Starting Off On The Right Foot
Three Big West Conference teams kicked off the 2009-10 season with a victory - Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and UC Davis. The Titans, who defeated San Jose State 79-77 in the final seconds, clinched their second-straight season-opening win and their first on the road since downing the Spartans, 69-52, in 2006. The Long Beach State womens basketball team began the Jody Wynn era with a 76-68 victory over three-time defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Prairie View A&M, marking LBSU's first season-opening victory since the 2004-05 campaign. UC Davis won its season-opening game for the seventh time under 13th-year head coach Sandy Simpson with a convincing 71-49 nonconference win at Seattle.
LBSU's Figueroa Eclipses 1,000-Point Milestone
Playing in her first game since March 12, 2008, senior Karina Figueroa led the 49ers in their season-opening contest with a double-double, netting 23 points and dishing out a career-high tying 10 assists. Figueroa now has 1,007 career points, making her the programs 21st 1,000-point scorer. She also becomes the 100th Big West player to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Figueroa redshirted last season due to an injury.
The next closest conference player to reaching the elusive mark is Cal Poly's Kristina Santiago with 736 career points.
UC Davis Opens Home Portion Of Schedule The Weekend
Following a two-game road trip to kick off the new year, UC Davis returns home to the recently renovated Pavilion to host San Francisco. The Tuesday evening showdown with the Dons marks the start of a three-game homestand.
Aside from UC Davis, Cal State Fullerton is the last Big West school to have the opportunity to play in front of its hometown fans. The Titans, who open 2009-10 with a six-game road trip, first home contest is slated for Dec. 7 against San Diego.
UC Riverside, UC Davis Battle Top 25
The UC Riverside Highlanders have the honor of being the first Big West team to tackle a Top 25 opponent this season. The Highlanders are visiting the 22nd-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores Friday in the return game of a home-and-home agreement. Last season, the Highlanders opened the home portion of their schedule with a 50-47 upset win over then-ranked No. 16 Vanderbilt, marking the first time in UCR's eight-year Division I history that they defeated a ranked opponent.
Two days later UC Davis, who is in the midst of a three-game homestand, entertains second-ranked Stanford in a Sunday matinee.
Cal State Fullerton Makes Statement In Opening Weekend
Cal State Fullerton knocked off San Jose State (79-77) and Sacramento State (90-68) to start the season 2-0 for the first time since 1996-97 when they opened 3-0 and won five of their first six contests. The 90 points were the most since they posted a 94-83 win over Pacific on Jan. 19, 2009, while the 22-point margin of victory is their highest since defeating league rival Cal State Northridge, 87-61, on Jan. 7, 2006.
Conejo Shines For Matadors
Cal State Northridge might of fallen to Prairie View A&M Sunday afternoon, but is wasn't due to the lack of effort by sophomore Bridgette Conejo. Conejo drained a career-high seven three-pointers to tie a school record. Her effort matched two previous performances by Edinesha Curry and one by Carrie Dormie. Her 26 points also set a new career mark and she finished 8-of-14 from the field and 7-of-10 from 3-point range.
Margaritis Eyes Coaching Milestones
UC Riverside head coach John Margaritis has his sights set on two coaching milestones in 2009-10. He is currently just three wins shy of capturing his 200th career win. Along with his overall victories, he is inching his way towards his 100th win at UC Riverside with an 87-68 mark. Margaritis, averaging 17.2 wins per season over a five-year span, has the 100th win well within reach.
Long Beach State Showcases New Face At The Helm Of Its Program
Jody Wynn, who spent the last five seasons as the senior assistant, recruiting coordinator and head of scouting at USC, becomes the sixth head coach in Long Beach State womens basketball history. Wynn comes to LBSU with 13 years of collegiate coaching experience under her belt. While at USC, she was in charge of bringing in four nationally-ranked recruiting classes, including the No. 1-ranked group in 2006. On the court, Wynn coached seven All-Pac 10 performers, a conference freshman of the year and a WNBA draft pick. Making up the rest of her staff are assistant coaches Derek Wynn, Jeffrey Cammon and Laura Freimuth.
Foster Takes Over Reins At Fullerton
Former associate head coach Marcia Foster at Cal State Fullerton was promoted to head coach after Dr. Maryalyce Jeremiah relinquished her head coaching duties at the end of last season. Foster begins her seventh year with the Titans womens basketball program. She also spent one year as head coach at Cal Tech and six years as an assistant at Cal Poly. She began her coaching career at the high school level in Orange County (Mater Dei and Garden Grove) and also coached the Orange County Optimist AAU team to an 18-and-under Southern California championship in 1994. Her college career began with one season as an assistant at Arizona State.
Mustangs Hope To Continue Where They Left Off A Year Ago
Cal Poly is coming off its best season during the program's 35-year history. Last year the Mustangs established a new program record with a .656 winning percentage (21-11) and the 21 victories accumulated matched the 1981-82 Mustang squad for the highest single-season victory total in school history. Cal Poly's 11 losses ranked as the second-lowest amount in program history while the Mustangs finished the year 10 games above a .500 winning percentage for the first time. The Mustangs, who finished third in the conference standings for just the second time in program history, also set new Big West school records for victories (11), fewest losses (5) and overall winning percentage (.688).
The Mustangs opened the 2009-10 season with a 1-1 record, falling to Oregon State in the season opener and then turning around and defeating New Mexico State two days later.
UC Santa Barbara Tabbed Preseason Favorite
The Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara were selected to claim their third consecutive, 14th overall, Big West Conference womens basketball regular season title, as voted on by the media. The Gauchos captured 10 of a possible 20 first-place votes and 162 total points. They were closely followed by second place UC Davis, who received six first-place nods and 155 points. Rounding out the top three was Cal Poly with three first-place selections and a point total of 146.
Two-time Big West Champion UC Riverside was selected fourth with one first-place vote and a total of 112 points. Garnering the fifth slot in the preseason poll with 99 points is Long Beach State, who begins a new era under first-year head coach Jody Wynn. Pacific earned the sixth spot after acquiring 87 points and was followed by Cal State Fullerton (59), Cal State Northridge (41) and UC Irvine (39).
A Veteran Squad For Aggies
Following a season in which UC Davis featured a roster filled with young players, including seven freshmen, the Aggies have one of the most veteran teams in the league this year. In fact, the Aggies are the lone team in the conference that welcomes back five starters for the 2009-10 season. Leading the way for the Aggies are Paige Mintun, Lauren Juric and Kasey Riecks. Mintun, an All-Big West First Team member, led the Aggies in both scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg) in 2008-09. Juric is coming off a stellar season during which she was named Big West Freshman of the Year and collected All-Big West Honorable Mention accolades. She is also the top returner in three-point percentage (.407). Like her fellow teammates, Riecks also received All-Big West honors with honorable mention and all-freshman team selections last year.
Quick Glimpse Of 2009-10 Rosters
With the departure of such a large group of talented womens basketball players, fresh faces will be seen on the court this year. Three teams with the tough task of constructing a successful lineup this season are UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific. The Highlanders must start from scratch after losing all five of their starters to graduation. The Tigers and Gauchos aren't far behind, welcoming back just one starter from last season.
Starters Returning/Lost
Cal Poly - 3/2
Cal State Fullerton - 3/2
Cal State Northridge - 2/3
Long Beach State - 3/2
UC Davis - 5/1
UC Irvine - 3/2
UC Riverside - 0/5
UC Santa Barbara - 1/4
Pacific - 1/4
Letterwinners Returning/Lost
Cal Poly - 12/3
Cal State Fullerton - 8/3
Cal State Northridge - 7/5
Long Beach State - 10/4
UC Davis - 11/1
UC Irvine - 7/4
UC Riverside - 3/9
UC Santa Barbara - 8/7
Pacific - 7/6
Big West On Twitter
The Big West Conference is excited to bring Big West Live to Twitter, a Twitter feed designed to give fans an in-the-stands view of select Big West Events. Bringing near-instantaneous photos, commentary, and updates, Big West Live is the first feed of its kind. Moving beyond the scores and stats, Big West Live delivers the color of Big West events.
Live On The Net
The Big West Conference and the CBS College Sports Network are partnering to bring you exclusive coverage of Big West sports, press conferences, interviews and features into your home via the Internet! Now in its fifth year, BigWest.TV covers every home and conference contest in womens volleyball as well as mens and womens basketball. Also covered are select contests in mens and womens soccer, baseball, softball, and Big West Conference Championships. A monthly subscription of $9.95 or an annual subscription of $79.95 delivers exclusive coverage to you. If you cant make it to the gym or the field, you can still catch all the action on BigWest.TV!