WOMEN’S RUGBY
After several close calls in previous years, the UCSD women’s rugby team finally got a chance at a national title. The NCAA Division I Final Four was held last weekend at Stanford, with UCSD, Illinois, Air Force and Penn State all competing to be honored as the best women’s collegiate rugby team in the nation.
UCSD was set to take on Illinois on May 3 to see who would advance to the finals on the following day. Illinois dominated the game from the beginning, scoring its first try two minutes into the first half. Illinois jumped back onto the board at the four-minute mark with another try, putting the score at 12-0.
UCSD answered with its first try in the 19th minute, with Maggie Low scoring the try and Kirsten Hartos kicking for the conversion. UCSD then scored on a penalty kick by Hartos eight minutes later. However, Illinois dominated the rest of the first half, scoring on tries by Rachel McArthur and Mandy Moore and a conversion kick by Lauren Weber. The first half ended with UCSD trailing by a score of 24-10.
Illinois backs outpaced UCSD in the second half, keeping their field position throughout the 40 minutes. Illinois scored another try in the first five minutes of play but missed the conversion. USCD got on the board again in the 10th minute of the half with a try by Marea Blue, but the team also missed its conversion. Illinois quickly answered back at the 14-minute mark with a penalty kick and another try in the 16th minute. Six minutes later, Illinois scored again with another try, but missed the conversion.
UCSD came back to score a try by Jillian Duggan, but Illinois responded with a try of its own at the 30-minute mark, also kicking for the conversion. With five minutes of play remaining, Illinois scored the final try of the match, ending UCSD’s hopes for a national title with a final score of 56-20.
The Tritons were disappointed but stayed around to play the consolation match against playoff veteran Penn State on May 4.
UCSD started very well with some hard-hitting rucks and its pressure led to a score in the seventh minute by outside center Jessica Venturi, who broke around the outside to score in the corner.
At mid-half, Penn State’s scrum began to take control and with that good source of possession, the team managed to put a series of strong runs in the forwards and finally broke the UCSD tryline, going over for the score and converting to tie the game 7-7. Penn State got one more score before the end of the half, and UCSD went into halftime trailing 14-7.
UCSD again started strongly and managed to pressure the Penn State rucks. But the team’s inability to win its own scrums put UCSD on its back foot for much of the half. Late in the half, UCSD managed to steal a Penn State lineout and score a try. Hartos missed the conversion, however, and Penn State remained on top with a score of 14-12, with just eight minutes left.
Penn State shoved the UCSD pack back over the line just long enough to score once more, and despite some late runs by UCSD, Penn State held on to win 19-12 to secure third place, dropping UCSD to fourth in the nation.
Air Force went on to win both the Men’s and Women’s Division I Collegiate Championships, an unprecedented achievement for its program.
WOMEN’S ULTIMATE
The UCSD women’s ultimate team will advance to the Ultimate Players Association Nationals to defend its crown after sweeping the regional championships this past weekend. UCSD went 6-0 on the weekend, defeating other schools in the Southwest Region including UC Santa Barbara, Claremont, Arizona and Colorado.
Most of the teams did not put up much of a fight against UCSD, which defeated Santa Barbara 15-4 and shut out CSU 15-0. Colorado, which came in second in the Regional tournament, provided the only real competition for UCSD, which still won 15-12.
UCSD, Colorado and Arizona will advance to the National Championships in Austin, Texas, the weekend of May 23 and May 24, to compete against the best collegiate programs around. On the strength of its past several wins and a regular season record of 28-10, UCSD is rising in the UPA rankings. The team is up one spot this week and is now ranked No. 5 nationally.
SAILING
Strong winds and moderate swells made for exciting but challenging racing when the Pacific Coast Championships of college sailing were held this past weekend. This year, the annual event was hosted by USC at the United States Sailing Center in Long Beach, Calif.
With winds howling at speeds of up to 18 knots (21 mph), conditions were at times hectic for the competitors.
The best teams from California and a team from Hawaii were all at the race, vying for the right to go on to nationals. The competition was stiff and protests to resolve disputes over rules went on late into the night, on both May 3 and May 4.
UCSD put out a strong effort, but the harsh winds and open ocean conditions were not what the team was used to. The varsity A team, Sean Anderson and Heather Martinelli, finished eighth in their division, and varsity B, John Frank and Hillary Lowe, placed ninth, to lead the team to a ninth-place overall standing.
TRIATHLON
The UCSD triathlon team competed last weekend at the Jamba Juice Wildflower Long Course Triathlon, one of the premier national and international triathlons. The 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run at Lake San Antonio, make up one of the most challenging courses anywhere. Beach Hill, Nasty Grade, Polar Heart Rate Hill and the back country trail run will test the skills of even the most elite triathlon competitors.
UCSD placed eighth out of the 10 colleges competing, with some solid individual finishes. Eric Mellers finished 63rd overall and 23rd in the men’s collegiate division with a time of 2:27:55. John Finke was close behind, finishing 32nd in the division with a time of 2:30:24. The third Triton to finish was Chris Richardson, with a time of 2:38:42.
On the ladies’ side, Amy Knapp took 28th place in the female collegiate division with a time of 2:58:33, Natasha Cridler finished at three hours flat and Michelle Wedemeyer took 3:13:33.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo took home first place overall for the second straight year, beating out No. 2 UC Berkeley by nearly an hour. All three Cal Poly men finished under 2:22, faster than UCSD’s top competitor.
DANCESPORT
The UCSD Dancesport team will be hosting “”A Day in Paradise,”” a benefit dance and showcase on May 12. The dance will be taking place at Price Center Ballroom, with doors opening at 7 p.m. and the show beginning at 7:30 p.m. There will be social dancing, plus a ballroom dance performance by the Dancesport team, choreographed by captain Lindy Cabot.
Tickets are available at Price Center Box Office; $5 for students, $10 for adults and $3 for children ages 2 through 12.
— Compiled by Anu Kumar
Sports Editor
