MEN’S LACROSSE

After the Tritons upset the 18th-ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 8-7 on March 23, the UCSD men’s lacrosse team began a string of home games on April 8 against crosstown rival SDSU. The Tritons haven’t lost to SDSU in their last six meetings, and continued the winning streak in a game that was dominated by UCSD’s offense.

The Tritons quickly got a 5-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, led primarily by Nick Dean and Matt Lafiandra. The UCSD offense seemed to score at will, keeping the ball in Aztec territory for most of the quarter.

SDSU regrouped in the second with three goals, although UCSD quickly responded to each, keeping the score weighted in their favor at 8-3, by the half.

UCSD was also plagued in the second half by penalties, with SDSU scoring on many of their man-up opportunities.

UCSD’s Ross Stensrud stepped up in the third quarter with three quick goals to boost UCSD’s lead. The Aztecs could never fully overcome their growing deficit, and UCSD played a solid second half to finish the game 17-10.

UCSD is hosting Arizona on April 11 at 7p.m. at RIMAC field, and Arizona State on April 14 at 1 p.m. at Warren Field. The team will be having a free BBQ for the fans at their April 11 game. UCSD and Arizona are currently tied in the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League Southern Division.

WATER SKI

At the Northwest Conference Waterski season opener hosted by UC Davis at Bel Acqua, UCSD was once again in championship form. UCSD’s Peter Mehrhoff returned from France less than a week before, only to lead his Tritons to the team slalom title, edging the Chico State Wildcats by 40 points. Mehrhoff bettered his personal best jump by one foot to lead the Triton men to a clean sweep of the men’s team events.

UCSD head coach Bill Schneiderwind said Mehrhoff is a phenomenal athlete. He had not been on the water due to his quarter abroad, and yet comes back to win overall in the tournament. The rest of the gang worked hard in spring training to get ready, and it paid off.

Tim Odell, Jeff Orr and newcomer freshman Ian Ford added significant performances to join Mehrhoff in leading UCSD.

In women’s trick, SDSU picked up where it left off last fall with solid showings in slalom and again edged out UCSD. UCSD freshman Lindsay Baxter’s performance was second-best in Triton history.

UCSD’s Katie Ambrose and Mehrhoff lead the Tritons back into Pacific Conference action next weekend as SDSU and UCLA co-host their tournament at Hortons Lake in Newberry Springs.

DANCESPORT

The talent of this year’s Dancesport team shines at every competition they attend. This past weekend, the team traveled to Stanford to compete in the Cardinal Classic.

Patrick Chen and Tracy Hajkowski took first place in Advanced American Rhythm. Sean Gentry and Abby Wong took first in Beginner Smooth Waltz and Beginner Smooth Tango. The couple also took second in Beginner Smooth Foxtrot and Intermediate Smooth (Waltz/Foxtrot), third in East Coast Swing and fifth in Beginner International Cha Cha.

The couple of Chen and Cameron Milbrandt took second place in Intermediate International Latin and third place All-level International Cha Cha.

Lawrence Ortiguerra and James Hua landed a second-place finish in Beginner International Cha Cha, and John Stillwagen and Pam Thomas finished in third place in Advanced International Latin.

The team also won the All-Team awards for spirit in both the American and International Style team match events.

Next weekend, the Dancesport team will travel to Las Vegas to compete against rival UNLV.

DANCE TEAM

The UCSD dance team recently flew to Daytona, Fla., to compete in the annual National Cheerleading Association Nationals, one of the largest dance competitions in the United States, with 194 teams competing for the national title.

Using a routine choreographed by captain Kanchan Dudani and coaches Natalie Adcock and Nicole Horowitz, UCSD made it into the top 15 in Division II standings.

The Dance team will be performing their routine at the men’s lacrosse game on April 11 during halftime, April 12 at noon in the Price Center and on April 13’s NBC “”Today Show”” at 6 a.m.

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 11

Men’s lacrosse vs. Arizona, RIMAC 7 p.m.

April 12

Women’s lacrosse vs. Cal Poly, Warren Field 2 p.m.

Cycling @ SDSU Race, Campo (ends April 13)

Men’s ultimate Sectionals @ Cal Poly SLO (ends April 13)

Women’s ultimate Sectionals @ Claremont (ends April 13)

Waterski @ Barstow, Calif. (ends April 13)

April 13

Men’s lacrosse vs. ASU, Warren Field 1 p.m.

Women’s lacrosse vs. ASU, Warren Field 11 a.m.

— Compiled by Anu Kumar

Sports Editor