TRIATHLON
The UCSD triathlon team, a new club sport on campus, proved itself Sept. 30 with convincing individual and team accomplishments at the final event of the collegiate triathlon series.
The male and female squads competed on an Olympic distance course that included a 1,500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer biking trail and a 10-kilometer run.
Brendan O’Brien led the men’s team and took first place overall at the event.
The women’s team dominated, too. Tritons Esther Merki, Megan Anderson and Michelle Wedemeyer took first, second and third places, respectively.
In addition to individual accomplishments, the triathlon team also secured team honors. The race marked the end of the collegiate series, which began in April. Teams competed for points that would determine the winner of the West Coast collegiate title. With the strong finish at the event, UCSD earned the title of West Coast Collegiate Champions.
ICE HOCKEY
The UCSD ice hockey team is off to an up-and-down start in its new league, the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The team moved up to the tougher division after dominating the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association with championships in its last two seasons.
The team split its first two games against Stanford.
UCSD dropped the first meeting 4-3 in an overtime shootout. The Tritons rebounded and pounded the Cardinal 11-2 in the rematch.
UCSD then faced perennial rival Long Beach State in the following game.
The 49ers were just too physical for UCSD. Long Beach pounded the Tritons on its way to a bruising 5-3 victory, dropping UCSD’s record to 2-2 on the season.
RUGBY
The UCSD rugby team squared off against the Camp Pendleton Ghostriders to kick off the season for the rugby team.
UCSD rallied from an early 15-0 deficit to pull out a 19-15 win.
UCSD was led by Jon McKenzie, who broke free for two scores for UCSD.
UCSD’s scoring was capped by Nick Serrato, who broke free for a run that gave the team the lead for good at 19-15.
The second match of the weekend was against Azusa Pacific University. It proved to be much easier for UCSD, as the rugby team manhandled the green Azusa squad for a 34-10 victory and its second win of the season.
— Compiled by Josh Crouse
Sports Editor