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Otter athletes hit the ground running

To see a gallery of photos from the first day of practice, click here

On your mark, get set and go.

The CSU Monterey Bay’s fall athletic teams – cross country, soccer and volleyball – kicked off their 2011 seasons on Aug. 15 with each team’s first official practice.

The Otter soccer programs are under new leadership, with Rob Cummings guiding the men's side and Erin Reinke leading the women's team. With a lot of new faces, both squads will strive to garner some attention in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) this season.

“I'm not sure how much you actually learn from the very first practice, but it was great to finally get out on the field and start working,” Cummings said. “We have a lot of new faces and it will be fun to start putting the pieces together.”

Reinke echoed that feeling.

“It's great to finally get everybody on the field,” Reinke said. “This is an important time for us. The work and preparation we do over the next few weeks is where we will learn to compete at the level we expect.”

Practicing on a freshly resurfaced floor in the Kelp Bed, the Otter volleyball student-athletes came out crushing balls. Their focus is on preparing for their first game, a newly scheduled home match-up against Notre Dame de Namur on Aug. 30.

“Day 1 is down,” said volleyball head coach Jody Garry. “I was really impressed with our returning starting libero Dionna Lucas. You can tell she had another good summer.”

The key to any team is defense and the defensive leader, Garry said.

The men's and women's cross country teams will field the most talented runners in program history. The full squad of 25 can be found running the old Fort Ord trails.

“It was almost overwhelming seeing so many new faces on the first day,” said cross-country head coach Greg Rhines. “It was very exciting to see so many talented runners training together.”

For more information, including rosters and schedules, click here.