Dante Estrada | Long Beach Current
As the fall 2025 semester nears its end, so does the first semester of the Long Beach Current’s weekly sports column, “Catching the Wave.”
With the majority of Long Beach State’s sports programs wrapping up, this week’s column ranks the top three Beach teams this season.
Women’s tennis
Ranking third in the conference standings in 2025, women’s tennis at The Beach saw the peak of its season at the Big West Fall Tournament in October.
While sophomores Diana De Simone and Thea Jagare performed admirably in doubles, reaching the main-draw quarterfinals, the star of the show was sophomore Pamela Badillo.
The Puebla, Mexico native emerged as the lone victor of the 64-woman singles draw at the tournament before going on to represent the entire conference at the ITA Conference Masters Championships.
LBSU will return Jan. 16 to 18 to host the Beach Tennis Winter Invitational at the Rhodes Tennis Center.
Women’s volleyball
A 22-9 record and semifinal finish in the Big West Championship Tournament does not tell the whole story of The Beach’s season.
After losing the majority of last season’s starters, LBSU head coach Natalie Reagan’s squad brought in 10 fresh faces, consisting of six transfers, four true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen.
“This should have been a rebuilding year,” Reagan said following the team’s elimination in the Big West Championship Tournament. “We lost nine seniors, four starters in the transfer portal, and instead these girls are setting records, they’re winning 20-plus games … I’m just so floored and impressed with this group.”
Following Reagan’s second year at the helm of the program, The Beach has a major foundation to build upon going forward, most notably with All-Big West First Team selection freshman Logan King and All-Big West Second Team selection sophomore Madi Maxwell.
1. Men’s water polo
LBSU men’s water polo was on the doorstep of destiny this semester, with the chance to repeat as Big West champions and earn another trip back to the NCAA Tournament.
While The Beach were stunned in the tournament final against UC Davis, The Beach still had a very successful season, going 17-9 and finishing as the No. 8-ranked team in the country.
Star sophomore center Gabi Acosta repeated as Big West Player of the Year with a conference-high of 68 goals.
After leading the Big West in goals scored for a second straight time in his two seasons at LBSU, Acosta is on pace to shatter the all-time program record for goals scored after his senior season.
A senior at CSULB, Timothy Hessen serves as the Sports Editor of the Long Beach Current. First joining the Current as a copy assistant editor as a junior, Timothy has written about sports in several different publications, including the Long Beach Current, the Coast Report and the Laguna Beach Independent. After graduation, Timothy hopes to pursue a career in journalism or public relations, with the long-term goal of either covering or working for an NFL or NBA team.