UCSD Swimming Teams Among Division II's Best

A trio of national champions, 11 new school records and 28 individuals scoring points ultimately added up to a second-place finish for the UC San Diego men’s team and a third-place finish for the Triton women at the 2011 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships, which concluded Saturday night in San Antonio, TX.

It was the best men’s result and best combined team performance in UCSD’s 11 years at the Division II level.  
 
Two of the Tritons' four individual national championships for the week came on the final night as junior Matt Herman added the 1,650 freestyle (15:12.78) crown to his Day One victory in the 1,000 freestyle, and freshman Nick Korth captured the 200 breaststroke (1:57.19). Both victories came in school-record time.

The Triton men, whose previous high Division II finish was fourth in 2005, piled up 345 points to outdistance third-place Wayne State by 50. Drury scored 600 in repeating as national champion. In the women's standings, UCSD’s ninth third-place finish in 11 seasons at Division II was achieved with 338 points, which left it 50 short of runner-up Wayne State. Drury (483.5) was also the team winner in the women's division. 
 
Herman and Korth got plenty of help in the men’s final push for second place. Freshman Martin Vanek (1:49.34) and junior Eric Owens (1:50.51) were seventh and 12th respectively in the 200 backstroke. Junior Blake Langland, fighting off a touch of illness, took 13th in the 100 freestyle (45.64), and the lone senior, Sam Duimovich, swimming for the last time as a collegian, was 13th behind Korth in the 200 breaststroke. 
 
The quartet of Reid McCallum, Michael Lorch, Alex Merrill and Langland was seventh in the 400 freestyle relay (3:01.74). 
 
Although they produced no individual champions, the UCSD women had a terrific night as well, including multiple point-scorers in two events. Twenty-four hours after winning her third career NCAA title,  Alex Henley's late charge came up just short as she settled for second in the 200 backstroke, despite erasing her own school record with a time of 1:57.14. Freshman teammate Anji Shakya was 13th (2:03.80). 
 
Sophomore Emily Adamczyk was another who continued to impress. Scoring in her sixth event of the meet (a number matched only by Henley), she placed third in the 200 breaststroke, touching in 2:14.28. She was followed by junior Neda Nguyen (6th/2:17.46) and sophomore Michelle McCadden, who won the consolation heat for ninth place in 2:18.43.

Rounding out the point-scoring for the UCSD women was freshman Gabby Rossbach in the 1,650 freestyle (13th/17:25.76) and the 400 freestyle relay contingent of Katherine Tse, Anju Shimura, Olivia Fountain and Henley which registererd 3:01.74, good for seventh place. 

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL

The UC San Diego men’s volleyball team has had a knack of breaking records and personal bests this season against Pepperdine, and Saturday’s match continued the trend as the No. 15 Tritons upset the 11th-ranked Waves in a five-set thriller at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

UCSD (7-15, 4-12 MPSF) won the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 38-36, but Pepperdine (6-11, 4-11 MPSF) picked up some momentum and won the next two, 25-20 and 25-22. The Tritons came from behind to take the fifth and deciding set, 17-15.
 
Outside hitter Carl Eberts set a new career high with 22 kills and posted his second career double-double by adding 10 digs. His kill total was also a match best. A couple more career highs were set by freshmen as outside Nick Iorfino had 16 kills and setter Mike Brunsting finished with 14. Middle blocker Calvin Ross also recorded a double-digit kill total with 13 and hit .632 (13-1-19). Brunsting, Ross and freshman middle Sebastian Brady all had five blocks and setter Phil Bannan totaled 66 assists.
 
Pepperdine defeated UCSD, 3-1, at RIMAC Arena back on Feb. 4. Despite the defeat, three school records fell that night. Bannan became UC San Diego's all-time leader in assists and aces, while Ross took over the top spot on the career blocks list. It's been an interesting two seasons against Pepperdine. Until last season, the Tritons had never defeated the Waves, but they ended up winning both match-ups in 2010.
 
On Friday, Eberts and Sebastian Brady each banged down a match-high 11 kills, but it wasn’t enough to get past the top-ranked team in the nation as No. 15 UC San Diego was swept at USC. Set scores were 25-23, 28-26 and 25-23 at the Galen Center.

UCSD is off for finals until Mar. 24 when it hosts Ohio State in a non-conference match at 7 p.m.

MEN'S CREW

The UC San Diego men’s crew team finally got to start its 2011 racing season Friday after nearly a three-hour delay due to dense fog and the threat of a tsunami heading toward the California coast.
 
The tsunami, spawned by the devastating earthquake in Japan, didn’t cause any widespread inundation and the fog lifted enough for the Tritons to row against the University of San Diego and Gonzaga on Mission Bay.
 
The varsity eight started the day jumping out to an early lead off the line. Gonzaga and USD battled back steadily, but the Tritons were able to pull away at the 700-meter mark to open the gap down the rest of the course.

The UCSD team was comprised of oarsmen Drew Madden, Justin Gordon, Joey Frank, Jonathan Sutterfield, Drew Lawyer, Nathan Morgan, Ross Bell and Edwin Clement and coxswain Shawn Kuo. The Tritons finished first in a time of 6:21.8, the Toreros were second at 6:28.3 and Gonzaga a close third at 6:30.9.
 
The next race was the junior varsity eight. Again, UCSD jumped out to an early lead with Gonzaga charging back on the Tritons. UC San Diego found itself in a back-and-forth battle with the Bulldogs. The boats ended up finishing bow to stern with UCSD winning out in a time of 6:19.3 to Gonzaga's 6:22.0.
 
The final race of the day was the men's freshman eight. UCSD was once again able to get out to an early lead, but Gonzaga continued to hang around. With 400 meters to go the Bulldogs made a final run and were able to pull out the victory in the final few strokes. Gonzaga had a time of 6:26.9 while the Tritons locked in at 6:27.3.
 
The Tritons will be back in action at Mission Bay April 2 and 3 at the San Diego Crew Classic, where they have been invited to compete in the Copley Cup Invitational.

WOMEN'S CREW

The UC San Diego women’s crew team traveled north to race in the Sacramento Invite over the weekend.

Host Sacramento State won every race it was in. UCSD’s boats finished fourth in the second varsity eight, open four and "B" varsity four. The Tritons finished higher than third in all novice races.
 
The Tritons will return to action when they head to Florida March 25-26 to battle in the Division II Florida Duals.
 
WOMEN'S WATER POLO

The No. 18 UC San Diego women’s water polo team took two overtime periods to take down Princeton 13-12 before falling to No. 20 Pacific 9-6 on Saturday at the Aztec Invitational on the campus of San Diego State.

On Sunday the Tritons fell in its final two matches at the Aztec Aquaplex, 9-6 and 9-4, to No. 16 Cal State Northridge and No. 17 Indiana, respectively.

The Tritons are 3-3 in their last six games and 9-11 overall. Kirsten Bates scored four goals and drew three ejections in the Princeton game, helping the Tritons to a 2-for-7 game during 6-on-5 situations. Natalie Peng scored two goals and also drew three ejections while Hanalei Crowell checked in with a two-goal, three-assist opening game. Bates, Crowell, Peng, Melissa Bartow, Felicia Orozco, Katherine Biehle and Leah Gonzales played in all six periods against Princeton.

Prior to the Aztec Invitational, UCSD defeated Cal State Bakersfield 14-11 on Friday evening at Canyonview Pool to improve to 5-1 in Western Water Polo Association competition. In that game Bates scored four goals and Orozco contributed three scores.

MEN'S TENNIS

The UC San Diego men's tennis team put the finishing touches on an impressive week of competition on Sunday, recording a resounding 9-0 victory over Division I opponent Lafayette College at the Northview Tennis Courts on campus.

The Tritons went 4-0 in four home matches this week, taking down Western New Mexico, Barry University and Hawaii Pacific before turning away the Leopards on Sunday.
 
UCSD now stands at a perfect 13-0 on the season, the program's best record in Eric Steidlemayer’s 13 seasons as head coach.

“We played well this week,” he said. “We've been playing great on the road this season, but it was nice to come home for a while. I thought we faced some quality opponents this week and fortunately we were able to get the job done.”

After clawing their way to victories over Barry (5-4) and HPU (6-3) on Friday and Saturday, the Tritons made quick work of Lafayette to conclude the weekend. UCSD swept the Leopards in doubles play and then followed suit in the singles matches. UCSD won three of the six matches in straight sets.

Erik Elliott, Sam Ling and Max Jiganti needed three sets to get by their opponents at Nos. 1, 3 and 5 singles, but the rest of the squad won in short order as the Tritons rolled to the shutout victory, their third of the season.

UCSD will take a week off for final exams and then return to the courts for a home matchup with Sonoma State on Friday, March 25.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

The UC San Diego women's tennis squad won its second straight match Saturday as it posted a 6-3 victory over Cal State Stanislaus at Northview Courts. UCSD improved to 6-5 with the win.

Cindy Dao and Jacquelyn Davis won at No. 2 doubles, 8-6, and Katie Mulloy and Roxanna Pourmirzaie were victorious at No. 3 doubles, 8-5. Taskeen Bains and Haley Perrotte lost, 8-6, in the No. 1 double match.
 
Dao clinched the match win with a 6-2, 6-0 victory at No. 2 singles. Other Tritons with wins included Samantha Yeung at No. 4 singles, Mulloy at No. 5 singles and Davis at No. 6 singles.
 
UCSD has now won four of its last six matches. The Tritons are off until April 1 when they travel to Sonoma State.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Following an impressive junior campaign, UC San Diego point guard Chelsea Carlisle was voted to the 2010-11 Daktronics NCAA Division II West Region First Team.

Carlisle earned a spot on the first team for the second consecutive season, finishing third overall in the balloting with a total of 105 points. Cal Poly Pomona's Reyana Colson was voted the West Region Player of the Year with 175 points, while Samantha Murphy of Grand Canyon finished second with 156 points.
 
Western Washington's Amanda Dunbar and Dixie State's Johnna Brown rounded out the five-member first team.
 
Carlisle put together another fantastic season in 2010-11, averaging team-highs of 18.4 points, 5.6 assists and 2.2 steals in leading the Tritons to an overall record of 20-11. She also led UCSD in three-point shooting with 77 triples and became the program's all-time single-season leader with a total of 174 assists. She was named to the All-CCAC first team last week after pacing the conference in both assists and three-point shooting this season.
 
The Agoura Hills native was voted the Daktronics Player of the Year in 2009-10, beating out Dunbar by a single point.
 
Players selected to the West Region First Team will now be listed on the Daktronics All-American national ballot. The All-American team will be announced on March 22. The west region includes teams from the CCAA, Great Northwest Athletic Conference and Pacific West Conference.

After finishing third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular-season standings, the UC San Diego women's basketball team had three players named to all-conference squads.

Guards Chelsea Carlisle and Emily Osga were All-CCAA first-team selections, while center Lauren Freidenberg earned a spot on the second team.

Carlisle was named the conference MVP as a sophomore in 2009-10 and went on to earn State Farm Coaches First Team All-American honors.
 
Osga had a breakout sophomore campaign for the Tritons this season, averaging 11.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 29 games during the regular season. She was UCSD's second-leading scorer and rebounder and scored in double figures a total of 17 times. The San Diego native ranked in the top 15 in the CCAA in multiple categories, including scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, field goal percentage and three-point field goals made.
 
Freidenberg wrapped up the regular season averaging 10.8 points and 6.6 boards, while shooting 51% from the field. She was the Tritons' third-leading scorer on the year, while pacing the squad in rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots. She recorded a team-high four doubles-double on the year and scored 10 points or more on 17 occasions.
 
MEN'S BASKETBALL

The UC San Diego men's basketball team had three players honored when the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s annual postseason awards were announced last week.

Christian Hatch and Casey Ryan were both named to the All-CCAA Second Team, while James McCann was voted the conference Freshman of the Year.
 
Hatch earned his first career all-conference selection after leading the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game and shooting a team-high 50% from the field in 2010-11. He was UCSD’s second-leading rebounder at 6.7 per night and also ranked second in blocked shots with 13. The Henderson, NV, native posted a team-high nine double-doubles on the year and scored in double figures 22 times. Hatch ranked seventh in the CCAA in scoring, sixth in rebounding and 13th in field goal percentage.
 
Ryan also earned an All-CCAA nod for the first time after putting together a tremendous senior campaign this season. He averaged career-highs of 12.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, while shooting 44% from the field. The Jackson, CA, native was the CCAA’s leading rebounder and ranked 17th in scoring and eighth in minutes per game. UCSD’s second-leading scorer, he tallied a total of eight double-doubles and scored 10 points or more 18 times on the year.
 
McCann took home top freshman honors after earning the starting nod at the point in his first season as a Triton. A native of nearby Carlsbad, he started all but one game in 2010-11, averaging 9.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per night. He was UCSD’s third-leading scorer and led the squad with a total of 80 assists, a figure that ranked sixth in the CCAA.
 
BASEBALL

Junior Jeff Rauh got his first start on the mound since 2009 and made the most of it as he led the No. 3 UC San Diego baseball team to a 7-0 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills in the tail end of a doubleheader Saturday. UCSD also won the opening game at Triton Ballpark by a 10-8 score.

With the pair of wins, UCSD upped its season record to 17-7 overall and 10-6 in the CCAA. Cal State Dominguez Hills, which defeated the Tritons twice in Carson Thursday and Friday, fell to 8-15 and 4-12.
 
A junior right-hander, it was the first win of Rauh's career. He went 5.2 scoreless innings and gave up seven hits while striking out a career-high seven batters and walking just one.
 
Rauh's only other career start came on May 2, 2009 against Cal Poly Pomona. He entered this season with just seven appearances and 7.1 total innings over 2009 and 2010. Prior to Saturday’s start, he had made five relief appearances and collected two saves for UCSD this year.
 
Center fielder Danny Susdorf and shortstop Garrett Tuck both had two hits for UCSD in the game. Six different Tritons scored runs; Susdorf had two. Left fielder Evan Kehoe stroked a two-run triple to left center in UCSD's big fifth inning. It was the third shutout of the season for the Tritons.
 
Game one featured a total of 23 hits, 12 by UCSD. Again the Tritons spread the offense around as eight players had at least one hit. Third baseman Matt Hubbard went 3-for-3 with a run and two RBI. Right fielder Kyle Saul also had a pair of RBI.
 
After an off week for finals, UCSD returns to action March 24-26 with a four-game series against Cal Poly Pomona.
 
SOFTBALL

The No. 10 UC San Diego softball team defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills 7-0 before falling to CSUDH 2-0 on Saturday afternoon at Toro Diamond in CCAC play.

The Tritons moved to 20-6 overall and 14-5 in CCAA play while the Toros go to 17-9 overall and 11-9 in the CCAA. CSUDH won the series three games to one after taking down the Tritons 2-0 and 2-1 on Friday afternoon. It marks the first time UCSD has lost a series in 2011.

 Camille Gaito (13-1) worked a smooth seven innings for the Tritons, allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out three in winning 7-0. Tess Granath (5-4) was perfect through the first 3.1 innings of the second game before hitting a batter and walking the next to put two Toros on. Granath struck out Brittany Brennar for the second out but Stephanie Jimenez cracked a double to right field to score a pair for the only runs of the game.

Interestingly enough, Jimenez’s double was the only CSUDH hit of the entire game. UCSD out-hit CSUDH, 2-1, thanks to a pair of singles from Kris Lesovsky.

UCSD will be back in action in two weeks, March 25-26, at Chico State. The Tritons are in the middle of a month-long road trip before coming home to face Sonoma State on April 15-16.

TRACK & FIELD

The UC San Diego track and field teams had a strong showing at the All-Cal Challenge on Saturday as both squads finished second against three other UC schools.

Competing against Division I opponents UC Irvine, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara, the Tritons won a total of eight events and registered five NCAA National qualifiers in the process.
 
Seniors Kelly Fogarty and Stephanie LeFever each won two events on the day to lead the way for the Tritons on the women’s side. Fogarty swept the 100 and 200 dashes with respective times of 11.77 and 23.98, while LeFever placed first in the high jump with a mark of 5'5" and the long jump with a leap of 19'0.75".
 
Fogarty improved her existing NCAA provisional mark in the 100 and LeFever did the same with her performance in the long jump.
 
Senior thrower Theresa Richards earned a provisional qualifying mark with an impressive victory in the javelin as she outdistanced the second-place competitor by more than eight feet. Her mark of 145'7" was her second-best throw ever.
 
Fellow thrower Danielle Thu also had a good day, winning the hammer throw with a toss of 177'.
 
The women's 4x400 relay squad of Jacqueline Rose, Lauren Irish, Caitlin Meagher and Fogarty finished second behind UCSB's top unit, but the foursome did collect a solid NCAA provisional mark with a time of 3:47.25.
 
Junior Nick Howe was one of two individual event winners for UCSD on the men’s side as he took first in the javelin with a toss of 202'6". His throw was also good enough for an NCAA provisional mark.
 
Shaun Tu had the Tritons' other victory, winning the long jump with a mark of 22'5".

The UCSD distance squads were also busy, with four women and two men competing in the 5000 at the Occidental Distance Carnival on Friday evening in Los Angeles. Chia Chang finished 17th with a time of 18:20.26 to pace the Tritons on the women’s side, while Kellen Levy also took 17th at 15:08.64 to lead the men.
 
Levy and Chang were among three UCSD freshman making their 5k debuts.
 
With final exams on the horizon, the Tritons will be competing in a limited capacity this weekend. UCSD will have a hand full of athletes at the San Diego State Aztec Invitational on Saturday, while others will take part in the Point Loma Spring Break Open on the same day.

GOLF

The UC San Diego men’s golf team finished 10th in the 14-team Cal State East Bay Invitational last week at Hiddenbrooke Golf Course in Vallejo.

Freshman Lewis Simon shot an 85 on Tuesday after shooting 75-72 to finish 25th. Senior Keith Okasaki and sophomore Anubhav Rastogi were next in for UCSD, tying for 30th at 234

Next up for the Tritons is the 61st annual Southern California Intercollegiate Championship which they will host at Mission Viejo Country Club on Monday, March 21.

--Compiled from press releases issued by the UCSD sports information office