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Dante Estrada | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n
As the fall 2025 semester nears its end, so does the first semester of the Long Beach Current\u2019s weekly sports column, \u201cCatching the Wave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the majority of Long Beach State\u2019s sports programs wrapping up, this week\u2019s column ranks the top three Beach teams this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s tennis<\/p>\n
Ranking third in the conference standings in 2025, women\u2019s tennis at The Beach saw the peak of its season at the Big West Fall Tournament in October.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While sophomores Diana De Simone<\/a> and Thea Jagare<\/a> performed admirably in doubles, reaching the main-draw quarterfinals, the star of the show was sophomore Pamela Badillo<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n LBSU will return Jan. 16 to 18 to host the Beach Tennis Winter Invitational at the Rhodes Tennis Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n Women\u2019s volleyball<\/p>\n A 22-9 record and semifinal finish in the Big West Championship Tournament does not tell the whole story of The Beach\u2019s season.\u00a0<\/p>\n After losing the majority of last season\u2019s starters, LBSU head coach Natalie Reagan\u2019s squad brought in 10 fresh faces, consisting of six transfers, four true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis should have been a rebuilding year,\u201d Reagan said following the team\u2019s elimination<\/a> in the Big West Championship Tournament. \u201cWe lost nine seniors, four starters in the transfer portal, and instead these girls are setting records, they\u2019re winning 20-plus games \u2026 I\u2019m just so floored and impressed with this group.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Following Reagan\u2019s 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<\/a> and All-Big West Second Team selection sophomore Madi Maxwell<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n 1. Men\u2019s water polo<\/p>\n LBSU men\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n While The Beach were stunned in the tournament final against UC Davis<\/a>, The Beach still had a very successful season, going 17-9 and finishing as the No. 8-ranked team in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n Star sophomore center Gabi Acosta<\/a> repeated as Big West Player of the Year with a conference-high of 68 goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n