SKI TEAM
The UCSD water skiing team has had some rough water as of late.
Earlier this month, the team lost one of its own when Dustin Newell died in an automobile accident in route to an event in Phoenix.
This weekend, the team regrouped to participate in the National Collegiate Water Ski Association Championships at Mission Bay.
The event was dedicated to their fallen comrade.
On the men’s side, UC Davis’ Eric Peterson won the individual competition, narrowly beating out UC Santa Barbara’s Mike Buckle. The Davis men also squeaked past UCLA to capture first place in the trick and jump categories. UCSD finished second overall in the competition, 80 points behind first-place Davis.
The UCSD women did better than the men, taking the women’s team overall title. Senior Kikki Kennedy had a stellar day, launching for a school record 81-foot jump to take the jumping category. She also grabbed second in trick and slalom. Kim Blackwell of San Diego State was tops in the trick and slalom categories, edging out Kennedy.
As a tribute to Newell, the eight competing schools stopped for a moment of silence and spread flowers across the slalom course.
ICE HOCKEY
The UCSD ice hockey team hit the ice against Cal State Long Beach Oct. 21 for its first game of the season.
UCSD, coming off their Pacific Coast Hockey Association Championship, looks for another big season this year. Long Beach, which has always been a force, also looks to have a good team this season.
In its first matchup of the young season, UCSD got the best of their rivals, downing Long Beach 5-2.
In the first period, UCSD goalkeeper Scott Friedman was a wall, not allowing a single Long Beach score. On offense, Steven Cohen and Casey Kempner each logged goals for a comfortable early 2-0 lead.
Friedman took the rest of the night off, but his contributions in the first period paid dividends. Keith Davis added a goal for UCSD in the second period, giving his team a 3-1 lead that proved too much for their opponents.
UCSD’s defense held strong, allowing only one more goal. Davis and Cohen each tacked on another goal, sealing their team’s victory at 5-2.
The high from the victory quickly faded the following Friday when UCSD fell to Cal State Fullerton 7-4.
Fullerton practically rented out the penalty box during the first period. Despite that, the UCSD offense could not capitalize on the power plays, scoring only two goals. The defense could not shut down Fullerton and the teams ended the first period tied at two.
During the second period, Fullerton scored two more goals, but UCSD’s Davis came through with two of his own, knotting the game at four heading into the final period.
The third period, on the other hand, was a different story. Fullerton got out of the penalty box and onto the ice, scoring three unanswered goals to win the match 7-4.
UCSD’s next game is against Santa Monica College on Friday before facing Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
SURF TEAM
The UCSD surf team had its first event of the season, bogging down at Blacks Beach this past weekend.
The surfing conditions were poor, with only 1-2 foot waves greeting surfers from 23 teams from all over Southern California.
UCSD’s A team finished sixth overall and the B team took 10th. The squad sported many new members and looks to improve with experience.
Holly Beck and Loryn Wilson were the top women surfers for UCSD. Beck and Wilson swept the first and second overall finishers, respectively.
Ryan Eckoff was the man for UCSD, finishing fourth overall for UCSD. Britt Joyce and Cullen Pagaduan placed third and fourth, respectively, in the body-boarding category.
The next contest for the Tritons is a ways off, coming Jan. 28 at Surfers Point in Ventura, Calif.
DANCE SPORT
The DanceSport team, which was previously known as the Ballroom Dance team, competed in the Pacific DanceSports Championships at Universal Studio’s Hilton Tower in Hollywood on Saturday.
The summer team, led by captain Jonathan Marion and coach Peter Edwards, had a great showing. Made up of four hard-working couples, the summer team finished second place overall in the Collegiate/Formation Team Scholarship Competition.
The competition featured several of the top teams, including defending national champion Brigham Young University.
Various amounts of scholarship money to help support each team was up for grabs at the Pacific DanceSport Championships, depending on the teams’ finish.
The four couples for UCSD were Johnny Gutierrez and Janelle Bouey, Marion and Renee Link, Peter Hanrisuk and Cecily Carnahan, and Suvro Goswami and Dana Pugh.
UCSD’s team is inexperienced but hopes to improve. Their second-place finish behind BYU earned them $300 in scholarship money.
WEEKEND EVENTS
Friday, Nov. 3
* Ice Hockey vs. Santa Monica College at the UTC Ice Arena, at 10:15 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 4
* Men’s rugby alumni game at Warren field, 1 p.m.
* Ice hockey vs. Cal State Fullerton, 10:15 p.m.
* Men’s lacrosse at Loyola Marymount University, all day
* Women’s rugby at Stanford’s Rookie Tournament at Stanford, all day.
* Cycling at Cal Poly Pomona, all day Saturday and Sunday.
–compiled by
Robert Fulton, Sports Editor
