matches (vs. USC Saturday) and hope for help from last-place Pacific on Friday and Saturday to qualify, but Pepperdine made what happens Friday and Saturday not matter for LBSU.

Poor serving doomed the 49ers in the final game. Long Beach State had five service errors including one on game point, while Pepperdine countered with two aces in the deciding game to finish with nearly half of the Waves’ game-five points coming in the service game.

Pepperdine (16-8, 14-7 MPSF) built and 11-6 thanks to four of those service errors. The 49ers battled back playing inspired volleyball at the net forcing a number of long rallies. The Beach went on an 8-3 run but couldn’t get any closer than one before losing the heartbreaker.

Dean Bittner finished with a match-high 28 kills on 38 swings for a .388 hitting percentage. Tommy Pestolesi added 20 kills and a .325 hitting percentage, while Dan Alexander tied a season-high with 16 kills (.652) and Antwain Aguillard added 15 kills (.500). Conor Eaton handed out a career-high 80 assists, while Kirk Francis led the 49er defense with 11 digs.

Cory Riecks led the Waves with 25 kills, while Maurice Torres had 21 kills. J.D. Schleppenbach just missed a triple-double for the Waves finishing with 13 kills, 13 digs and nine blocks. Pepperdine outhit LBSU .407 to .381 and finished with 12.5 more team blocks.

Images from the match:

Images can be found at Ballin’ at Da Beach — Flickr

April 11, 2010

Long Beach, Calif. – Facing a tough opponent as the season comes to a close, No. 33 Long Beach State fell in a very close match to No. 51 Saint Mary’s. Deborah Armstrong was Long Beach State’s winner in singles.

Despite the 6-1 score, the match between the Gaels and the 49ers was extremely close throughout. The 49ers picked up a victory at No. 3 doubles as Cantlay/Luzar were able to beat Fisher/Strijbis 8-4, but Saint Mary’s equaled that win with an 8-4 victory at No. 1 doubles over Alawi/Dallara. In the deciding match, Poorta/Soper were able to hold off Armstrong and Rachel Manasse 8-6 to take the point.

In singles, Armstrong won decisively at No. 3 over Anna Chikhikvishvili 6-4, 6-0, but the Gaels were able to match that victory with one at No. 4 singles as Claire Soper outlasted Manasse in the first set tiebreaker on the way to a 7-6, 6-0 win.

With the match still very much in doubt, four singles matches went to a third set, but Long Beach State lost all four matches and Saint Mary’s claimed the victory over the 49ers.

Long Beach State plays two more non-conference matches against Pepperdine and LMU to finish out the regular season, and will then head to the Big West Tournament as the top seed from April 30-May 2.

Doubles
Isip/Chikhikvishvili, STM, def. Alawi/Dallara, LBSU8-4
Poorta/Soper, STM def. Armstrong/Manasse, LBSU 8-6
Cantlay/Luzar, LBSU def. Fisher/Strijbis, STM 8-4

Singles
Catherine Isip, STM def. #125 Jaklin Alawi, LBSU 7-5, 2-6, 6-2
Alex Poorta, STM def. Anais Dallara, LBSU 1-6, 7-5, 6-4
Deborah Armstrong, LBSU def. Anna Chikhikvishvili, STM 6-4, 6-0
Claire Soper, STM def. Rachel Manasse, LBSU 7-6 (4), 6-0
Alisa Spitzer, STM def. Julie Luzar, LBSU 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-0
Nienke Strijbis, STM def. Sarah Cantlay, LBSU 6-4, 4-6, 6-1

The NCAA came down with their decision and it was a harsh one. Freshman Klaudia Malenovska will have to sit out the remainder of this season and the first 11 matches next year; the Long Beach Press-Telegram ran a story on the severity of the penalty. The positives: Klaudia can now practice with the team, have her game fine tuned by Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello, and can play in next year’s fall tournament season.

The following images were taken of Klaudia during one of her practice sessions: