MEN’S RUGBY
UCSD rugby kicked off its 2003 season with a victory over the visiting UCLA Bruins by a score of 51-15 on Jan. 11.
After an even first 20 minutes of play, the Tritons opened the scoring with prop Kris Bullard-Wolf and flanker Josh Mello feeding teammate Nick Polesky, who finished with the game’s first try in the corner, on the wing to give UCSD a 5-0 lead. Only five minutes later, UCSD’s Nick Serrato crashed through the UCLA defense to put the Tritons up 10-0. Following a penalty kick and a try by UCLA, Triton fullback Todd Gleed darted through the Bruin defenders to score his first try of the day. The Polesky conversion ended the first half with UCSD leading 17-8.
In the second half, UCSD scored early and often, adding 31 unanswered points to its lead before giving up a try at the end of the match to finalize the scoring at 51-15. Gleed and Polesky recorded their second tries of the game in the second half, while Mike Meissner, Nate Miller and Andrew Cowen also contributed to UCSD’s scoring in the second 20-minute segment.
SAILING
The UCSD sailing team recently competed in the annual Rose Bowl Regatta, which was hosted by the USC varsity sailing team. Sixty-eight (19 college and 49 high school) teams participated in the event at the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, Calif. This regatta puts high school sailors in touch with collegiate teams from all around the nation, and many of the country’s top-ranked college sailing teams compete to show the high schools just what their sailing program is all about.
UCSD head coach Douglas Turnbull gave a speech at the event’s banquet, relating the values of a close-knit, student-run team to the graduating high school seniors that were present. A number of them expressed significant interest in coming to and sailing for UCSD.
On the racing side of things, UCSD placed respectably, considering that the Tritons were up against a field with more experienced and better-funded teams. Light air filling in midday and dying in the mid to late afternoon limited the regatta to five races in each division. While more wind for races would have been much appreciated by the sailors, UCSD was pleased with their performance.
UCSD’s A Team, comprised of Sean Andersen and Heather Martinelli, finished in 12th place with a point total of 58, while the B Team of Chris Nilsen and Tori Pinto finished in 18th place and had a point total of 82 points. The two scores combined for a 15th-place finish, narrowly falling behind UC Berkeley, which the Tritons look to beat in the next regatta.
SKI & SNOWBOARD
The UCSD ski and snowboard team traveled to Mammoth Lakes, Calif., for its second competition of the year, facing a large field that included teams from UCLA, USC, UCSB, Cal Poly San Louis Obispo, CSU Long Beach, SDSU and USD on Jan. 11 and Jan. 12.
On Jan. 11, both skiers and snowboarders took to the mountain when UCSD competed in the Giant Slalom. The skiers competed in the Slalom and Skier Cross on Jan. 12, while UCSD’s snowboarders participated in the event of Boarder Cross.
In the Giant Slalom, Triton skier Evan Sharbrough placed eighth, followed by teammate Gaemus Collins, who finished the event in ninth. Placing first, UCSD’s Sierra Bourne led the women’s competition, while teammate Danielle Crockett finished in a close second place. Anne Spohr sat 12th among the top 15 ski racers. Freshman women’s snowboarder Jackie Myers took second place; followed by Biliana Veleva, who placed fifth; and Amanda Vlasveld, who took 13th place. Men’s snowboarder Luke Mitchell placed seventh, followed by freshman Shane Hopkins in eighth and Evan Venaas in 16th.
For the Slalom race, Sharbrough and Collins placed second and ninth, respectively, for the Tritons. For the women, Bourne took first place, while Danielle Crockett finished just behind her in second. Stephanie Theisen placed 11th and Katie Wurden came in 13th.
Skier Cross and Boarder Cross are events in which four to six competitors race in each heat through bank turns, table-top jumps and sets of roller-style jumps. The first two racers in each heat advance to the next round, and following the many rounds of competition, only the top eight racers count in the league standings.
As of Jan. 14, Skier Cross and Border Cross results have not been released. However, skiiers Crockett, Bourne and Sharbrough made it to the finals, as well as Triton snowboarder Biliana Veleva.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Jan. 18
Ice Hockey vs. UCLA at UTC Ice Chalet, 10:15 p.m.
Men’s Rugby vs. UCSB at Warren Field, 1 p.m.
Jan. 20
Surfing Contest at Huntington Beach Pier
— Compiled by Anu Kumar
Sports Editor
