WOMEN’S RUGBY
When searching for words to describe this year’s UCSD women’s rugby team, “”talented”” and “”skillful”” tend to come to mind. However, after this past weekend’s staggering win over Occidental, another word can be added: “”ruthless.””
The final score was 81-0. Some may attribute the win to the performances exhibited by all of the rookies. Others note the team’s standout players, including Tori Gargiso, Jenny Triplett and Jill Duggan — all with scores — as well as Jessica Venturi for her strong kicking game. The reality is, Occidental was overwhelmed on Feb. 2 because UCSD bombarded its opponents with score after score.
This win keeps the women’s rugby team undefeated this season, poised to capture the division title.
The team will play again next weekend when it hits the road to play Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., on Feb. 8 and University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 9.
MEN’S RUGBY
UCSD men’s rugby fell to 1-3 in league play following a tough loss to USD on Feb. 1 by the score of 36-27.
After controlling the first few minutes of the match, a costly turnover by the Tritons resulted in the first try of the day by USD, giving the Torreros the lead at 5-0. Only five minutes later, more UCSD lapses resulted in the second try of the day by USD that gave it the lead 10-0.
Following a penalty kick by Triton winger Kevin Hannigan, USD continued to assert control of the game with two more converted tries to finish the first half with a 24-3 lead.
Fortunately for the Tritons, the second half started out differently than the first. Re-energized, the Tritons started quickly with UCSD flyhalf Mike Meissner scoring the first try of the day. After another Hannigan conversion, UCSD brought the score to 24-10.
USD answered with two more tries of its own to pull ahead 36-10 before the Tritons got back on track. UCSD flanker Josh Mello and winger Nick Polsky both scored tries in the second half (both converted by Hannigan), but it was too little, too late, since the late charge was not enough to compensate for the lackluster first-half performance, and UCSD fell 36-27.
“”We were unfortunate to have started the day so slowly,”” said UCSD head coach Tim O’Hara. “”We saw how good we could be in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the poor showing in the first half.””
The UCSD “”B”” side improved its record to 4-0 following its 19-7 victory in the day’s second match.
EQUESTRIAN
The UCSD equestrian team hosted a competition at Clark’s Ranch on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2. The schools competing included Cal Poly Pomona, USD, USC, Pepperdine and Mt. San Antonio College. The UCSD team came in a close second behind USD both days.
The Tritons and Torreros clearly dominated the competition and put up a good fight both days.
The team also had several strong individual showings. In the open division, senior captain Lisa Calvino placed second in both open fences and open flat, on Feb. 1. On Feb. 2, Triton sophomore Katherine McComas took home first place in open flat. Co-captain Erica Gross placed second in novice flat on Feb. 1 and first in intermediate fences on Feb. 2.
Also in the novice division, UCSD sophomore Marce Evans placed second in novice fences on Feb. 1.
In the advanced walk-trot-canter division, Alicia Cunningham-Bryant placed first on Feb. 1 and second on Feb. 2. Senior Natalie Freeman also won the walk-trot division both days.
UCSD has three more competitions left on the schedule until the regional finals. UCSD already has several riders qualified for regionals and is hoping to qualify more.
SKI & SNOWBOARD
The ski and snowboard team traveled to Mammoth Lakes Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 for its third weekend of competition. The team competes in the Southern California Collegiate Snowsports Conference, going against UCLA, USC, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly San Louis Obispo and other Southern California schools.
Feb. 1 was a long day because both skiers and snowboarders raced in a giant slalom twice. SCCSC used this good weather opportunity to make up a cancelled race from earlier this season. Feb. 2 came to pass less hectically, since skiers competed in slalom in the morning, followed by snowboarders and skiers in boarder cross and skier cross.
In the first giant slalom race, female skiers Sierra Bourne and Danielle Crockett swept first and second place, respectively. Men’s skier Evan Sharbrough placed third, followed closely by Gaemus Collins in sixth. Jake Cohen and Tom Christensen also placed in the top 15, earning 10th and 11th, respectively. Female snowboarder Christie Schmidt placed seventh, with Biliana Veleva and Jackie Myers placing ninth and 10th behind her. Luke Mitchell finished 14th for men’s snowboarding.
The second giant slalom competition boasted Danielle Crockett in first place for the women’s skiers. Katie Roof and Stephanie Theisen each earned a top-15 finish, finishing 13th and 15th, respectively. Sharbrough and Collins placed fifth and seventh respectively, followed by UCSD’s 12th, 13th and 14th place finishers: Christensen, Zachary Beres and Cohen respectively. Biliana Veleva led UCSD’s female snowboarders, placing fifth, followed by Jackie Myers and Christie Schmidt in eighth and 11th respectively. Peter Butcher and Mitchell held 14th and 15th place finishes respectively.
On Feb. 2, the slalom event crowned Sharbrough as the men’s leader, beating UCSB’s two-year champion. Sharbrough was joined by Cohen, Christensen and Chase Vandergrift finishing seventh, eighth and 12th respectively. Women’s skiers Bourne and Crockett placed first and second respectively. UCSD’s Stephanie Theisen (seventh) and Erin Richards (10th) also scored top-10 times. Snowboarders do not compete in the slalom event.
Boarder cross and skier cross are events in which heats of four to six competitors race at the same time through bank turns, table-top jumps and sets of roller-style jumps. The first two racers in each heat advance. Following the many rounds of competition, only the top eight racers count in the league standings.
In the event, Collins placed fourth, with teammate Christensen in eighth. Female skier Katherine Wurden placed sixth. Both men’s and women’s snowboarding teams were eliminated in the semifinals.
— Compiled by Anu Kumar
Sports Editor
