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If you are troubled about the world of sports, then you might want to add NASCAR to your list of four letter words. Okay, five letters, but like the PAC 12 refs, we didn’t major in math.
 
First some pleasant developments, LBSU women’s volleyball, thanks in large part to Ms. Chisom Okpala, (she led the 49ers to three wins last week, hitting .447 with 24 kills and averaged 1.70 blocks per set, including a career high eight against Seattle.) For the record the Beach ladies of the spike (5-4) Won at Loyola Marymount, 3-0; beat the College of Charleston, 3-1 and swept Seattle, 3-0. That sets the stage for the best foe thus far, Wednesday, hosting No. 11 UCLA in the Walter Pyramid in one of those “Gold” games which means that other LBSU teams dress up and harass the opponents as a salute to their classmates (whew). 
 
The other good news came from Women’s Soccer (4-3-0) who bounced back from a road shutout to Georgia, (1-0 score) then crossed the Dixie line and beat Auburn, 2-1 in extra time. Freshman Ashley Webb scored the game-winning goal in the 92nd minute to lift the Beach booters to a 2-1 overtime win.

Prediction not so good dept. No. 6 Men’s Water Polo (7-1) who we figured would be unbeaten last weekend was shocked by Concordia, 10-9 then tightened their Speedos and cruised past Chapman, 12-5, Whittier, 13-3 and La Verne, 19-1. The 49ers continue tournament action this weekend, traveling to California for the NorCal Tournament.

The long distance stars of Niner land entered the Pepperdine Invitational where the men finished in fourth place (six teams) (best was Freshman Emilio Nunez) and the ladies wound up seventh led by Freshman Ashley Carrera. The lady golfers meanwhile finished in the Colonel Bill Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic (big donor we think) in seventh place (out of 17 teams) with the best number posted by yet another freshman, Shawnee Martinez at 2-over 218.

The colander of course features UCLA, Wednesday, 7pm at Walter Pyramid followed by CSU Bakersfield, Friday at 11am; Oregon State, Friday at 7:30pm and Prairie View A&M, Saturday at 7pm all in the fan-friendly Walter Pyramid. Last of schedule stuff, ruff and tuff and ranked No. 6 BYU, plays are soccer gales Saturday at 7pm at George Allen Field.
 
MIXED DUST—A delayed salute to Long Beach State all-American baseballer Abe Alvarez who pitched for the Boston Red Sox and even earned a World Series ring in 2004. He came back and got his CSULB degree and now is doing what he wants, “to be a teacher and a coach.” Alvarez became the head baseball coach at St. Bernard High in Playa del Rey after serving one year as an assistant coach.

St. Bernard athletic director Chad Nammack, said the crafty lefty is a “an absolute student of the game…one of the best people you’d ever meet…he understands the nuances of the game, the complexities of running defenses and the subtleties like why you are throwing a fastball on the outer half of a plate in a certain count or positioning your defense accordingly. A lot of high school coaches today are happy with throwing a curveball for a strike and hoping they hit it to one of the guys, but Abe has another tier to understanding the game.”

That soccer win was intriguing, although the crowds down south are pretty poor, in the 200-300 range. Webb scored the golden goal in the 92nd minute to lift the LB to their 2-1 victory. Other Niners of note were Senior Eileen Maes (the equalizer in the 57th minute) and freshman Mimi Rangel, two assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Kaci McCain picked up her fourth win with a season-high tying five saves.

Last add the other real futball. The ground swell continues around campus for adding men’s soccer but the issue always is finances. Do you drop a women’s sport, raise more money, or hope you are the next UCSB who draws really big crowds? The demographic for the area certainly has a lot of Latin flavor and kids and parents who favor the gentlemen of the pitch. Questions on staffing and scholarships of course loom over the issue. Stay tuned, but I have a hunch it is coming sometime in the almost near future.

And finally one more commercial message. Alex Traver’s favorite team, men’s basketball, has a junket planner for the game at the U of Washington. Bookings are for single or double occupancy and include airport transfers, all the other bits and pieces and Game Tickets. Deadline is September 20th.