For the first time ever, UCSD will enter the California Collegiate Athletic Association as the No. 1 seed. Unfortunately for the Tritons, their first-round matchup comes against the only team they failed to defeat in a four-game series over the last two months.
The Tritons (33-12, 27-9 CCAA), who are ranked No. 4 in Division II, will face Cal State Dominguez Hills (34-19, 23-13 CCAA) at 3 p.m. in Palm Springs today to open the conference tournament. The Tritons and Toros faced off April 16 to April 18 ‘mdash; UCSD took two at home before falling twice on the road.
Since then, UCSD finished its season winning six of its last eight games and claiming the CCAA regular-season title. UCSD is coming off an emotional 3-1 victory in a four-game set against Cal Poly Pomona in which the team swept a Senior Day doubleheader. The Toros also finished strong, taking five of their last six games to clinch the final playoff spot.
Second-seeded Sonoma State University and third-seeded Cal State Los Angeles will also play tomorrow, and the winners of the semifinal contests will face off in the championship game on Friday at 3 p.m.
Readers can contact Janani Sridharan at [email protected].