UCSD has earned the honor of being the first school to engrave its name on the California Collegiate Athletic Association Commissioner’s Cup after an impressive year of exciting and successful athletic campaigns.
The notable distinction was determined by an aggregate-point system, which calculated each school’s Cup ranking by adding its top two regular season team finishes within the conference in each of the fall, winter and spring seasons. In addition to those six numbers, each school’s two remaining top finishes were added to the total.
The Cup’s calculations also included individual sports, such as cross country, track and field, and golf. Unlike the team sport tallies, the individual sports earned Cup points based on the results of each their season’s postseason finishes. Although it’s a daunting task to decipher this complicated formula, the bottom line declared UCSD as the clear victor for the title.
As the inaugural recipients of the Commissioner’s Cup, the Tritons outperformed all of their conference opponents to earn the highest combined ranking total in eight of 13 sports, finishing with 14.5 points. Chico State followed in second place with 21.5 points, while Cal State Bakersfield finished in a distant third with 27.5 points. The ninth and 10th spots went to Cal State San Bernardino and San Francisco State, which had 37.5 and 60 points, respectively.
While the majority of the UCSD teams had productive seasons that contributed to the strength of the athletics program, it was the women’s squads that ultimately carried the Tritons to the Commissioner’s Cup. Five of the eight top finishes that were factors in the total calculation for the Cup belonged to the women, who fought their way to CCAA championship crowns in cross country, soccer, tennis and track and field. The women’s basketball squad also contributed, notching a second place finish in CCAA play.
Among the numerous top-tier performances of the past year, the women’s cross country team reached the top of the CCAA with admirable determination, clawing its way to a seventh place finish at the NCAA D-II National Championships. On its way to the championships, UCSD toppled its CCAA foe in San Francisco in late October, with senior CCAA Runner of the Year Mimi Hodgins literally running away with the 6-kilometer race by almost half a minute. Sophomores Diane Dunn and Emily McGregor, junior Erin O’Donnell and senior Nina Miller all finished within the top 10 of the same race, and they joined Hodgins as recipients of All-CCAA honors. The Tritons finished second of 21 at the NCAA D-II West Regional meet, which propelled them to the national championships and their best season as a D-II team.
The women’s soccer team had similar success, edging Cal State Dominguez Hills in a 4-3 championship victory in early November. With the championship win — their fifth in six years — the Tritons advanced to the NCAA Far West Regional tournament, where they once again downed Cal State Dominguez Hills to reach the finals facing Seattle Pacific University. Although they fell in the title match, the Tritons’ efforts did not go without notice, as junior CCAA Player of the Year Megan Dickey, junior Kelly Cochran and senior Heather Szafraniec were all named to the NCAA All-Far West Region Second Team.
Senior Briana Hinga offered one of the most impressive contributions in capturing the Commissioner’s Cup, playing on both the stellar basketball and track and field squads. As a forward on the basketball team, Hinga was a defensive stalwart, playing all but one game and starting 20 out of 27 of those bouts. While averaging the fourth-most minutes per game with 25.4, she led the team with 52 blocks and was second on the team with 7.4 rebounds per game. This effort helped the team earn a berth to the NCAA Division-II Women’s Basketball National Tournament, where the Tritons ultimately lost a close battle to Seattle Pacific in the first round.
As a member of the track and field team, Hinga showed her skills at the CCAA Championships earlier this month, placing fourth overall in the high jump and first in the javelin throw. Her javelin performance secured her the No. 1 national ranking at the NCAA D-II National Championships, which will commence on May 25 in Emporia, Kan.
Hinga, whose hard work will surely be missed by her teams, was proud to play a part in bringing the Commissioner’s Cup to UCSD.
“It’s been a great honor to be part of two amazing teams,” she said. “It’s exciting that UCSD athletics has earned this honor not only for the athletes but also the school.”
UCSD should remain optimistic of its chances for winning next year’s Cup, as all of its squads will remain strong and determined. In addition to the expectations that the women will continue their successful ways, the men will undoubtedly do their part, as the baseball, track and field and tennis teams are all playing with fervor. Only time will tell if these lofty expectations can be realized, but it is certain that the UCSD athletic program shows much promise in fighting for its second consecutive CCAA Commissioner’s Cup.
