When the new week dawned at the Beach the 49ers had test-fired their new bleachers (upping the capacity from 4,200 to 6,000-plus), their new men’s basketball lineup (only one returning starter) and safe deposit space for all that extra cash from the ticket office.
The bleachers are a shiny grey aluminum and at times look a lot like a sportsmen erector set, but they are solid and safe. The team works well enough but had some jitters playing North Alabama, a D-2 team not to be confused with North Carolina. And one of the most promising spare parts, freshmen guard Brandon Jones broke his leg and looks lost for the season. And lastly, Carolina Blue looks to have moved LB’s men’s hoops into the black, cash-wise regardless of what the scoreboard shows Friday night.
The details on game one provide some interesting numbers. Fueled by homecoming promotions the home boys dressed in their white knight outfits and enjoyed the exhortations by the large crowd of 5,501, which was just a hundred or so shy of last year’s game with Fullerton.
In the contest, the 49er faithful saw a 13-point margin over the first half on 59-percent shooting, turn into a two point lead early in the second half when the visitors started the second half on a 11-0 run, cutting that LB lead 44-42. Fortunately that one returner from last years championship team was the dunk-master James Ennis, and his biscuit in the basket was followed by a three-point play from Peter Pappageorge. The lead was now up to 52-44 and a 19-4 run for the Beach expanded the lead to 20, 71-51 lead with 7:07 to play. Newcomers Deng Deng and Kris Gulley each put up 11 points in their first game as 49ers, and big boy Dan Jennings didn’t score much (4 points) but along with Gulley collected seven rebounds. Turnovers you say, well more that your corner bakery, 26 for the Beach and North Alabama had 23.
NAPKIN DOT DOT–Softball just finished their fall eight game scrimmage schedule, it is a non-scoring deal, but observers say the Beach rather handedly won all the contests except perhaps the last one, which was perennial perennial UCLA. Two newcomers that showed well are slugging infielder Darian Tautalafua out of Carson and 5’11” all purpose star Ashley Holmes who began her career at Tennessee. The Niner pitching, anchored by the amazing Erin Jones-Wesley, looks locked and loaded again but slowly but surely Coach Kim Sowder has improved the offense.
The ladies of hoop are 1-1, with a win over Sac State 74-71 and a loss to Iona 60-58. They play at cross-town LMU on Thursday and then get ready for some toughies on more distant roads including at Stanford and Santa Clara. The big kids for the Beach, returnees Ella Clark and Devon Hudson were just out of sync in the win and loss. Sophomore Alex Sanchez, who played just five minutes in Saturday’s first half because of foul trouble, led the 49ers with a team-high 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists. The new starting guard, Chantel Dooley added 11 points and three steals. As a team, LBSU shot 34.4 percent from the floor but was outrebounded, 43-35.
“We are a much better team with Alex on the floor,” Long Beach State head coach Jody Wynn said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to step up in her absence in the first half. In the second half, she did a great job of leading this team, but we just didn’t have enough. We are not a one-man or two-man show, and we didn’t have a collective team effort tonight.”
Last of the basket cases, there is still no word on the hardship-waiver requests to the NCAA from Long Beach State in behalf of Tony Freeland (transfer from DePaul) and Keala King (transfer from Arizona State). Right now this looks a lot like an end-of-December deal.
In volleyball, head Coach Brian Gimmillaro has not written the post-season chances off just yet. “There are two things the NCAA looks at, your RPI (the stat saved soccer this year) and the Pablo.” I am not sure what or who Pablo is but at richkern.com you can find out. Anyhow the ladies of the spike whipped a couple of neighbors, CS Fullerton 3-1 and UC Riverside 3-0. The two wins for the 49ers last week moved Long Beach State into sole possession of second-place in the Big West with three games to play including that dreaded black and blue rivalry test Women’s Volleyball vs. UC Irvine on Saturday, 7PM in the fan-friendly Walter Pyramid. Plenty of seats still set up from the UNC visit.
Star of the VB week was Tara Roenicke who had numbers that her famous family (baseball famous folks like Uncle Ron who is the skipper of Milwaukee) would have found “Triple Crown Worthy”. Last week against hapless Fullerton, Tara finished with her first triple-double, setting a career high with 11 kills on .360 hitting along with 43 assists and 14 digs as the 49ers defeated the Titans 25-19, 25-27, 25-21, and 25-20. The other team leaders were Chisom Okpala 17 kills with 16 from Janisa Johnson. On Saturday, Libby Fontanilla played like a whirlwind at libero and, well that’s chemistry that deserves some NCAA post season love for LBSU.
Last of the Roenicke report, Uncle Ron has another BWC connection since he and wife Karen have a son Lance, an outfielder at UC-Santa Barbara …
Wrapping up and deflating (on purpose) the soccer balls. The Long Beach State women’s soccer team put up the good fight but was unable to erase a first-half deficit and fell to No. 17 Santa Clara, 2-1, in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship Saturday. Senior Alex Balcer scored the 49ers’ goal and her coach gave her the game ball somewhere on the bus ride home. Down 2 zip at the break Long Beach State (12-8-0) regrouped and finally broke through at the 70:32 mark. After a foul was called, Wilson delivered a free kick into the middle of the box where Balcer headed it to the lower left corner for her third goal of the season.
The big North Carolina game also marks the departure of the Beach’s Sports Information Director Todd Miles. He succeeded Steve Janisch and came down to SoCal from Boise State, who ironically joins the Big West next year. Previous stints throughout the great northwest and now, with new baby in tow, Todd and wife Stacy head to Eugene and the University of Oregon leaving the dire fiscal condition of the CSU in their rear view mirror.
Back to building issues. The Mid looks sort of like a sci-fi film set, mixing shiny new grey metal on the $35,000 temp bleachers with the old and colorful plastic sets. The court of course is also repainted and I swear one of the WBB turnovers came when Mary Ochiltree tripped over the trunk of a freshly painted palm tree.
Nearly two months after his initial contract with Oregon expired, former CSUF baseball coach George Horton said he has agreed to terms on a new deal that should keep him in the Ducks’ dugout until he retires.
{loadposition latestnews}Horton, 58, has a new deal is similar to the original five-year deal he received in 2007 to restart the Oregon baseball program. That contract paid Horton a base salary of $150,000, plus $150,000 in guaranteed salary paid by a media-rights deal, $100,000 more in “supplemental” income and $50,000 in minimum incentives. Written into that deal was also a $150,000 annual endorsement from Nike as part of a “bat supplement.” Horton earned an estimated $638,000 this past season.
WHERE ARE THEY--After two seasons at Long Beach State, Ashley Vazquez joined Arkansas in the 2012 spring semester her team looks poised for post season. During her time with the 49ers, she saw action in 40 sets with averages of more than nine assists per set and 0.70 blocks per set. She established highs of 66 assists and 11 digs in a win over No. 25 St. Mary’s during the 2010 season. The Gurabo, Puerto Rico, native also made the local cable with a 3-2 win over Kentucky and upped the Razorback record to 19-8 overall and 10-6 in the SEC. Enjoy fall, or summer, or what ever season it is.—DR. DAN
—Top photo: Tara Roenicke working Triple-Crown magic for Beach volleyball. Bottom: James Ennis elevates to lead the Niners offense. Photos by Robert Burge.