Tritons Get Back on Track
When a team starts to reach record-breaking levels of losing, it’s difficult for the players and coaches not to think about it. Each loss brings more pressure to the next game, which rarely helps the cause of righting the ship.
UCSD’s women’s volleyball team has recently had such difficulties, suffering its longest losing streak since 1992 and falling out of the national rankings for the first time since 2001.
To be fair to the team, however, the skid was only five games long, and the team plays 30 or more matches per season. There are many programs around the country — even some in the Triton’s conference — that would consider five straight losses simply unfortunate or even normal.
But for the UCSD squad, the slide is not taken so lightly. A team that has made the NCAA postseason every year that it’s been in Division II has higher standards for itself. The fact that a five-game losing streak is noteworthy is a testament to the quality of the program.
It should not be forgotten that the team lost two All-Americans and their head coach in the off-season. It is normal for turnover of important personnel to create some growing pains, and this is true of any sport at any level.
With the two wins over the weekend against Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State Dominguez Hills, the Tritons appear to be back on track. Time will tell if they will stay that way, but getting out of the rut they had fallen into should certainly ease some of the pressure. Head coach Riccie Luyties expressed it best after snapping the streak: “I am going to be able to sleep tonight.”
Who Can Stop the Tide?
In Saturday’s college football action, the Crimson Tide jumped a major hurdle in their path to a second straight national title, steamrolling No. 7 Florida, 31–6.
Alabama looked, if possible, even better than last year, while Florida appeared a sad shell of its former self.
Somehow, this game served to grow Tim Tebow’s legacy even more, despite the fact that the former Gator quarterback has moved on to the NFL. Without him, Florida’s once-formidable spread offense looks inept, even with considerable talent at every position. Perhaps new quarterback John Brantley should not shoulder all the blame, but the fans down in the Swamp are surely thinking about “the good old days” of Tebow’s reign.
The SEC is a tough conference, and there’s a lot of football still to be played. However, it’s worth noting that for three of the last four years, the team that emerged victorious from the Florida-Alabama game has gone on to win the national championship. College football is always full of surprises, but — after beating Arkansas on the road and crushing Florida — the Crimson Tide look well on their way to once again rolling to the BCS title game.
