Team Coming Off Best Season Ever Record: 0-0, 0-0 MPSF ? Ranking: 11th Beach Opens Season in San Diego: Fresh of the first ever winning season, The Beach will begin the 2002 campaign this weekend when they travel to the UC San Diego Tournament on Saturday and Sunday. This year's team returns four starters, including the top two goal scorers in school history in Stacy Black and Ashley Richardson. Last year's leading scorer, Angelica Garica returns, as does all-time saves leader Amanda Wightman. The 49ers also have maybe their top recruiting class, yet, with New Zealander Roberta Stewart, LBSU legacy Drue Wawrzynski and goalkeeper Bri Hawkins. Head Coach: Ricardo Azevedo enters his third season with The Beach with a 34-36 mark. Azevedo also coaches the men's team. Azevedo is also an assistant with the men's National Team. Rank and File: The 49ers are ranked No. 11 in the pre-season Coaches Poll, the same ranking they had to finish off the 2001 campaign. LBSU's highest rankings (season and in school history) came on March 1 when the team was ranked No. 5. The MPSF is considered the toughest water polo conference in the country, with nine of the top-10 teams in the conference. Back in Black: Senior Stacy Black (Los Alamitos, CA) the school-record holder with 144 goals returns for her senior season after redshirting in 2001. Black, the team's captain, was a third team All-American in 2000. All the Riches: Junior Ashley Richardson (San Diego, CA) earned honorable mention all-MPSF have finishing second on the team with 50 goals. The total tied for the fifth best single season total in school history. Richardson is second all-time at LBSU with 118 career goals. Muy Bien!: Third team All-American and sophomore Angelica Garcia (Cantano, PR) led the team with 58 goals last season, the fourth best, single-season and sixth best career total. Garcia scored in all but five matches. Garcia earned MPSF Player of the Week (the first ever by a 49er) honors following the UCSB Tournament. Defender of the Net: Set Amanda Wightman (San Diego, CA) set the school's single-season save mark on April 19, and finished the season with 236 saves. Wightman is the school's all-time leader with 478 saves over three seasons with The Beach. Top Recruits: 2-Meters Roberta Stewart (Auckland, NZ), Drue Wawrzynski (Garden Grove, CA) and goalie Bri Hawkins (San Diego, CA) enter their first year with the program. Stewart is a member of the N2 New Zealand National team while Drue is the third Wawrzynski to play for The Beach following in the footsteps of her father and brother. Goalie Bri Hawkins is an all-CIF pick out of Mt. Carmel HS. All three carry international experience to go along with current Niners Richardson and Garcia. Not a Bad Start: The 49ers began 2001, 7-3, finishing third at the UC San Diego Tournament and fifth at the UC Santa Barbara Tournament. The 7-3 mark was the best start in school history. The hot start also saw the team rank as high as No. 5 in the nation. | 
