Ski & Snowboard
The UCSD ski and snowboard team season ended with the team taking first place in the overall league standings for the second consecutive year, followed by UC Santa Barbara and USC. The men’s and women’s ski team also took first place overall for the second year in a row, followed by UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly. The men’s and women’s snowboard team barely missed second place and ended up third place overall — finishing behind both UCSB and Cal State Long Beach.
For the snowboard team individual season performance, female snowboarder Amy Sage took first place in women’s giant slalom, first place in women’s boardercross and first place in overall women’s combined. Freshman Biliana Veleva took second place in women’s giant slalom and second place in overall women’s combined scoring. Freshman Amanda Vlasveld took fourth place in women’s boardercross.
Stan Wu took sixth place in men’s giant slalom, first place for men’s boardercross, and third place in the overall combined score.
Sage went to the United States Collegiate Snowsport Association Nationals for the fourth year in a row and, as expected, took first place in the snowboard boardercross, first place in the giant slalom, and once again took the title of the No. 1 female collegiate snowboarder in the nation. Even though Sage was the only racer for UCSD at the national competition, she singlehandedly brought a third-place victory for the UCSD snowboarders in overall team standings.
For the ski team individual season performance, freshman Sierra Bourne took second place in the women’s giant slalom, first place in the women’s slalom and first place in the overall women’s combined scoring.
Sophomore Danielle Crockett took first place in women’s giant slalom, second place in the women’s slalom, first place in the women’s skiercross and second place in the overall women’s combined scoring.
Junior Tom Christensen took fourth place in the men’s slalom and fourth place in the overall men’s combined scoring. Senior and team captain Travis Ritchie took sixth place in the overall combined men’s scoring followed closely by senior and team president Collin Casper, who finished seventh in the overall men’s combined scoring.
This season, UCSD sent five skiers to the regional competition as well, and although none of the five was able to advance, they proved to the rest of the conference they would be serious competition next season.
Men’s Lacrosse
The UCSD men’s lacrosse team came into the season as one of the nation’s up-and-coming teams, having broken into the United States Lacrosse Intercollegiate Association top 25 for the first time in university history. Ambitiously they took on one of the most difficult schedules in the nation, which included six of the top-10 teams in the nation.
Team character was tested early as four projected starters chose to forego the season, two of whom were preseason USLIA All-Americans. These changes and unfortunate injuries forced the team to use different offensive and defensive schemes than it had in the past.
The team struggled to trust the new concepts of ball possession and total team defense. The turning point came during the National Lacrosse Showcase Tournament against defending national champion Colorado State.
The Rams, loaded with offensive firepower, were certainly the Goliath of USLIA Lacrosse. UCSD showed no fear and played Colorado State to overtime. Although UCSD fell 8-7 in the overtime period, the game turned the season around for UCSD and thrust the team into the national spotlight. Fonz Ikeda, UCSD’s version of Syracuse’s Mikey Powell, had two goals and two assists in the game. Jake Lowenstein, who proved to be a wall all year in goal for UCSD, brought the crowd to its feet with a dominating 18-save performance.
UCSD recorded wins against the likes of San Diego State, Arizona State and University of San Diego. Against the ninth-ranked Colorado Buffaloes, UCSD finally put together the game it had the potential to play. Midfielders Arjun Maldonado, Matt LaFiandra and Phil Smith had breakthrough games and gave UCSD the midfield presence that they needed, combining for six goals and three assists. The defense shut down the powerful Buffaloes behind great play of the big three, Brian Bardellini, Joe Rotter and Chris Washington.
UCSD finished the regular season strong with a dismantling of Loyola Marymount. Needing a win to clinch playoffs, UCSD beat the Lions 11-6. Team captain Michael Hunter, Maldonado, Lafiandra and Stensrud sizzled the nets in an offensive display. David Butler played brilliantly once again and wreaked havoc for LMU’s offense.
The future also looks bright for UCSD, as the team created a developmental squad to groom future stars. Nash Collins, Brett Williams, Matt Rotz and Ron Orrungroj were among those who raised their games tremendously during the year.
Hunter finished the year among the league leaders in both points and assists, while Lowenstein proved himself to be one of the best goalies on the West Coast. Watch out for this team in 2002-2003.
Women’s Lacrosse
Approaching the 2002 season as a rebuilding year, the women’s lacrosse team got exactly what it wanted out of its play, despite finishing with a 2-10 record.
Coach Derek Wiback brought the team back to the basics of solid game play, and taught hard work and dedication to the sport. The team looked at games as ways to learn how to improve play and how to remain competitive against other schools, which it did well, always fighting to the end.
The team was led by seniors Maggie Scales, Pilar Apalisok, Lacy Hatfield and Lindsey Sutliff. Apalisok, Scales, Megan Wemmer and Anna Sunseri were all recognized via nomination for the Women’s Western Lacrosse League All-Star Team.
Sailing
The UCSD sailing team finished its 2002 season in style. The team’s final sailing event was the Pacific Coast Championships, in which the team finished eighth overall among teams that are consistently ranked in the top-20 sailing teams in the nation.
Not only did the team place well, but it also placed well in Hawaii under treacherous sailing conditions. The placing was all the more impressive considering UCSD was one of only two uncoached teams competing at the PCC regatta.
The team consistently placed around the fifth-place mark in all of its regattas for the season (with the exception of the final PCC event). This is due to a marked increase in the number of competitors UCSD was able to have competing at each sailing event for the year. Also, RJ Ward and Kim Leung scored higher in their regional regattas than they ever had before, including a second-place finish in the “”A”” Race at the Rose Bowl Intersectional Regatta, one of the most prestigious races in the country. Skipper Ryan McDonell also vastly improved his performance throughout the year.
Ice Hockey
The UCSD ice hockey team started the 2001-2002 season by taking a big risk. UCSD became a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, a league including teams from all around the country and featuring the opportunity to compete for a national title.
Being members of both the ACHA and Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association meant playing almost twice the number of games than UCSD had played in its previous season. The team knew a challenge lay ahead and responded with an extremely tough training regimen.
The addition of several new players gave UCSD the depth it would need to grind out its heavy schedule.
Most notably, freshman Kevin Davis arrived to complete the famed “”Davis Line,”” already consisting of his brothers Chris Davis and Keith Davis. This offensive line was responsible for almost 60 percent of the team’s goals production throughout the season.
The sophomore line of Elliot Mendelsohn, Stephen Cohen and Andrew Jacobsen provided a constant attack that kept other teams on their toes. The trio of Scott Andersen, Rich Hsiao and Will Thomas punished opponents in the corners and proved to be a pestering group.
Chris Tran and O.J. Alcaraz filled out the offensive lines when they were called upon in key situations. The defensive core of Garen Gervey, Erik Borman, Casey Kempner and Brett Cowan controlled the front of the UCSD net with the help of newcomers Andrew Guiterrez, Ben Terris, Jason Steiner and Rich Ahroon. Along with the help of their defense man, the goaltending duo of Scott Friedman and Sean Fine helped to stifle offenses. Coaches Peter Chu and Reid Hankins made sure that the team was ready to put in the effort it would need for its upcoming season.
The season began against Stanford University. UCSD lost its first game to Stanford 4-3 in a shoot-out but recovered quickly to beat them the next night 11-2. UCSD used this opening weekend as a springboard into a 12-game winning streak including victories against SDSU, UC Berkeley, UCLA and Long Beach State. The team continued its winning ways throughout the season but the heavy schedule seemed to wear the team down near the end.
UCSD finished the season as the second seed in the West Division of the ACHA and was invited to its first ACHA National Tournament in Alpharetta, Ga. Despite beating the University of Georgia, 5-3, in its first game, UCSD lost to Muskeegon College of Michigan and finished the tournament ranked sixth in the nation.
UCSD learned from its experiences in Georgia at the ACHA Nationals to come out hard and fast in the PCHA Championship Tournament a month later in Valencia, Calif. With victories over UC Davis and Fresno State, the UCSD ice hockey team left the ice with a third-consecutive PCHA Championship under its collective belt.
For the 2002-2003 season, the team is already scheduled to play such powerhouses as UCLA, Utah State, University of Wyoming and Palmer University. UCSD has been in contact with almost 30 prospective players for next season and hopes to continue the program’s recent successes.
Men’s Rugby
The 2001-2002 season didn’t go as well as the UCSD men’s rugby team hoped it would. Last year, the team closed things out with a record of 1-7 and was hoping to improve upon that record. Unfortunately, the 2-6 record was not quite the amount of improvement UCSD was looking for.
However, this seasonal storm cloud does have its silver lining. Injuries on the UCSD bench have resulted in over half of the team’s 15 starters, consisting of first- or second-year players, four of whom are freshmen.
First-year players Mike Meissner and Ben Kanner started early on, already showing great leadership potential on the team, with first-year Mike Polsky leading the way on the field with his quick feet. Second-year Nick Serrato put his impressive frame to good use throughout the year, coming through time after time with bone-crushing hits. All in all, things are looking up for men’s rugby.
Equestrian
The UCSD equestrian team came at this season with a fresh approach, aided by new coach Lynn Bollinger and two new captains, Stacy Sakai and Lisa Calvino. The tracks this team took throughout the season helped develop a team championship and several reserve championships.
That team championship was the team’s high point for the season as UCSD beat out all comers at the USD show by a whopping 10-point margin.
Four of the team’s riders qualified for regionals at Cal Poly Pomona: Calvino for Open Fences, Sakai for Intermediate Flat, Morgan Messing and Zoe Jarocki for Novice Flat. Calvino and Sakai placed high enough to advance to Zone Competitions in Reno, Nev. There, Calvino took fourth in open fences and Sakai took first in intermediate flat, which advanced her to Nationals in Cazenovia, N.Y., where she took 11th place.
— Compiled by Isaac Pearlman
Sports Editor
