The Long Beach State men’s water polo team is looking to rebound after finishing last season tied for last place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The team ended with a 9-12 (1-7 MPSF) record in 2009 but hopes the 2010 season will yield better results with a promising recruiting class hitting the pool.
LBSU will lack experience this year with only one senior on the team, but the talent is there as two incoming freshmen played for the U.S. junior national team. The Daily 49er caught up with head coach Gavin Arroyo to get his perspective on the 2010 season.
The Beach opens the season Saturday as it plays five matches in two days at the UC Irvine Tournament.
Daily 49er: Goalkeeper Derek Wiebe-Bailey was second in the MPSF in saves last season. How great of an impact will his departure have this season?
Gavin Arroyo: It’s always hard to replace key players. That’s just the nature of the beast. Right now it looks like Matt Kubeck has the lead on getting that starting position. He is very athletic and talented but he lacks a little bit of experience, which he will probably get this year.
49er: How much of this season’s success will rest on the shoulders of Aleksander Petrovic?
Arroyo: He is one of our leaders, he was our leading scorer last year. Being the leading scorer on the ninth-place team doesn’t mean anything. He happened to be in the right place at the right time last season. I think it is our overall team attack and the strength of the people being able to execute that will determine our success.
49er: What’s going to be the key to getting wins this season?
Arroyo: Consistent play. There is a lot of parity in the MPSF these last few years. I think it’s going to be whoever is playing well that day and who can pick up a key road win. The great thing is we have a couple of key games at home this year that were away last year. It’s going to be our responsibility to get the job done at home and see what we can do on the road.
49er: Nick Rascon and Dan Matulis have U.S. junior national team experience. How much of an impact do you expect them to have this season?
Arroyo: I don’t have a crystal ball. They are both very talented young men. There is quite a big transition from high school to college. Obviously the U.S. junior team experience helps. The proof will be in if we are winning games or not.
49er: What are your expectations for this weekend at the UCI Invitational?
Arroyo: It’s a great opportunity to let some of our newer, younger guys mesh with the team. For us it’s still an evaluation period on playing time and things like that. Hopefully it gives us that opportunity to evaluate ourselves.
49er: Is there anything in particular that you look for this early in the season?
Arroyo: I’m excited to see where we are at. A lot of teams have a lot of players coming in; the core of our group has been together all summer and I think it’s just going to be a race of development to November to see who can do well at the end of the season.
49er: What team is going to be the biggest competition?
Arroyo: Everybody. Everybody’s good. There are no slouches, when we play we play, when we compete we are competing — whether it’s USC or Cal or the last place team in the country. We are going to approach that game the same way as we are going to approach the higher ranked, more talented teams. That’s where we get our consistency.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.