Long Beach State University Athletics
Water Polo Heads to Malibu for MPSF Tournament
11/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 25, 2008
LONG BEACH, Calif.-- No. 7 Long Beach State will take on the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal Friday at 11:30 a.m. in their first matchup of the 2008 MPSF Championships hosted by Pepperdine University (Malibu, Calif.).
Long Beach State (14-15, 2-6) finished the regular season ranked seventh both nationally and in the MPSF conference with their decisive victory over rival UC Irvine. With the win, the Beach avoids a matchup with No. 1-ranked USC, who is undefeated on the season. The Beach face an equally tough Stanford squad, who enters the tournament with a 22-4 record overall, 6-2 in conference play. The game against Stanford is set for 11:30 a.m. PT on Friday morning at Pepperdine. If Long Beach State comes away with a victory on Friday, they will face the winner of the UCSB/Pepperdine matchup at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. If Friday's game results in a 49er defeat, they will face the loser of the UCSB/Pepperdine game Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
LAST WEEKEND: The Beach ended their regular season in style, notching a 7-4 victory over MPSF rival UC Irvine. Appropriately, senior Ash Blythen led the 49ers' scoring efforts on Senior Day, and junior Derek Wiebe-Bailey grabbed 11 goalie saves.
SCOUTING STANFORD: The Beach is 0-1 against Stanford this season; the Cardinal defeated LBSU 13-7 on October 25th. The No. 3 Cardinal have lost two of their last three MPSF matchups, including an upset by then-No. 7 UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos' upset gave the Cardinal its first MPSF loss of the 2008 campaign, and it was followed by another narrow loss at the hands of undefeated USC. The two MPSF defeats are Stanford's only on the season, however, securing the Cardinal a 6-2 conference record and second seeding with their victory over Cal last weekend.
LBSU IN THE MPSF TOURNAMENT: Last year's eighth-seeded squad fell to No. 1 Cal, No. 4 UCLA (in OT) and No. 6 Pepperdine to finish in eighth place in the conference. Despite the losses, Long Beach State finished the season with a 17-15 record, and head coach Gavin Arroyo was awarded the title of MPSF co-Coach of the Year. In recent years, the 49ers have finished seventh (2006), eighth (2005) and fifth (2004) in the annual conference matchup. The Beach is 14-34 all time in the MPSF tournament (1993-2006). Before the MPSF Tournament, the 49ers played in PCAA Tournament and were 22-16.
LONG BEACH STATE STATS: Junior Jeff Greenwood currently leads the team in scoring with 46 goals, only 3 shy of last year's 49. Senior Ash Blythen is not far behind with 38 of his own, already far beyond his 24 goals scored in 2007. Goalie Derek Wiebe-Bailey has tabbed 262 saves in 28 games played, averaging 9.36 saves per game. And despite their 14-15 record, the 49ers are currently outscoring all opponents 267-259.
