Long Beach State University Athletics
Lena Kotanchyan, Faris Babineaux Selected As Long Beach State’s 2020 Big West Scholar-Athletes Of The Year
3/2/2021 2:41:00 PM | Track and Field, Women's Water Polo
The Big West Academic Honors show airs tomorrow, March 3 beginning at Noon.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Big West Conference announced Tuesday the 22 individuals named Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year, one man and one woman from each of the league's 11 member institutions. The honorees for Long Beach State were Faris Babineaux of Men's Track and Field and Lena Kotanchyan of Women's Water Polo.
A track and field athlete for Long Beach State, Babineaux has competed in the 200m, 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m races since his freshman year. He finished in ninth place in the 400m event in the 2020 Big West Championship, posting a personal-best time of 48.08 seconds. A Criminology and Criminal major, Babineaux was selected to LBSU's Dean's List in 2017 and 2018 as well as making the President's List in all semesters starting in 2019. Babineaux plans to continue his studies, applying for law school and working toward obtaining his Juris Doctorate in Intellectual Property Law.
An attacking forward for Long Beach State's women's water polo team, Kotanchyan led her team with 54 goals in 18 games in 2020. She twice tied the school record for most goals in a single game with seven goals against St. Francis (PA) and Bucknell. Pursuing her Master's in Economics, Kotanchyan was named to the Academic All-Stars list for the Spring 2020 semester and has made the Dean's List every semester since entering the Master's program in fall 2019. She aims to pursue a career in Educational Policy and Research after graduating in the spring semester of 2022.
In an adjustment from previous years, instead of a luncheon at the Big West Tournament, this year's honorees will be recognized in a half-hour program on ESPN3, the Big West Academic Honors, airing for the first time at Noon on Wednesday, March 3.
In addition to recognizing these two outstanding student-athletes, the program will also feature an in-depth interview with Ruby Flores, a former Long Beach State Softball standout. A former winner if this same award in 1992, Flores is now in a leadership role as a Commander with the Los Angeles Police Department.
A track and field athlete for Long Beach State, Babineaux has competed in the 200m, 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m races since his freshman year. He finished in ninth place in the 400m event in the 2020 Big West Championship, posting a personal-best time of 48.08 seconds. A Criminology and Criminal major, Babineaux was selected to LBSU's Dean's List in 2017 and 2018 as well as making the President's List in all semesters starting in 2019. Babineaux plans to continue his studies, applying for law school and working toward obtaining his Juris Doctorate in Intellectual Property Law.
An attacking forward for Long Beach State's women's water polo team, Kotanchyan led her team with 54 goals in 18 games in 2020. She twice tied the school record for most goals in a single game with seven goals against St. Francis (PA) and Bucknell. Pursuing her Master's in Economics, Kotanchyan was named to the Academic All-Stars list for the Spring 2020 semester and has made the Dean's List every semester since entering the Master's program in fall 2019. She aims to pursue a career in Educational Policy and Research after graduating in the spring semester of 2022.
In an adjustment from previous years, instead of a luncheon at the Big West Tournament, this year's honorees will be recognized in a half-hour program on ESPN3, the Big West Academic Honors, airing for the first time at Noon on Wednesday, March 3.
In addition to recognizing these two outstanding student-athletes, the program will also feature an in-depth interview with Ruby Flores, a former Long Beach State Softball standout. A former winner if this same award in 1992, Flores is now in a leadership role as a Commander with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Attacker
/ Women's Water PoloMWP vs. Pomona-Pitzer Highlights
Sunday, November 25
2018 Golden Coast Conference Champions
Sunday, November 18
LBSU Fast 5 Austin Stevenson
Wednesday, November 30
LBSU Fast 5 Jacob Fujioka
Wednesday, November 16
