THIS WEEK'S EVENTS:

Thu., Jan. 30---MVolleyball---UCSD vs. UCLA---7:00 PM|

Fri., Jan. 31--WBasketball--UCSD vs. Cal Poly Pomona---5:30 PM
Fri., Jan. 31---MVolleyball---UCSD at UC Irvine---7:00 PM
Fri., Jan. 31---MBasketball---UCSD vs. Cal Poly Pomona---7:30 PM

Sat., Feb. 1---Fencing---UCSD at Northwestern Invitational---8:00 AM
Sat., Feb. 1---MTennis---UCSD at University of San Diego---9:00 AM
Sat., Feb. 1---Track and Field---Leon T. Roach III Vault-a-Thon---10:00 AM
Sat., Feb. 1---WTennis---UCSD vs. Claremont---10:00 AM
Sat., Feb. 1---Softball---UCSD vs. Western Oregon (DH)---12:00 PM
Sat., Feb. 1---Swim/Dive---UCSD at University of San Diego---12:00 PM
Sat., Feb. 1---WBasketball---UCSD vs. Humboldt State---5:30 PM
Sat., Feb. 1---MTennis---UCSD vs. UC Irvine---6:00 PM
Sat., Feb. 1---MBasketball---UCSD vs. Humboldt State---7:30 PM

Sun., Feb. 2---Fencing---UCSD at Northwestern Invitational---8:00 AM
Sun., Feb. 2---Baseball---UCSD vs. Holy Names (DH)---11:00 AM
Sun., Feb. 2---WTennis---UCSD vs. UC Davis---11:00 AM
Sun., Feb. 2---Softball---UCSD vs. Western Oregon (DH)---11:00 AM


WOMEN'S B-BALL HOSTS CCAA-LEADING CAL POLY POMONA FRIDAY
Coach Heidi VanDerveer's Women's Basketball team closes out a four-game home stand with CCAA games against Cal Poly Pomona (13-3/10-2) Friday and Humboldt State (8-8/5-7) Saturday…The Tritons, coming off a 1-1 home weekend, are now 11-5 overall, 8-4 in conference and tied for third in the league standings….CPP, which knocked off UCSD at its home gym back in December, comes in atop the CCAA standings, one game clear of second place Cal State East Bay…To get up-to-date on Women's Basketball, click here.

Down 17 points, 50-33, with 11:46 remaining against Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday night, UCSD staged a phenomenal comeback to force overtime, tying the contest at 57 on a lay-in by senior Megan Perry off an inbounds pass with less than a second remaining in regulation…Alas, the fairy tale ending didn't materialize as the Tritons let a four-point advantage slip away in the subsequent OT period, falling, 68-67…Junior McKennan Bertsch filled it up to the tune of a career high 17 points, hitting 8-of-11 from the field, and fellow junior Miranda Seto matched those 17 points, converting 8-of-9 from the free throw line…The Tritons quickly righted the ship Saturday, out-shooting and out-rebounding Cal State L.A. for a 78-61 victory…Perry posted a game high 16 points, Seto and Erin Dautremont chipped in with 13 and senior Rachel Marty came off the bench to contribute 11.

Watch Coach Heidi VanDerveer's Friday night post-game interview.
Watch senior Rachel Marty's Saturday night post-game interview.

MEN'S HOOPS LOOKS TO EXTEND WIN STREAK VS. CAL POLY POMONA, HUMBOLDT STATE
It will be Cal Poly Pomona (13-3/11-1) and Humboldt State (8-10/3-9) visiting RIMAC Arena this weekend as the Men's Basketball team concludes a run of four straight at home…Coach Eric Olen's Tritons, riding a modest two-game win streak, have prevailed in their last four at RIMAC Arena,  are now 9-7 overall and 5-7 in league action…That puts them seventh on the CCAA ladder, two games short of the final qualifying slot for the CCAA Championship Tournament….Earlier in the season, on the road, UCSD fell to second place Cal Poly and defeated Humboldt State.

Last Friday night, redshirt freshman Aleks Lipovic lit up Cal State Dominguez Hills for 23 points, including seven treys, as UCSD rolled, 80-59, in front of 3,902 on Spirit Night…Backing up Lipovic's career high were senior James McCann, who double doubled with 12 points and 10 assists, freshman Adam Klie with 14 markers and sophomore Hunter Walker with 12…On the night, the Tritons shot a superb 53.8% and beat the Toros by 14 on the glass…The Tritons unleashed another impressive performance Saturday, getting 22 from sophomore Drew Dyer and another double double from McCann while holding off a talented Cal State L.A. squad, 70-66…A late first half Golden Eagle run gave them a one-point edge at the break but UCSD hit six of its eight threes (five by Dyer) in the second half to take control…Klie continued his solid play, netting 14 and grabbing six rebounds…Get all your Men's Basketball news by clicking here.

Watch Friday night's post-game interview with Head Coach Eric Olen.
Watch Friday night's post-game interview with guard Aleks Lipovic.
Watch Saturday night's post-game interview with Head Coach Eric Olen.
Watch Saturday night's post-game interview with sophomore Drew Dyer.

HUGE START FOR NO. 14 WATER POLO AT SANTA BARBARA TOURNEY
After starting the 2014 season with an eye-catching performance at the UCSB Tournament last weekend, Coach Brad Kreutzkamp's 14th-ranked Women's Water Polo team will rest up this week for next weekend's 16-team Triton Invitational at Canyonview Pool…The pools for that tourney are expected to be announced this Wednesday afternoon following the release of the latest national rankings.
 
In Saturday's Santa Barbara opener, sophomore Julia Kirkland rifled home four goals as 11 different players hit the scoreboard in UCSD's, 19-2 romp over Concordia…But that performance was nearly as stunning as the Tritons' 12-11 victory over Arizona State that afternoon…UCSD, buoyed by a five-goal outing by reigning WWPA Player of the Year Sarah Lizotte, built up a 9-7 lead through three quarters and held off a late surge by the fifth-ranked Sun Devils…Sophomore Alexis Weisler added three scores and goalie Courtney Miller recorded nine saves…Kreutzkamp's club backed that effort up with an 11-7 triumph over No. 17 host UC Santa Barbara Sunday morning…Lizotte, fellow senior Allison Delgado and reserve Laurel Kistler each accounted for two goals as UCSD opened up a 5-2 advantage at halftime and sealed the verdict with a five-goal fourth quarter blitz…Miller was again quality in the cage, stopping 11 shots…In a big-scoring finale, the Tritons raced out to an 11-5 halftime lead and coasted home for a 14-8 decision over Cal State Bakersfield…Weisler delivered four goals as UCSD completed its perfect weekend…Lizotte's 11 goals gave her a career total of 240 and pulled her within five of Olympian Julie Swail on UCSD's all-time list…Click here to get the latest on Women's Water Polo.

         

SPIKERS TANGLE WITH THIRD-RANKED UCLA THURSDAY AT RIMAC
Young and struggling to overcome injuries, Coach Kevin Ring's Men's Volleyball team (0-7) will still be looking for its first win of the season when it comes back to RIMAC Arena Thursday night to hook up with No. 3 UCLA…Ring & Co. will be at UC Irvine on Friday night...Unexpectedly playing without injured opposite Johl Awerkamp, the Tritons dropped a pair of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) matches at Hawaii last weekend…The 6-7 senior was sidelined just before UCSD departed for Honolulu...Both of the losses to the Rainbow Warriors came in three sets...Senior Nick Iorfino led UCSD in the kills column both nights, getting eight Friday and 12 Sunday...Ring's club more than tripled its hitting percentage from match one to two, but had no answers for Hawaii's net play, getting out-blocked significantly in each...Want more news on Triton Men's Volleyball, click here.

BASEBALL SET FOR SUNDAY OPENER VS. HOLY NAMES
Year three of the Eric Newman era at UCSD begins this weekend when the Baseball team hosts Holy Names for a Super Bowl Sunday doubleheader at Triton Ballpark….Ranked 39th in the Division II pre-season poll, the Tritons are coming off a 26-24 season, their 10th straight winning campaign…Key among the veterans for  Newman will be infielder/pitcher Troy Cruz who hit .286 and won five games on the mound while earning first team all-conference and CCAA Freshman of the Year honors in 2013…Also back are senior starters  Justin Rahn (OF), Garrett Tuck (3B), Nick LaFace (C) and Spencer Frazier (2B)…In addition to Cruz, back to bolster the pitching corps will be Dan Kolodin and Blake Fassler who combined for nine wins a year ago.

UCSD plays its final pre-season exhibition at home Tuesday night against Vanguard…Last Tuesday, Cruz ripped four hits and was one of four hurlers who collaborated on a six-hit, 19-0, shutout over Cal State San Marcos…Click here to stay current on UCSD Baseball.

WESTERN OREGON FOE IN 2014 SOFTBALL UNVEILING
Coach Patti Gerckens' Softball team will make its 2014 debut this weekend, hosting Western Oregon for a pair of doubleheaders, Saturday and Sunday at Triton Softball Stadium…UCSD returns 13 players from a roster that went 33-25 a year ago…The field lineup includes seven players who made 40 or more starts in 2013 and six of the seven—Caitlin Brown, Kirsten Willmon, Mya Romero, Taylor Sepulveda, Callie Grant and Emily McQuaid—were All-CCAA picks…Returning hurlers Jennifer Manuel, Alexis Edwards and Hannah Duarte combined for 18 wins last spring…Click here for more Softball info.

TRITON WOMEN FACE USD IN FINAL SWIM/DIVE DUAL MEET OF SEASON
The 2013-14 regular season concludes Saturday when the Women's Swimming & Diving team travels crosstown to face Division I rival University of San Diego…The Triton women are ranked sixth nationally in NCAA Division II.and have gone 10-1-1 against the Toreros in their last 12 meetings, including a 13-pt. decision last season…The team's conference championship (Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference) meet starts Feb. 12 in La Mirada…Click here for more Swimming & Diving news.

FENCERS FACE HIGH CALIBER COMPTETITION AT NORTHWESTERN
It will be “on the road again” for Coach Heidi Runyan's Fencing team this weekend as the Tritons fly to Chicago for the annual Northwestern Invitational…The Triton women will compete in 14 separate dual competitions against the likes of Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn Stte, Notre Dame, Stanford, Princeton and Duke while the men will have 11 head-to-head opportunities...For Fencing updates, click here.

TENNIS SQUADS START AT HOME THIS WEEKEND
First serve of the 2014 season will be this week for both the Men's and Women's Tennis teams…Coach Timmer Willing's No. 14 men start things off just down the road at University Saturday morning…They return home that evening to host another D-I squad, UC Irvine…Meanwhile Coach Liz LaPlante's 17th-ranked women will play a pair at home, taking on Claremont Saturday morning and UC Davis at 11:00 AM the next day.

VAULT-A-THON KICKS OFF TRACK & FIELD SEASON SATURDAY
Coaches Tony Salerno and Darcy Ahner and the Track & Field teams will host the annual Leon T. Roach III Vault-a-Thon Saturday at 10:00 AM in the Track & Field Stadium…The event, which attracts pole vaulters of all ages and levels, raises money in the memory of former Triton pole vaulter  Leon T. Roach, who passed away tragically in a 2009 training accident…For complete Track & Field news, click here.

NEWS & NOTES
This week's edition of Triton Talk, UCSD's weekly online radio show hosted by Craig Elsten, is scheduled to include interviews with head coaches Eric Newman (baseball) and Patti Gerckens (softball) as well as student-athletes Aleks Lipovic (men's basketball) and Mike Brunsting (men's volleyball)...The show will be posted Wednesday afternoon at ucsdtritons.com.

Click here to check out last week's Spirit Night edition of “Throwback Thursday” on Facebook…Get a weekly blast from the past @ucsdtritons.

Speaking of Spirit Night, Warren College was the winner of the Spirit Night trophy for 2014, just edging out runner-up Sixth College…Warren, which seems to have become the current center of campus spirit, won for the second time in four years and has been in the top two five consecutive times…The second place finish for Sixth matched its best-ever performance.

For the latest in Triton athletic gear, make sure to visit ucsdtritonsgear.com…Run by UCSD Athletics' online partner Advanced-Online, ucsdtritonsgear.com provides a web-based, on-demand option for Triton Athletic apparel and merchandise...Fans have access to over 600 products which can be produced and shipped in 24 hours...Click here to check it out.

Nominations are being accepted for the 2014 class of the UC San Diego Athletic Hall of Fame…Click here to submit your nomination and check out the members of the inaugural class.

Men's Soccer and Women's Crew were victorious in the annual TAC Swim Relay held last Saturday at Canyonview Pool…The Women's Crew triumph marked the fourth consecutive year that team has brought home the gold…The 200 freestyle relay foursome consisted of  Holly Resh,  Caitlin Belza, Kat Tehaney and Olivia Knizek, the latter three having been part of all four wins…The Men's Soccer quartet of Gerred Van Zyll, Malek Bashti, Brett Sampiere and James Pierpoint was more of a surprise, snapping a streak of four wins in a row posted by Men's Crew.

Who is your choice for Sunday's Super Bowl?...That's the question this week on Triton Insider…Click here to see who Triton athletes are picking.

Send questions & comments to tritons@ucsd.edu

For more information on Triton sports, check our website at http://ucsdtritons.com