49ers Riding Four-Game Win Streak
No. 4 Beach Hosts Michigan Tuesday, Pacific on Friday Record: 7-1, 2-0 MPSF • Ranking: 4th FULL RELEASE (PDF)
TEAM SCHEDULE Niners Riding Four-Game Win Streak: The No. 4-ranked 49ers (7-1, 2-0 MPSF), off to their best start in school-history, will host two games this week. LBSU will host No. 11-ranked Michigan (4-6) on Tuesday at 4 p.m., before hosting Pacific (4-4, 0-0 MPSF) on Friday at 4 p.m. The Beach enter the week having won four in a row. The 49ers defeated Michigan earlier this year at the UC San Diego Tournament 13-8.
Head Coach: Ricardo Azevedo, now in his fourth year, is 60-50. In 2002, Azevedo was named the MPSF's women's water polo co-Coach of the Year. Azevedo also coaches the 49er men's team and is an assistant with the Men's National Team.
Rank and File: The 49ers are ranked No. 4 in this year's national rankings, as the team remained at No. 4 from the pre-season rankings. It is the team's highest ever ranking.
Best Start in School History: With a 7-1 record, LBSU is off to its best start in school history eclipsing the 2001 team which started the year 7-3. The 2-0 start in MPSF play is also a first, as the team has never begun a conference season better than .500 before this year.
Riding a Wave: The current four-game win streak is one of the longest in school-history. Twice in the program's previous five years, the team has won five in a row (2000, 2002). The 49ers have never won six in a row.
How About Two More: LBSU took care of No. 5-ranked California last week, paced by Roberta Stewart. Stewart scored the go-ahead goal in the first period to make it 3-2 and added next one in the second period as LBSU opened up to a 7-3 halftime lead. Stewart's three goals helped them to an 8-5 victory. Against Occidental, Cassie Azevedo and Laura Branch each tallied two goals in an easy 10-2 victory over the Tigers.
Drue Comes On: Sophomore Drue Wawrzynski (Garden Grove) has scored in four of the last five contest, to continue to place second on the 49er scoring charts with 12 goals. Over back-to-back games against the Aztecs, Wawrzynski tallied seven goals.
Kiwi Leads The Beach: Sophomore All-American (1st) Roberta Stewart (Auckland, NZ) continues to lead the club with 14 goals this season. Stewart has scored in every game but one, tallying three goals, three times. Stewart opened the season earning MPSF Player of the Week honors leading the 49ers to their first-ever tournament trophy at UC San Diego.
So Many Options: Junior All-American (3rd) Angelica Garcia (Catano, Puerto Rico) and freshman Cassie Azevedo (Long Beach) are both third on the team with nine goals a piece, two more reasons why The Beach is No. 4 in the country. Counting freshman Alison Braden's (Calgary, Alberta) eight goals and all-time leading scorer Ashley Richardson's (San Diego) five goals, LBSU has the potential to have six scoring threats in the pool this season.
Closing In: Sophomore goalie Bri Hawkins (San Diego) is just 33 saves away from second place all-time... sophomore Roberta Stewart (Auckland, NZ) is just six goals away from passing Karen Helm for sixth place (85 goals)... Angelica Garcia (Catano, PR) is in third place all-time with 120 career goals, while All-American (HM) Ashley Richardson tops the charts with 168 career goals. | 
