Women’s lacrosse
The UCSD women’s lacrosse team played against talented teams from Pomona-Pitzer and UC Santa Cruz last weekend. Despite the rain, the Tritons played strong games and dominated in both, resulting in a pair of wins. These come as the first victories for women’s lacrosse this season, putting its record at 3-2 following a forfeit by University of Arizona on Feb. 8.
In the Feb. 21 game against Pomona-Pitzer at Warren Field, the Tritons came out strong, scoring the first few goals early in the first half. Unfortunately, the Tritons couldn’t keep up their scoring and fell behind at the half. Playing with a renewed sense of intensity after halftime, the girls regained the lead and held on to it with a final score of 13-7. Captain Daphne Bilge finished off the game with a hat trick, and teammates Elaine Lui and Abby Rotwein both scored two goals.
After rain that night, the Tritons played UC Santa Cruz on a muddy Marshall Field on Feb. 22. The Tritons had a rough start, falling behind by two to the Banana Slugs. They fought back and finished the half tied at 5-5. Solid defensive play in the second half by Kim Woo, Lynn Chouw and Nicole Martin held off the UC Santa Cruz offense, and helped defeat the Banana Slugs with a final score of 15-11. Freshman Elisha Agee finished off the game with an amazing five goals, while Bilge, Wai Yin Chan, Jennifer Low, Elaine Lui and Jamie Russel all had two goals apiece.
The women’s lacrosse team will travel to UCLA on Feb. 29 to try to extend its winning streak, and will host Arizona State at Warren Field on March 7.
Ski and snowboard
Members of the UCSD ski and snowboard team competed in a California regional ski race this past weekend at the Sugar bowl Resort in Lake Tahoe, Calif. Currently ranked second in the Southern California Collegiate Snowsport Conference, UCSD qualified as a ski team for the event. The honor allotted the team five spaces in each men’s and women’s skiing competition. Northern California does not have a platform for snowboard competition, which resulted in no regional competition for the snowboard team. Schools in attendance included Sierra Nevada College, Sierra College, UC Berkeley and UC Davis. SCCSC qualifying members included UCSD, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA and the University of Southern California. There were a total of 64 racers from these schools who qualified to compete.
The slalom competition was the bread and butter of the Triton women’s team. Senior racer Danielle Crockett placed ninth overall, followed by skiers Katie Wurden and Brooke Mosley. Freshman Anja Smith fell during competition while on pace for a fourth-place finish. The men’s team followed sophomore Jake Cohen placing 22nd. Patrick Wilcox and Adam Crocker finished in the middle of the pack. Sophomore racer Evan Sharbrough was disqualified in competition while leading UCSD’s team.
Crockett, Wurden and Mosley represented UCSD in the giant slalom competition on Feb. 22. Crockett finished ninth for a second time while Wurden and Mosley finished in the middle. The men’s team showed well with Sharbrough finishing 19th, followed by Cohen at 21st.
The team’s next scheduled competition will take place March 13 and March 14 at Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
Sailing
The UCSD sailing team once again hosted a South 1 & 2 regatta this year at the Mission Bay Yacht Club. Warm weather with sunny skies and strong, steady 10 to 15 knot winds greeted the 20 teams on Jan. 31.
Day one was a bit tough for UCSD, who placed ahead of rival UCLA but in 10th place over all. On day two, Sean Anderson rebounded, taking first place in the B division. His performance, coupled with freshman Jeff Simon’s A-division score, put UCSD in fifth place ahead of both Stanford and UCLA. The women’s team, led by Heather Martinelli, also made a mark coming in 14th on day one and 13th on day two.
The sailing team then traveled north to UC Berkeley to compete in the first and second regattas of the North Series, with UCSD placing seventh and ninth, respectively. Conditions were tough but the team made a good showing on UC Berkeley’s turf and looks forward to following up its defeat to the Golden Bears at Fall Championships with another at the Pacific Coast Championships in the spring.
The third and fourth regattas of the South Series took place two weeks ago in Los Angeles. Fickle winds, short courses and lots of rain made for mentally and physically challenging sailing conditions at the UCLA-hosted event. Despite tough conditions, the team managed to tie with UCLA on Feb. 21, placing eighth overall. With slightly better winds and an alumni cheering section, UCSD beat UCLA. The overall positions have yet to be announced.
— Compiled by Cynthia Blade Chavez, Sports Editor
