Amidst the rush of studying, review sessions and upcoming finals, UCSD athletes took a break to attend the UCSD Athletics Recognition Night on June 2 at Price Center Ballroom. Teams and individual athletes were honored for their accomplishments this year.
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The night began with a welcome by Director of Athletics Earl W. Edwards. Edwards congratulated the athletic program and its success in Division II since moving up in 2001, saying that UCSD’s “”excellence in academics”” has translated well to “”excellence in athletics.”” He also said he anticipates a top-10 finish for UCSD in the National Association of Collegiate Director of Athletics Sear’s Director’s Cup.
After Edwards’ welcome, Associate Athletic Director Ken Grosse handed out the all-conference awards. Twenty-five athletes were named to the 2002-03 All-California Collegiate Athletic Association, nine athletes to the 2002-03 Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference and two athletes to the 2002-03 Western Water Polo Association.
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had a strong showing in the All-American selections, taking home 15 of the 26 awards. Athletes from crew, water polo, cross country and track and field also received All-American awards. In addition, 46 athletes were named four-year letterwinners for their four-year membership in their respective teams.
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Two NCAA postgraduate scholarships were handed out to cross country and track and field’s Audrey Sung and to soccer’s Kris Chiles for the fall 2002 season: They are two of the 58 total recipients of this award given across the nation in Division I, II and III.
Next came the John McGinnis Family Team GPA Award given to the men’s tennis team, which had a cumulative GPA of 3.408 for the year. The Husar Family/Triton Athletic Associates Award was given to Samantha Wong from the women’s swimming team. The Triton Athletes’ Council Spirit Award was handed to the women’s basketball team for having the “”greatest spirit”” and for their community service.
The lone NCAA Division II National Champion this year was sophomore Rosanna Delurgio of women’s swimming. Recently in Sports Illustrated’s “”Faces of the Crowd,”” Delurgio set new Division II records in the 100-meter and 200-meter breastroke.
Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Joseph W. Watson handed out his Scholar-Athlete Awards to athletes who have distinguished themselves on and off the field. The six recipients were: Chiles, Emily Gray, Patrick Gruwell, Doug Hofmann, Sara Patton and Sung.
There were 11 recipients for Athletes of the Year including Chiles, Kristen Conahan, Delurgio, Ali Ginn, Sagrario Hernandez, Amy Mettee, Teresa Ohta, Lance Onken, Matt Smith, Sung and Jennifer Wantanabe. Wantanabe is the third Triton ever to win this award four times.
Scott McGihon, head coach of women’s swimming and diving, won the Excellence in Coaching Award for leading his team to a third place finish in the nation.
The Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete Awards, arguably the most prestigious honors, were awarded to Chiles and Sung. Sung is the top graduating senior in biochemistry with a 4.0 GPA and will enter medical school. Chiles, also bound for medical school, will graduate with a 3.884 GPA.
Upon receiving her award, Sung said that she made the most of her opportunities during her time at UCSD and hopes to translate it into serving her community. Chiles said that he was very happy to have been at UCSD and that being a student athlete was a “”wonderful experience.””
The night concluded on a sentimental note with video highlight clips of great moments in UCSD athletics during this past season.
