Women’s Volleyball
The Tritons competed against rivals San Diego State University and University of San Diego, as well as UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton at the Regional Tournament #2 at the University of San Diego. Due to injuries, the team had to place sophomore Amanda Dieterle at middle blocker to stabilize the team, despite normally practicing as an outside hitter.
Despite a slow start, the Tritons won against USD in two quick sets. The team then defeated Cal State Fullerton in three sets, the last one with a 15–7 score. UCSD, led by senior Meagan Cochran and sophomore Sydney Riegert, also defeated Irvine in two games before losing to No. 9 SDSU. The Tritons will next compete at UC Davis, which is to be held the weekend of Feb. 20.
Swim
UCSD had its first meet this quarter at UCLA’s Jan. 24 California Intercollegiate Swim Club Association Invitational. The Triton men won the competition and placed second for the combined co-ed team.
The club team had several swimmers take first place in their events, as well as setting personal bests. Freshman Johnny Perez won the 50 and 200-breaststroke with personal records, while Janarathan Nadendla won the 100-breast. The Triton men also swept the top three in the 50-free. There were several strong finishes from the women as well. Freshman Vylana Trang took second in the women’s 100-free and Natalie Fregosi took second in the 100-breast.
Sail
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo hosted the 2015 Mustang Open, its very first regatta in Morro Bay. Skipper junior Nicolas Delfino and his sailing boat 29 led UC San Diego’s A-fleet in the first race. Delfino and his crew performed well on Saturday, keeping UCSD in the first five boat range to cross the line in each A-race. Following the A-race was the B-race, in which the conditions were no better that day.
The wind picked up on Sunday, allowing for an intense and exciting race day. UCSD finished off in sixth place behind Cal Poly SLO, California Maritime Academy, Cal State Monterey Bay, UC Davis and UCLA.
Rugby
The UCSD women’s club rugby team faced Arizona State University this weekend in what was its biggest competitor this season. The lady Tritons came out strong, controlling the pace of the game and establishing an early lead. However, in the second, the Tritons lost focus and committed offsides penalties and turnovers, which resulted in Arizona State capitalizing and taking a 29–22 lead. The Tritons would, however, retake the lead. With a minute left in the game, the girls were able to hold Arizona at the 10- meter line to force a turnover and secure the victory. Sophomore Wing Ly finished with two tries and junior Jaylin Stevenson, senior Monique Grimaldi and junior Saanjh Ombogo all scored one try each. Despite pulling off the close win, the squad does have room for improvement. The team plays back-to-back games in Arizona in two weeks in what will be the biggest test of this season yet.
Men’s Soccer
UCSD’s men’s club soccer started their season over the weekend at home against UC Irvine B, defeating them 3–1. After a disappointing fall season, this was a crucial game in rebuilding the team for the near future. Norwegian exchange students Espen Klette and Anders Belsvik made impressive debuts, both rotating at the center back position.
After a back-and-forth start, the Tritons gained more possessions which culminated to a great goal at the 30-minute mark from sophomore forward Aric Diesen, who calmly slotted the ball into the side netting. This was followed up by a far-post curler goal from junior midfielder Kazuya Otani. UC Irvine B fought back to get a scrappy goal in the second half; however, Triton sophomore Quinn Frantzen followed up with a penalty kick goal to close out the game on a winning note.
The team makes its annual trip to NorCal next weekend for friendlies against Stanford University and San Jose State University. It will resume the season against Cal state Long Beach at home on Feb. 21.
