Women’s rugby
Halfway through its regular season, the UCSD women’s rugby team remained undefeated after a 23-10 win over a visiting Arizona State squad on Feb. 7. Playing in front of a crowd of family and friends, UCSD came out quick and strong, leaping to an early lead.
A high-pressure offense combined with junior Kirstin Hartos’ accurate kicking kept the scoreboard in the Tritons’ favor. Defense was led by senior Jolene Sawyer, who alone was making most of the big tackles that kept ASU from advancing the ball.
UCSD looks to reaffirm its dominance in the next two weeks, with league matches against ASU on March 6 and the University of Arizona on March 7. A second match against UC Santa Barbara in early April will also be important in determining who goes on to nationals. As the fourth-ranked team in the nation, UCSD will strive to make the cut for nationals.
Ultimate
The UCSD Psychos are at it again. After winning the national title two years ago, the UCSD women’s ultimate team began rebuilding itself with new faces and fresh talent.
And if this past weekend’s results were any indication, another crown may be bestowed in the near future. On Feb. 15 and Feb. 16, the Psychos were nearly flawless, sweeping the UCSD-hosted President’s Day Tournament.
Teams competing in the three-day tournament included UC Berkeley, Texas, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, Oregon, Stanford, Duke, University of British Colombia, UC Santa Barbara, Wisconsin, Colorado, Northwestern, Arizona and two squads from UCSD.
The Psychos breezed through games on Feb. 15, going 3-0. On Feb. 16, their opponents averaged a mere 2.75 points per game. In playoff competition, they defeated UC Santa Barbara and UBC before trouncing UC Berkeley in the finals, 15-8.
The women have a short break before competing at the Stanford Invite where they hope to duplicate their success.
In men’s play, thirty teams from around the nation traveled to compete at the tournament. UCSD had two squads competing against some of the best players around. Overall, the Air Squids went 8-2, beating Rice, Humboldt, Texas A&M, University of Washington, George Washington, Dartmouth, Oregon State and regional rivals UC Santa Barbara. Huge offensive and defensive plays by Chris “Phelps” Darrouzet-Nardi helped the Squids get to the quarterfinals.
Both teams will travel to Stanford in March to compete in the similarly competitive Stanford Invite.
Equestrian
The UCSD equestrian team, holding its top position in the regional point rankings, hosted an English show this past weekend at the indoor arena at Del Mar Horsepark. Although it was the first time the team had the opportunity to compete indoors, UCSD placed third on Feb. 21 and was crowned reserve champions on Feb. 22.
In the open flat and fences division, Linda Torres placed high in the ribbons along with captain Kate McComas, who took home the reserve champion ribbon for individual highpoint rider on Feb. 22. In the intermediate division, junior Kayti Mathewson and captain Marce Evans trounced the competition, taking first and second on Feb. 21, and first and third on Feb. 22, respectively. In the Novice division, Casey Kohler, Kathryn Panian, Fiona McKenna, Morgan Messing and Zoe Jarocki all rode and placed well.
Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter riders Shannon Ward, Amy Hilleman and Kellie Davis also put in great rides with Shannon Ward and Amy Hilleman placing first and second on Feb. 22. Beginning Walk-Trot-Canter rider Jessica Gorton placed second and fourth, respectively and new member Allison Cleary placed third both days. The equestrian team’s star Walk-Trot riders Allison Henderson and Lindee Hamner placed fourth and sixth on Feb. 21, and second and sixth on Feb. 22, respectively.
The equestrian team will compete next at a show co-hosted by USC and UCLA on March 6 and March 7.
Men’s lacrosse
The No. 24 UCSD men’s lacrosse team evened its season record to 2-2 after a strong win over division rivals UCLA. With two minutes, 15 seconds left in the game, UCSD’s attackman Nick Dean scored to break a 9-9 tie brought on by a late game rally by the Bruins.
Coming off of a win over UC Berkeley and a slim loss to No. 3 Sonoma State, UCSD was looking for another victory against the Bruins. After controlling much of the first half, the Tritons were outscored 6-4 in the second half as the UCLA goalie made some saves and the Bruins counterpunched to overcome a three-goal deficit and tie the game, 9-9, late in the fourth quarter.
The game was characterized by long offensive possessions by UCSD and a stifling defensive scheme by UCLA. With seven players scoring 10 goals and a 70-percent assist rate, UCSD displayed a balanced and controlled offense that allowed all starting attackmen to get both goals and assists as four of the top six midfielders also scored.
Defensively, Brandon Hays played an exceptional first half that helped keep the Bruins to only three goals. Additionally, freshman defenseman Eric Zirgulis rose to the occasion by holding UCLA’s explosive attackman Andrew So to a single goal, one which he earned when Zirgulis was forced to switch to another player. Defensive midfielder Tim Cheng also had an impressive showing as he helped captain several successful rides and key defensive stops late in the game when UCLA was desperately attacking the goal in an effort to force overtime.
The game ball went to Mike Albani, who displayed much needed leadership and patience on the offensive end of the field, as well as winning three of four face-offs. The team will have a busy week, with a trio of games against University of San Diego, Loyola Marymount and Northeastern.
—compiled by Cynthia Blade Chavez, Sports Editor
