Long Beach State is one of nine teams vying for the conference crown in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament hosted by The Beach at the Kenneth E. Lindgren Aquatics Center from Friday until Sunday.
With three losses in MPSF play, it is unlikely that LBSU (18-6, 5-3 MPSF) will receive an at-large bid. In order for the ‘Niners to punch their ticket into the dance, they will need to win out this weekend and claim the MPSF Championship.
LBSU will enter the tournament as the fourth seed. The Beach and California (20-6, 5-3 MPSF) are tied for the No. 4 spot in the NCAA rankings.
With the 49ers’ NCAA Tournament hopes riding on this weekend, head coach Gavin Arroyo thinks the regular season accomplishments could be something they can build off of.
“Getting in the top 4 is tough,” LBSU head coach Gavin Arroyo said. “It’s somewhere we haven’t been in years. It’s definitely a momentum push.
The two teams will face each other for a fourth time this season in the quarterfinals round this Friday at 10 a.m.
If LBSU defeats Cal, it will play the winner of Friday’s last quarterfinals game, between No.1 UCLA (25-2, 8-0 MPSF) and the winner of the play-in-game: either No. 8 Pacific (14-1l, 2-6 MPSF), or No. 9 UC Santa Barbara (9-13, 0-8 MPSF).
In the first two matchups against Cal, the 49ers were outdueled 8-6 in September and 14-8 in October.
But in the most recent head-to-head meeting, LBSU knocked off Cal 12-10 at Berkeley earlier this month.
As a result, the 49ers jumped the Bears in the Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings. Since then, LBSU has maintained its position while Cal dropped its final two games.
LBSU is coming off of its best MPSF record (5-3) in program history, placing in the top-four of the NCAA rankings.
In the season finale against UCLA, LBSU was defeated 16-8 by the top-ranked Bruins. UCLA head coach Adam Wright said the 49ers are a much improved team that has earned their spot as the No. 4 team in the MPSF.
“Gavin’s done a great job and they’re a great team,” Wright said “Believe me, this one was circled on our calendar. We understand that this is a good team. They have proven throughout the MPSF that they deserve the fourth seat.”
Wright also said that the 49ers are tough to face and thinks they will make some noise at this weekend’s tourney.
“This is a really good team that we played,” Wright said. “They’re a really dangerous team, and they’re going to put something together at the [MPSF Tournament].”
The 49ers’ road to the NCAA Tournament could begin this Friday. The Beach will have play in front of its home crowd at the newly renovated Kenneth E. Lindgren Aquatics Center at 10 a.m. All other start times are still to be determined.