Stewart Makes Huge Splash

Long Beach State sophomore Roberta Stewart is already established as one of the top performers in collegiate women’s water polo. But her recent performance against Stanford helped elevate her team to new heights.

Stewart scored three goals to lead the 49ers to an 8-7 upset of the defending NCAA champions. It is Long Beach’s first victory over Stanford in the six-year history of the 49er program.

“We were confident that we could do it,” said Stewart, a 6-foot-2 driver and two-meter player. “It was a great feeling. We put a lot of work into it and we finally got some payback.”

Stewart, an All-American as a freshman, scored the game-winner on a penalty shot with 2:29 remaining. And she wasn’t finished.

The New Zealand native made a steal with 28 seconds left as Stanford was threatening in front of the net.

Long Beach (17-5, 6-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) was ranked fourth in the nation in the preseason, but the 49ers had not been able to break through against the top three -- Stanford, USC and UCLA -- until last Saturday.

“They are such a great program and such a complete team,” said Stewart, who leads Long Beach with 34 goals. “Stanford is always the one you’re intimidated of. A lot of national players are on that team.

“To beat all of that, well, we’re right where we want to be.”

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It has been a big week for the UCLA golf program. The Bruin men won their fourth tournament of the season Tuesday with a seven-shot victory over UC Irvine in the Western Intercollegiate tournament at Pasatiempo Golf Course in Santa Cruz.

Junior Steve Conway won his second tournament with a one-shot victory over Pacific’s Matt Hanson. Conway, who won the Cleveland Golf Classic last month, shot rounds of 72, 67 and 69 on the par-70 course.

On Sunday, UCLA sophomore Charlotte Mayorkas shot a seven-under-par 209 over 54 holes to win the Arizona State Invitational for her first collegiate title. Mayorkas shot a career-best 66 in the first round, then followed with rounds of 71 and 72 at the Karsten Course in Tempe, Ariz., to win by four shots over Sarah Huarte of California.

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UCLA men’s tennis player Jean-Julien Rojer, a three-time All-American, has decided to turn pro and will not return to the program. Rojer, a native of the Netherlands Antilles, took the fall and winter quarters off to compete as a amateur and has won a number of lower-level tournaments overseas.

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Cal State Fullerton junior pitcher Wes Littleton was reinstated Monday after serving a three-week suspension for violating team rules. Littleton, the Titans’ ace, is 4-0 with a 3.05 earned-run average.... UC Riverside junior pitcher Jaymie Torres missed his start at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo last weekend because he was suspended for violating team rules on the recent trip to Nevada. Torres, 5-1 with a 3.45 ERA, was reinstated and pitched one inning in Riverside’s 9-4 win over Nevada Las Vegas on Tuesday.

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This Week

BASEBALL

* Loyola Marymount at Pepperdine, 3 p.m. Friday; 1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday -- A matchup of West Coast Conference division leaders. Led by Jonathan Oller and Joshua Whitesell, Loyola (21-13, 8-4 in WCC) has a .320 team batting average. Pepperdine (19-15, 9-3) counters with a pitching staff that leads the WCC with a 3.91 earned-run average.

* UCLA at USC, 6 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday -- USC (15-17, 2-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference) was a top-10 team in preseason polls but the Trojans have not won a series since February. UCLA (17-19, 3-3) hasn’t won more than two in a row.

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

* NCAA South Central Regional at Columbia, Mo., 4 p.m. Saturday -- Pacific 10 Conference champion UCLA is aiming for its fifth consecutive regional title. Freshman Kate Richardson won the Pac-10’s all-around title.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

* Brigham Young at Pepperdine, 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday -- These are the top two teams in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings. First-place Pepperdine is 18-2 in an exceptionally competitive conference.