LBSU Athlete of the Week: Monica Villareal (4/25/2011)

Junior Monica Villareal finished in second place at the Big West Championship after recording a career-low 67 in the first round en route to earning this week's Long Beach State Athlete of the Week Award. The Black and Gold Insider sat down with Monica to talk about her impressive weekend.

Black and Gold Insider: How does it feel to be named the Long Beach State Athlete of the Week?

Monica Villareal: It is both an honor and privilege! I am very proud of our school, and the fact that I am the athlete of the week here at Long Beach State is a great feeling.

What was working well for you over the weekend when you were able to shoot a career low 67 at the Big West Championships?

Monica Villareal: I went out there with an open mind and no expectations, just another walk on the course for me. I was confident in my shot making and I made a lot of clutch putts. I have been practicing hard these past few weeks, and everything just seemed to fall into place at the tournament.

Who inspired you to play golf?

Monica Villareal: My awesome dad.

Do you have any pre-match rituals?

Monica Villareal: I mark all my golf balls with pink flowers, listen to classical music while warming up, practice my breathing exercises and say a prayer.

What does it mean to Bleed Black and Gold?

Monica Villareal: It means to play hard and work hard no matter what! Bleeding Black and Gold means having great honor and pride in Long Beach State and representing to the best of my ability- win or lose I Bleed Black and Gold.

LBSU Breast Cancer Awareness Recap

This year Long Beach State hosted our first ever Breast Cancer Awareness Day on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at the softball and baseball games. The event was a huge success as over 1,290 dollars were raised to help fight breast cancer.

The baseball game saw the Dirtbags host the University of California, Riverside. 138 raffle tickets were sold at the event for the opportunity to win one of four different packages.
The first package contained:
1 Autographed Dirtbag Jersey
1 Dirtbag Hat
1 Long Beach Beanie

The second package contained:
1 Autographed Black Dirtbag Jersey
1 Dirtbag Hat
1 Long Beach Beanie

The third and fourth packages contained:
1 Autographed Dirtbag T-shirt
1 Dirtbag Hat 1 Long Beach Beanie
1 Breast Cancer Awareness Baseball

Through the raffle tickets $690.00 dollars were raised.

The softball team hosted UC Davis. Carrie Lovelady threw out the first pitch, she is Christina Schallig's mom, and a proud two year breast cancer survivor. The team took the field wearing pink visors, shoe laces, and headbands as Erin Jones-Wesley threw a complete game, one-hit shutout for the first game. In the second game, Nalani St. Germain hit a walk off homer to complete the sweep of UC Davis with a 2-1 victory. Over $600.00 dollars were raised at the softball games through ticket sales and raffle tickets to benefit the Love/Avon Army of Women.

Big West Athlete of the Week (4.11): Colin Dunbar

Colin Dunbar is selected as the Big West Athlete of the Week for his performance in the Big West Cup Challenge on 4.8.11. Dunbar's performance in the hammer at the event earns his spot in the LBSU history books as he is second only to Bill Green. Watch Colin talk about representing LBSU and how to throw shot put.

Student Athlete of the Week: Ceasar Puga (4.11.11)

Track and Field Discus and Shot Put extraordinaire Ceasar Puga is this weeks Long Beach State student athlete of the week. Puga's impressive performance helped lead LBSU set a meet record at the Big West Challenge Cup. Ceasar gave the Black and Gold Insider a few moments of his time to talk about his accomplishments on the track.

Cesar, you are Long Beach State's student athlete of the week for your performance at the Big West Challenge Cup, how does it feel to receive these honors?
It feels great, I was really happy when I found out that I was athlete of the week. I know that there were a lot of other athletes excelling in their sport and for me to get the award makes me feel good.

Not many people are familiar with your events, shot put and discus, how do you prepare for them?
One very important aspect of our training is our weight training. We spend almost as much time lifting weights as we do practicing our technique and throwing. We spend a few hours going over our technique, and a few hours throwing. It is important to be strong and explosive and it is also important to have technique.

Outside of track, what are your passions in life?
Well, one of my passions is exploring different restaurants from many different cultures. I enjoy trying all sorts of different food. I would have to say my favorite foods would have to be steak and seafood.

What is your major, what do you plan to do after graduation?
My major is Communication. What I plan on doing is working in the police force, but not as a regular patrol officer. I want to work for either the SWAT or the FBI or something along those lines.

What does it mean to bleed Black and Gold?
Bleeding Black and Gold means having pride and loyalty in my school and giving 100 percent effort in competitiveness.

Social Media Night at Blair Field (4.15.11)

This Friday LBSU will host our first ever Social Media day at Blair Field as the Dirtbags take on UC Riverside. The theme is in an effort to bring awareness to LBSU's various new media outlets including, the Black and Gold Insider, twitter and facebook.

Fans posting photos of themselves decked out in their black and gold to Long Beach State Athletic's facebook page could be featured on the video board during the game. Moreover, they are eligible to win two free lift tickets for Mountain High!

In game there will be the opportunity for fans to tweet-up. Select tweets will be displayed on the video board.

Fans will be encouraged to like the facebook page either through their smart phone or at a laptop located at the marketing booth. Once fans do so (or show that they were already a fan) a representative at the marketing booth will provide them with a gift card for a free double-double at In n Out.

In addition to showing their support for Long Beach State, fans who are interactive during the game on facebook or twitter will be entered to win a Dirtbags VIP package.

As always the Black and Gold Insider will be blogging live from the game to keep interactive fans who cannot make it out to Blair Field up to date on the latest Dirtbags' news.

Live Blog: Dirtbags vs. UC Davis Aggies 4/9/2011

Live Blog: UC Davis vs. Long Beach State Dirtbags

LBSU Athlete of the Week: Ino Patron (4/4/2011)

This week's Long Beach State Athlete of the Week award was nabbed by freshman infielder Ino Patron. Patron was an integral part of a potent Dirtbag offense that exploded for 20 runs last Friday night. Coupled with a win on Saturday, the Dirtbags won their conference opening series against Pacific by outscoring the Tigers 30-7.

On the weekend Patron hit .667 and had an OBP of .786

 

Black and Gold Insider: How does it feel to be named Long Beach State Athlete of the Week?

Ino Patron: It is an honor to be named Long Beach State Athlete of the Week. A lot of guys on our team had a great week so I feel lucky to get this award.

How do you explain the 20 run outburst you guys had at Pacific? Were you surprised at all? How do you build on a highly successful day like that?

Ino Patron: We had a good game plan going into that game and Coach Gilbert prepared us really well for their pitchers. I think you will always be surprised when you put up 20 runs on a team, but I felt like we were due to have an offensive outburst because we were in tight ball games all year and never really got the bats going yet. You build on a successful day like that by continuing to work hard and preparing the right way and not worrying about results by staying in the present and focusing on winning every pitch.

What did you guys learn about your team playing the very tough non-conference schedule, and how do you think that experience will help you in conference play?

Ino Patron: We learned that we can compete with any team in the country and that we are not afraid what the other team’s jersey says. We go out there and play the game of baseball. This non-conference play will help us in conference play because we know how to win in tight games and we stick together throughout everything that happens in a game.

What's the atmosphere like around the team in the clubhouse and dugout?

Ino Patron: The atmosphere around the team and in the clubhouse and dugout is pretty loose. We all like to joke around and have fun. I think we have taken on the personalities of the coaches in a way and they keep us loving the game and getting down to business. When it comes to game time and practice we have to go to work and get it done.

What does it mean to be a Dirtbag?

Ino Patron: It is a privilege to be called a Dirtbag. It means to play the game hard and the right way. To bleed black and yellow and by the end of the game have some dirt on your jersey.

This Week At Long Beach State (4/4/2011)

Welcome back from spring break students and fans, do we ever have a busy week for you to get back in the Black and Gold swing of things. There are a total of ten home sporting events this week for Long Beach State across four different sports.

Tuesday
It all gets started Tuesday with the Dirtbags vs. San Diego State Aztecs @ Blair Field, 6:30 p.m.

The Dirtbags come home after a series win against Pacific in the opening weekend of Big West Play, and will face an Aztecs club in mid-week action that comes limping in with a 9-19 record, having most recently lost two out of three to Oral Roberts. SDSU is 2-4 in midweek games.

Wednesday 
Men's Volleyball vs. UC Irvine @ Walter Pyramid, 7:00 p.m.

The Black and Blue Rivalry Series is on once again at the Pyramid with LBSU men's volleyball taking on the rival Anteaters. The 'Eaters and 49ers are ranked No. 4 and 5 respectively in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll. The two squads split their previous two matches earlier in the year, with Long Beach coming out on top Jan. 7, 3-1 at the UCSB Elephant Bar Tournament. UCI earned their own 3-1 victory over LB State Feb. 16 at Bren.

Friday
Women's Tennis vs. Oregon Ducks @ Rhodes Tennis Center, 2:00 p.m.
The 49ers and Ducks will take a break from conference play and battle on the hard court. Oregon is 7-11 on the year, and have lost their last five matches. LBSU holds a 13-5 record overall, most recently winning two out of three matches during a Mid-West Road Trip.

Dirtbags vs. UC Davis Aggies @ Blair Field, 6:30 p.m.
Big West play continues for the Dirtbags, taking on Davis in a weekend series. Long Beach State won their series this past weekend against Pacific, and were only denied a sweep of the Tigers because of a three run rally in the ninth of game three. Davis was swept by Fullerton this past weekend, as they were outscored by the Titans 25-2

Saturday
Women's Tennis vs. Cal Poly Mustangs @ Rhodes Tennis Center, 11:00 a.m.
Beach Tennis will tangle with ranked Big West foe Cal Poly in a crucial match for both teams.

Softball vs. Cal State Northridge @ 49er Softball Complex, 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.
49er softball returns to Long Beach for a Big West showdown with the Matadors. CSUN are 13-20 overall on the year while LBSU boasts a 23-12 record, going 11-3 at home. Erin Jones-Wesley will look to continue her dominant freshman campaign in game 1.

Dirtbags vs. UC Davis Aggies @ Blair Field, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday night should see a packed Blair Field for Troy Tulowitzki bobblehead night. The first 1,500 fans at Blair will receive a replica of the former Dirtbag and now major leaguer. Come early to insure you can take Tulo home with you.

Men's Volleyball vs. UC San Diego Tritons @ Walter Pyramid, 7:00 p.m.
49ers host another MPSF foe Saturday night in the 'Mid.

Sunday
Softball vs. Cal State Northridge @ 49er Softball Complex, 1:00 p.m.

Dirtbags vs. UC Davis @ Blair Field, 1:00 p.m.

Baseball and softball wrap their weekend series with day games on Sunday. 


Hope to see you at the games this week, Go Beach!

MPSF Athlete of the Week: Antwain Aguillard (3/28/2011)

Senior Antwain Aguillard locked up this week's MPSF and Long Beach State Athlete of the Awards by hitting a blistering .695 (41-0-59) with no errors in two wins over Pacific and Stanford on the road last weekend, setting a career-high with 24 kills against the No. 2 Cardinal in the win. The Black and Gold Insider caught up with Antwain to hear about his impressive weekend.

Black and Gold Insider: How does it feel to be recognized as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Molten Player of the Week?

Antwain Aguillard: To be recognized as the MPSF player of the week is a great honor to have. It is an award that our team shares together because it was not just an individual effort. We rely on each other a great deal to succeed and compete on a high level like we do.

You helped defeat No. 2 ranked Stanford with a career-high 24 kills, what was the key to that victory?

Antwain Aguillard: The key to this victory was sticking together, and staying cohesive after going down two games to one.

What do you think this team needs to continue to do in order to compete at this level?

Antwain Aguillard: For us to keep competing at this level, I think it is important that we take care of our side of the net. Hit our good serves, and get over the net to make good blocking moves.

You are a geography major, what is one place in the world you would love to have the opportunity to visit, and why?

Antwain Aguillard: I'd like to visit Chengdu, China because of my high interest in culinary arts. Chengdu is known for its extraordinary food.

How does your school pride affect your on the court performance?

Antwain Aguillard: My school pride affects my on the court performance for many reasons. First being that it is my last year and I want our program to be seen as powerful once again, therefore helping our future teams get highly rated recruits. Second, my school pride helps me to keep going because I, as well as my team, want to be national champions once again.