Wensman Blossoms for the 49ers
by Bob Keisser, Long Beach Press-Telegram
April 27, 2006 The chances of Long Beach State's women's water polo team blossoming late in the postseason may depend on a late bloomer.
Cassie Azevedo has been the go-to star for the team now for four seasons, and she remains the main threat to any opponent, including the 49ers' first-round opponent, Arizona State, in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament beginning today at UC Irvine.
But if the 49ers extend their season at all, Christina Wensman may be the difference.
The junior from Mercer Island, Wash., emerged this season as a key source of offense, scoring 39 goals with 25 assists, second on the team in both categories to Azevedo. Her numbers in 2006 are superior to those posted by 2005 honorable mention All-American Drue Wawrzynski.
In terms of experience, Wensman is still something of a novice. She came to the game late by today's standards, not playing until she was 12, and then on a coed club team. She didn't start thinking about playing in college until she was a high school junior, and playing in a state without a single NCAA school playing the sport, she wasn't exactly widely recruited.
"Hartwick College (Oneota, N.Y.) contacted me," she said before practice Tuesday. "Mostly they were east coast schools. But I really wanted to come to California because water polo is so big down here and I'd improve so much more."
Wensman started seven games in her first two seasons and she wasn't considered part of the returning nucleus before the season began. But her work ethic impressed head coach Ken Lindgren.
"I wasn't sure how the season would play out," she said. "I believed I could be a starter, but with a new coach and so many new players, you never know what can happen.
"Believing in myself has been a big part (of her success). It helps your confidence to know you'll play and that opponents have to account for you in their pregame scouting. There's some pressure there when you know you have to step up, but it's good to know (coaches) have confidence in what you can do."
Wensman and Lindgren turned out to be a great fit. Lindgren likes players with a strong work ethic, and thinks the left-handed driver has flourished because of the discipline and responsibility he wants.
"She liked the way I approached the game, no nonsense," Lindgren said. The 49ers' men's coach from 1975 to 1998 returned to take the women's job on short notice when Ricardo Azevedo left to become coach of the U.S. National men's team. "If I ask you to do something, I expect you to do it, and she fit right in.
"She definitely has talent, she just didn't gave a lot of self-confidence and experience. She didn't really have much coaching before college."
The physical side of the game didn't bother her. "I grew up with two brothers and the club teams I played on were coed," she said. "By the time I was a junior, I knew I wanted to play in college, but I didn't know what level I was capable of playing at."
Now she knows. The 49ers enter the tournament with a 15-12 overall record and finished 10th in the 13-team MPSF, but the season mark included four games played without Azevedo. They won six of their past nine games.
With just two returning starters in Azevedo and Tara Campbell and a sudden coaching change, the record is respectable. But they would like to take that rating a little higher in the tourney.
A win over Arizona State (13-11) the 49ers beat them in overtime this season would advance them to the quarterfinals and a match against No. 2-ranked UCLA (24-3). |
