While many of UCSD’s teams fell short in their pursuit of national championships, the Tritons’ dominance in league competition earned them the California Collegiate Athletic Association Commissioner’s Cup for the second straight year.
The Commissioner’s Cup is awarded to the CCAA school with the best overall athletics year, from fall sports through spring sports. The standings are made by calculating the school with the, “”highest aggregate ranking in eight of the CCAA’s 13 championship sport offerings,”” according to the UCSD athletics department Web site.
After fall sports concluded, CCAA rival Chico State had a one-point lead over UCSD in the Commissioner’s Cup standings, but a strong showing by women’s basketball and other teams cemented the UCSD athletics department’s second straight award-winning season.
UCSD finished seven points ahead of the Wildcats in cup standings, thanks to a spring season of CCAA championships from women’s tennis and women’s track and field, as well as a second-place softball finish. But it was the women’s basketball team’s historic season that truly illustrated UCSD’s emergence as one of the conference’s dominant forces.
The Tritons hosted the NCAA Division II West Regional tournament as a No. 1 seed and advanced to the West Regional final against Chico State with a streak of blowout victories. The women were not satisfied, however, as they toppled the Wildcats and moved on as far as the national semifinal game.
Chico State kept close in the cup standings after a spectacular fall season that saw the Wildcats capturing conference championships in men’s and women’s cross country. The school also took second place in women’s soccer, behind champions UCSD, and third place in women’s volleyball.
Besides topping the Wildcats in women’s soccer in the fall, UCSD also placed ahead of Chico State in women’s volleyball with a second place finish, but were outdone in cross country after third place finishes by both the men’s and women’s teams.
While proud of its consecutive Commissioner’s Cup awards, UCSD still has some teams looking past CCAA competition toward national championships. Women’s track and field, for instance, is aiming at a top ten national finish after placing 18th last year.
