Photo by Sal Ingram

With hands on each other’s legs, knees bent while staring at eight opponents, a scrum in rugby can be the most intimidating play of the game. It is a play where 16 people can collapse together hunting for the ball, tossed into the fray by another player. For senior Annie “Bert” Ahnn of the women’s rugby club, it’s just another play, another ball to get.

“It’s exhilarating,” Ahnn said. “The intensity of a scrum never lets up.”

On Feb. 4, the UCSC women’s rugby club defeated University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) 26-0. Despite the lopsided score, UNR never stopped fighting in a sunny-day battle for rugby supremacy.

“They gave us a run for our money,” said senior fly half and captain Maeci Brown. “They didn’t want to lose, and they hit us like it.”

The game had no shortage of big hits. Both UCSC and Reno laid bruising tackles on one another. Three players from UNR had to visit the medic for minor injuries because of the intense play on the field in the second half.

“The hits all blur together,” said junior flanker Akemi Yuki. “You just don’t get fazed by them when you’re on the field. You just want to win and help your teammates.”

In the second half, the Slugs broke free from midfield with long runs towards the goal, only to be stopped by a wall of UNR players. After the Slugs attempted to score, UNR stormed back up the field, and on three occasions came dangerously close to scoring. The Slugs’ defense had a stifling shut-out, but was never more dominating than when they were playing on their own goal line.

“They kept hitting us really well,” Yuki said. “And they kept threatening to score.”

Yuki scored two tries, while Ahnn and Brown added one of their own. With the win over UNR, the Slugs recorded their first home win of the season. The Slugs have a record of 1-1, with a loss to Humboldt State University on Jan. 21. Ahnn was excited to score and help her team get in the wins column.

“I was ecstatic to score,” Ahnn said. “When you score, everyone works together, so it’s pretty special.”

In the post-game huddle, Brown pinpointed areas for improvement. She explained that her team’s rucks (pictured above left) and offloads (above right), in particular, were not executed well.

Brown said her team is just starting to come together and play as a single unit.

“We need to get better at offloading,” she said. “Although we won, sometimes we don’t play together as a team as much as we need to. We have work to do.”

The women’s rugby club will play a home game against California State University Sacramento on Feb. 25. 

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Slugs Shut Out WolfPack

Members of the UCSC women's tennis team scrimmage against one another at the UCSC East Field House on Jan. 31. Photo by Toby Silverman

The UC Santa Cruz women’s tennis team kicked off 2012 facing two challenging Division I teams at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (SLO). Their opponents were from University of San Francisco (USF) and SLO. The Slugs were swept in both matches, losing 7-0 in both.

Alex Scotten, No. 1 doubles and singles player, said playing USF and Cal Poly Slo was this season’s biggest test.

“Our first two matches were against D-I schools and are the hardest matches we will have throughout the season, and we are looking ready and confident,” she said.

In the dual match format, the teams played three doubles sets, with the best two out of three taking the doubles point. Afterward, each team played six singles matches with best two out of three sets taking a singles point.

Across the board, the Slugs were outplayed in singles, but the team’s talent showed in their doubles matches.  The No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams for UCSC both saw close contests. UCSC’s top two singles players, sophomore Scotten and junior Laura Wade, teamed up to play USF’s No. 1 doubles team. The pair lost 8-6 in their doubles pro set.

In the No. 2 doubles match, featuring No. 3 singles player Courtney Lymburner and No. 4 singles player Sarah Malone, the team came up short to Cal Poly Slo, losing 8-6 in their doubles set.

Slugs head coach Erin Ness was proud of the way her team fought for the doubles point.

“We competed really well against USF, and were actually up in doubles on both courts one and two,” Ness said. “We were honestly only a couple points away from clinching the doubles point.”

Despite the losses, Ness remains optimistic about the rest of their season and their chances of reaching the West Regional Championships in May. In light of the team’s loss of eight players lost before the season began, Ness acknowledged her team’s ability to play through adversity.

“Overall it was a good weekend and the girls and I are very happy with where the team is at,” Ness said.  ”Our ultimate goal is to get to the NCAA regionals. We still have a lot of work to do to get ready for our Division III matches in March, but everyone felt good about this weekend as a whole, and that gives us confidence heading into the D-III competition.”

Sophomore player Sophie Lundeberg is excited with the team’s progress.

“We’re looking forward to the season,” Lundeberg said. “We’re getting more consistent and each one of us is improving individually. It’s been a lot of fun. We demonstrate great sportsmanship regardless of winning or losing, and teams respect that.”

Scotten was pleased with the passion her team brought to the court this weekend. She said that team could improve on putting everything out on the court, especially when it comes down to a few crucial points near the finish line.

Members of the UCSC women's tennis team scrimmage against one another on Jan. 31. Photo by Toby Silverman

“As a team I think we need to improve on giving that extra push during our matches,” she said. “This weekend we had a few close matches that could have resulted in wins if we had had that extra something towards the end.”

Scotten says this is as tough a test as they will likely see all year, preparing them in the best way.

“For the rest of the season we hope to beat some of our rivals, such as Chapman,” she said, “and this year I believe we have a good chance in doing so.”

Next up for the Slugs is a trip to Stockton, Calif. this weekend, where they will take on Cal State Stanislaus.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Women’s Tennis Faces Division I Teams

Photo by Auralee Walmer

With only seconds remaining on the clock, the Slugs held their breath as the Chapman team approached the free throw line with a chance to tie the score. As the ball hit the rim and ricocheted away from the basket, the Slugs clinched the win, prevailing in a low-scoring battle.

On Jan. 20, the UCSC men’s basketball team edged out a win in a 44-43 nail-biter against rival Chapman University, supported by a packed crowd. The win improved the Slugs’ record to nine wins and nine losses for the year, with a 4-4 record versus Division III teams.

Senior UCSC guard Sam Allen said the key to the win was a group effort, with everyone fighting for their teammates.

“This was a great team win,” Allen said. “Everyone did their part. There was no selfishness, there were no egos. We were playing as a team.”

Head coach Gordon Johnson said he was pleased with the win.

“Overall, we did a great job,” Johnson said. “I’m elated right now. This is a great win. Chapman is our nemesis, so it feels good to come away with a victory.”

This is a significant upset, as Chapman finished last year at No. 4 in the west region. The Slugs ended Chapman’s six-game winning streak on Friday. Chapman University had not lost since Dec. 10.

Though the team won, Coach Johnson still sees room for improvement.

“There are still things we need to get much better at, particularly our shooting,” he said.

Senior forward Brent Jacobs led the team with 11 points total, shooting only four for 11 from the field. Together, the two teams made only 31 shots of 89 attempts.

The Slugs are looking to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championships, which begins on March 1. The tournament culminates in the Final Four held in Virginia, from March 16-17.

Senior guard Nathan Mohri said confidence will be a key factor in the team’s success.

“We have to go through the rest of the season believing we can win every game,” he said.

Senior guard Sam Allen said the Slugs need to carry the momentum of their win over Chapman into their final seven games of the season.

“From here on, we need to build on this win to push us through the year,” he said. “We need to put together a winning streak to have a shot at getting into Nationals.”

The Slugs will play Pacifica College on Jan. 27 at 6 p.m., and UC Merced at home on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Slugs End Chapman’s Streak

City on a Hill Press: Is being a student athlete a big commitment for you?

Contreras: Yeah, it’s a big commitment. Being a college athlete is very demanding. But in the end, if it’s your passion, it’s all worth it. It’s fun being surrounded by people who share similar goals and interests with you. I love all my teammates and coaches. We all support each other. We train hard and race hard. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

CHP: How do you balance your team and school?

Contreras: Runners are athletes, even when not at practice. We have to sleep early, wake up early, do school, practice, race, every day until the season is over. Even when the season is over, we have to train. I think being an athlete makes me more disciplined as a student. We race almost every weekend and have to get our stuff done. There is a lot of sacrifice involved. We can’t always go out and do things normal college students would do.

CHP: Did any of your fellow runners surprise you with their performance?

Contreras: I’m not surprised with what my teammates can do. They run hard and run well. I’m particularly proud of the freshmen on the team. They did very well and had a good season, and can only improve from here. Two of our runners, Mimi Petersen and Lauren Carlton, had spectacular performances at regionals and placed top 35 in the west region. As for the guys, I think they really showed other teams they are serious and ready to compete … They will only continue to show the competition what they’ve got.

CHP: What are you doing to prepare for next season?

Contreras: I want a faster time. To get faster next year, I will have to allow myself to save my mental energy for the race and not spend it all at practice. Most importantly, I need to stay confident and rest more. I will be a senior next year and I will train my best to make my season count, and hopefully make it to regionals with the top seven girls.

CHP: How much do you train per week?

Contreras: I train 12-15 hours a week. One or two hours, six days each week.

CHP: Does UCSC support the team?

Contreras: UCSC tries its best to support us, but since we don’t have as many resources as Division I schools, we have to just do the best we can with fundraising, and use the voices of our athlete representatives [to] push for more resources and opportunities. I think the student body is becoming more aware of the sports teams UCSC has. Everybody can always use some more school spirit.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Q&A: Cross Country Slug

During the second half of the women’s basketball game, the Slugs score a basket against Holy Names University. Photo by Morgan Grana.

Photo by Morgan Grana.

Five more points. Down 52-57 to Holy Names University, the UC Santa Cruz women’s basketball team was on an 8-0 run in the second half, looking to pass the Holy Names Hawks. What seemed like a classic underdog story for the Slugs turned as Holy Names found a way to hold on and win, with a final score of 75-68.

The loss against Holy Names gives UCSC women’s basketball a season ranking of 6-10. With nine games left before the NCAA Championships in February, head coach Todd Kent is optimistic.

“We are still in position to make the post season, since we’re in third place, but we need to put together a winning streak,” he said. “We have a game coming up against our rival Chapman [University] at home, and I think we have a better team against them than ever.”

The Slugs came out of halftime swinging. Down 31-38, the Slugs adjusted their strategy to better match Holy Names’ potent offense. Shooting guard Kelly Gregg explained their strategy.

“We always try to bring an aggressive home game, especially against a team that is number one in their conference,” she said. “In the second half, coach told us to be even more aggressive, so that’s what we did.”

Coach Kent noticed the Slugs were not matching the athletic Holy Names team very well. Kent reacted by switching the Slugs to a 2-3 zone defense from a man-to-man defense. The new defense caused Holy Names to start turning over the ball and forcing shots. This change was the catalyst for the Slugs’ big run.

“It was frustrating that we didn’t use our defense when we really needed to,” he said. “It went well, and we played well in spots, but inexperience and a few mental mistakes hurt us.”

The team is young, but talented. Currently, the Slugs start two freshmen and three seniors.

Freshman center Sarah Mackey is one of nine freshmen on the team. Mackey is in the top five in the nation in blocks, with 3.31 per game. Mackey blocked seven shots to go along with her 15 rebounds and two steals last Tuesday.

Mackey’s shot blocking is a nice surprise for the Slugs. Mackey feels the blocked shots helped her take charge defensively in a very physical game. In the second half alone, there were 19 fouls recorded by both teams.

“Most of my aggression comes from blocking shots,” Mackey said. “It’s what get’s me going.”

Senior point guard Jen Marquez said the Slugs were undone by their concentration. Marquez noted the team shot too many forced three-pointers in the second half to continue challenging Holy Names.

“We wanted to attack the basket and get fouled,” Marquez said. “We just lost focus and it killed us.”

Coach Kent feels this lack of focus is part of coaching a young team.

“We’re still looking for that one animal on the team that will really start calling the plays and leading the team, but a lot of that really just comes from experience,” he said.

UCSC women’s basketball will host games at home against Menlo University on Jan. 14, and Chapman University on Jan. 20. Jan. 21 the team will head up to Redding in a match against Simpson University. Additional reporting provided by Michael Mott.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Heartbreak Hoops

Photo by Toby Silverman.

Photo by Prescott Watson.

Swimming and Diving heats up next quarter as the men’s and women’s teams host the Finis Winter Invite in South Gate, Calif.  This is a lead-up to the National DIII Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. from March 21-24.

Women’s Golf is a spring sport, but the team has already placed in three tournaments. Charlotte Gibson took second place and Alice Trisri tied for fifth place at the Lady Bulldog Fall Classic in Texas. The team will grow in spring with the return of Sharlene Dahlstrom.  March 26-27 the team will be hosting the UCSC Spring Invite, taking place at the Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz.

Cross Country

Men’s cross country had its first season as an NCAA sport at UCSC. Both the men’s and women’s teams raced six different meets, including the Shoreline Open in Mountain View, Calif. and the Willamette Open in Salem, Ore. Slug women’s placed seventh while men’s placed ninth

at the San Francisco State Gator Invite. In their last race of the season, Slug women’s placed 14th overall at the Bronco Invite in Santa Clara.

Volleyball

Led by coach Todd Hollenbeck, men’s volleyball will open their season on Jan. 7 at University of the Pacific.

The women’s volleyball team finished 8-8 in Division III competition, with a total record of 14-9. Despite the winning record, the team missed out on qualifying for the Regional Championships, bringing their season to an end.

Basketball

The men’s basketball team is currently 1-3, with losses to Division I UC Davis, Whitworth and Whitman.

UCSC men’s basketball has been playing at a high level. Despite a record of 1-3, coach Gordie Johnson expects big things from his team.

“They took Division I UC Davis to the limit,” Johnson said. “We should have beat them.”

Johnson noted UCSC’s ball movement is better this year. In UCSC’s four games, there have been four different leading scorers.

“They share the ball really well,” Johnson said. “This year our players fit the offense better.”

This week men’s basketball will play in the University of Redlands tournament. Coach Johnson believes UCSC will make a splash.

“We have an easier schedule and there’s no one close to the teams we lost to,” Johnson said. “Our ultimate goal is 20 wins.”

The women’s basketball team is off to a slow start, losing their first three games. They will look to rebound their way to the National Championship in February. This week, the Slugs will have a two-game home stand against Whittier at 6 p.m. in the West Gym on Friday, and against University of Redlands at 2 p.m. in the West Gym on Saturday.

Tennis

After the departure of Bob Hansen, former head coach and founder of men’s tennis at UCSC, Bryce Parmelly will lead the team starting in January. The team will begin their season against Santa Clara University on Jan. 15 at Santa Clara.

Led by coach Erin Ness, the women’s tennis team will begin its season in January, opening against Santa Clara University at Santa Clara.

Soccer

The men’s soccer team finished 9-8. The team missed the playoffs this season, ending their season with a 3-1 away win against Cal Lutheran.

Slug women’s soccer was successful this season. The team finished with a 10-8-2 record for the season and a visit to the NCAA regional semifinals. The team beat Cal Lutheran in the first round of the playoffs. Junior forward Brooke Atkinson said the last loss to Concordia-Moorehead was most memorable.

“It definitely stung a little,” Atkinson said. “I mean, we beat them [initially] in the season 1-0.”

Coach Josh Schelhorse will be stepping down at the end of the season and assistant coach Emily Scheese will be taking over. Atkinson said the team was an underdog this season. She feels the team can improve despite Schelhorse leaving.

“Hopefully we will get further than we did last year,” Atkinson said. “It’s going to be interesting.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Fall Sports Recap

Former UCSC Men's Tennis coach Bob Hansen and current assistant coach Matt Seeberger watch the team practice. After over 30 years as head coach, Hansen left UCSC to take a position at Middlebury College. Photo Courtesy of Bryce Parmelly.

When you think UCSC sports, think Bob Hansen, former head coach of the UC Santa Cruz men’s tennis team. After having been the backbone of Slug tennis for over 30 years, Hansen has made the move to Vermont to take over as head coach of the Middlebury College men’s tennis team.

Hansen was in attendance on Saturday as friends and family gathered at the University Center to celebrate his time at UCSC.

Bob Hansen founded the UC Santa Cruz tennis program in 1977, just two years after graduating from San Jose State University in 1975. He went on to lead the Slugs to national championship glory, capturing the school’s first-ever national crown for any sport. The legendary tennis coach has racked up seven NCAA Division III national championships over his storied career at UCSC.

Among Hansen’s seven national championships were milestone accomplishments in 2005 and 2007. The former marked UCSC’s first triple-crown victory, winning the championship in team, individual and doubles divisions. In 2007, the Slugs continued their domination, winning the indoor and outdoor team championships.

Hansen said he could not be more grateful for his time at UCSC.

“My experience coaching at UC Santa Cruz was brilliant, inspired, compelling, fun and totally rewarding,” Hansen said. “I loved it from start to finish.”

Hansen’s coaching has been noted throughout the nation. He is a four-time National Coach of the Year Award recipient and has appeared at 19 NCAA Team Final Four appearances.

Matt Seeberger, former Slug triple-crown champion and current assistant coach, knows Hansen best for his passion and his positive approach.

“Bob has a level of positivity and love beyond comprehension,” Seeberger said. “He can take the best of every single situation and relate it in such a way that it speaks directly to your heart.”

Seeberger recalled a time when Hansen’s encouraging spirit saved his tennis career.

“In my first year under Bob, I hit the lowest point in my life I could remember,” Seeberger said. “I was underperforming in every area one could imagine and was ready to quit the team. Without hesitation, Bob took me aside, came down to my level and uplifted me in an unimaginable way. He knew what needed to be done, and he did it with love.”

Current junior Slug team member Sam Rodgers had similar praise for Hansen.

“Bob is such a special person because he cares so much about each and every player,” Rodgers said. “He has had such a great influence on me and everyone he’s had a relationship with. Bob invests all he has into his players, and that kind of love and dedication is unmatched.”

Hansen described some of his countless memories from his time at UCSC.

“I have had so many memorable moments at UC Santa Cruz,” Hansen said. “Winning the 2005 NCAA team title at UCSC and being the first-ever team to win the triple crown would have to be up there. It was fun to win it all in front of the hometown crowd with my friends and family there to watch.”

For over 30 years, Bob has been the tennis director for the Nike Tennis Camp held at UCSC every summer. He plans on returning to Santa Cruz in the summer to continue to run the program.

With Hansen’s departure has come the appointment of former assistant coach and member of the 2005 national championship team, Bryce Parmelly, as head coach. Rounding out the coaching staff are assistant coaches Matt Seeberger and last year’s No. 1 Slug player and recent graduate Bryan Pybas. Along with Parmelly, Seeberger and Pybas are former members of the national championship UCSC tennis teams.

Over his career at UCSC, Hansen has transformed the tennis program from non-existent to larger than life. Player Sam Rodgers said he is blessed with the opportunity to be a part of it.

“Slug tennis has given me more than I ever dreamed of and continues to do so.”

Although Hansen will no longer be coaching tennis at UCSC, his legacy in slug athletics will remain.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at A Living Legend Says Goodbye

UCSC Men's Rugby Team after the Ben Quaye Memorial Collegiate Tournament, prepping for their first official game on November 5th. Photo by Kyan Mahzouf.

The UC Santa Cruz men’s rugby club played nonstop last Saturday, competing in more games at the Ben Quaye Memorial Collegiate Tournament than any other team that day. Six games in six hours.

Held on the Upper East Field, the tournament marked the launch of the fall 2011 rugby season and tested UCSC’s new rookie team. Tournament play meant half the standard rugby period, making them 20 minute halves. The tournament featured Northern California schools including CSU Monterey Bay, San Francisco State, San Jose State and Sierra University.

The tournament was held in rememberance of former UCSC rugby player Ben Quaye, a senior wingback who was found dead due to severe head trauma along Almar Avenue in February of 2010.

Out of a total of six matches UCSC lost five, with the lone win against Cal Poly. UCSC’s rookie team and veteran team alternated matches throughout the day. Coach Jeremy Sanford felt the slugs had not given enough energy on the field to win; In a post-game huddle Sanford addressed both rookies and veterans with encouragement.

“We’ve got to go tooth and nail at all times,” Sanford said.

Freshman inside center Alec Saucedo dislocated his ankle and was off the field for 20 minutes.

Saucedo’s teammates were visibly shaken by his injury. After the tournament, many of the rugby players had a conversation over whether Saucedo would return from injury to play again. Jonny “Tsunami” Lim, a freshman outside center, spoke highly of Saucedo’s character.

“Alec is a good teammate,” Lim said. “He’s always joking around, but in practice he’s intense.”

Medic on duty Dylan Corry evaluated the injuries that occurred Saturday.

“There were more injuries than expected,” he said. “Thankfully I needed to do fewer preventative measures than expected. San Jose State brought some guys to help me.”

For the rookie team, composed of first-season players, rugby is tough to master. Junior winger Graham Churchill said the complexity of rugby’s strategy was especially difficult to grasp.

“Rugby is like a chess game because the strategy is dynamic,” he said. “If we don’t interlock and find each other, we lose the game.”

Churchill noted communication in rugby is key. He felt he was calling plays he was uncomfortable with calling from his position as a winger. In rugby, the player who plays in the center of the field, the fly half, is the play-calling leader on the field.

“It was a little like chaos out there,” Churchill said. “I shouldn’t be yelling out plays. People need to listen to the fly half so we know what to do.”

Freshman lock Noah Stid felt he needed more conditioning. He described himself as tired, having played three games that day. Churchill said he felt he needed to start tackling better.

“I want to hit tackles running,” Churchill said. “I let them [the opposing team] come to me. It’s a rookie mistake.”

The Ben Quaye Memorial Collegiate Tournament also featured awards, given to the most outstanding off-the-field player and to the best rookie player. Jo Witt of SFSU took home the most outstanding off the field award, which depicts exemplary sportsmanship, while UCSC’s own Noah Stid was recognized as the best rookie of the tournament. Stid was shocked when he won the award.

“I didn’t think I would win,” Stid said. “I was really tired in the third game.”

Despite the day’s injuries and losses, team coach Sanford is optimistic the team’s prospects this season.

“Everything needs to be tightened up,” Sanford said. “With so many new players, we’re just getting started. It’s fun. We have a lot of potential.”

The UC Santa Cruz club rugby team will play CSUMB at home on Saturday at 1 p.m.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Rugby Tests Its Rookies

While the Women’s tennis team has shrunk in size in recent years, they maintain a regimented schedule of conditioning to prepare for their upcoming season. Photos by Kyan Mahzouf.

Eight players. Half the team, gone. The UC Santa Cruz women’s tennis team may be short on players, but they are far from forfeit.

Head coach Erin Ness wants to continue last year’s success, even though the team did not attend the NCAA DIII National Championships. The team finished as No. 21 in the nation, capping off one of their best seasons ever. This year, they are still aiming to make it to the National Championships, despite the challenge of having lost some of their best players.

Sophomore Sophie Lundeberg sees the change in size as a push for everyone to reach their potential.

“With only eight players, each of us feels more responsible for the team’s success, which raises our game,” Lundeberg said.

Coming into this season, the team consists of familiar faces but has lost five players from last year. This year’s team features only one new recruit, freshman Quyen Truong. The pack now stands at only eight players.

Ariana Mokhtari, a UCSC junior, was last year’s No. 1 player and paved her way to the NCAA DIII Individual Championships. She finished No. 28 in the nation for singles and No. 25 in doubles alongside recent graduate Taylor Mannix. The Slugs finished at No. 4 in the West Region and narrowly missed out on competing in their Regional Championships. Mokhtari has left the team this year, however, leaving the top spot open.

The tennis team had a high turnover last year due in part to graduation, when one senior and one junior, both starters, left the team. Five of the players in the starting lineup ended up leaving last year. Junior Nicole Hannouche, on the team since her first year at UCSC, left due to time constraints.

“I’m planning on majoring in biology, which would be a major time commitment,” she said.

The women’s tennis team is currently practicing hard and often to get to the National Championships in Oshkosh, Wis., despite having fewer players. The players are hitting the courts three hours daily. On top of practice, the Slug crew conditions Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, meaning an extra hour of sprints, running hills and core workouts.

Although losing players may initially seem like a negative development, head coach Ness is well aware and excited about the positives.

“It’s a challenge, but all I see are positives looking forward,” Ness said. “The team has gotten much closer as a result and is turning into a championship-caliber team.”

Sophie Lundeberg sees the team’s practice sessions as more productive than ever.

The team practices in pairs to perfect their serves and returns. If a player hits the net, she immediately drops to the floor for push-ups.

“A smaller team means that practices and drills are more focused,” Lundeberg said. “There is less standing around and more playing time.”

Ness also said the reduction is an opportunity for players who sat out most of last year to rise up and take off this year.

“Players who did not have a chance to compete last year now have that opportunity, which will carry over into the rest of their lives,” Ness said. “They get a chance to truly experience the life of a college athlete.”

This holds true for Lundeberg, who was on the tennis team’s second squad last year.

“I’m really excited to get more playing time this year since I did not start last year,” Lundeberg said.

The team started their 2011-2012 campaign in Claremont, Calif. at the USTA/ITA Small College Regional Championships for Division III tennis. The team was able to send all eight of its players on the trip, due to its small roster. With their season getting closer and closer, head coach Erin Ness could not be more optimistic about where they are heading.

“As these ladies continue to step up and learn, I see us competing for one of the top spots in our region.”

Women’s Tennis Season begins Jan. 22, when the team hits the road to face Santa Clara University.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Fewer Athletes, More Heart

Illustration by Matt Boblet.

When it comes to raising money, the UC Santa Cruz swimming and diving team has one special donor who always keeps the team afloat: The UCSC swimming and diving alumni.

On Saturday, the UCSC swimming and diving team reunited with its former athletes at the East Field House Pool in an alumni meet. The alumni came to show support for their former team, both emotionally and financially. Many of these alumni traveled from places far and wide to show their Banana Slug love.

“We got people coming from Washington, D.C. and Seattle,” said Eugene Lee, a swimmer from the class of 2008. “I personally come back twice a year [outside of the alumni swim] to hang out with the team.”

The UCSC swimming and diving team enjoyed the presence of their alumni. As a meet, it was less about competition and more about the enjoyment each swimmer and diver gets from the sport.

“It is so fun to see them come back,” swim team co-captain Emi Yamaguchi said. “It’s cool to hear their stories, and it’s so sweet they’re giving back to us.”

Lee, who is now a public accountant at Grant Thornton in San Jose, said he misses the team atmosphere and the outdoor exercise he got with the team. Lee gave a donation to the team in addition to coming out for the alumni meet.

“I wouldn’t give this money to the school,” Lee said. “I gave this money to the swim team because that’s what’s important to me.”

The money generated by the alumni can be a staggering amount. Swim team coach Kim Munsch is very appreciative of the money he now gets from his alumni.

“We got around $10,000 from our alumni,” Munsch said. “They give what they can.”

UCSC NCAA sports teams traditionally have trouble raising funds. Just transporting all 75 swimmers and divers to a competition is a logistical challenge for Munsch. In addition, Munsch noted how having no Division III schools around UCSC forces Munsch to bring in Division I programs his team has trouble competing with. Munsch mentioned the number of scholarships for some teams as particularly galling. He doesn’t expect his team to compete with the likes of No. 1 ranked Stanford or No. 20, San Jose State.

“They have 13 full rides,” Munsch said. “I’m being pragmatic about our team’s performance.”

Munsch noted that since UCSC swimming and diving is an all walk-on team, it transforms the team’s culture. A walk-on is a student who joins the team without having been actively recruited. He feels the pressure isn’t as much about winning as much as it is beating your best performance.

“Everyone is here working with the team because they want to do this,” Munsch said. “They’re willing to put in 20 hours a week, and those who don’t wish to put in the hours don’t last on this team.”

Munsch understands swimming to be a race against yourself. The swimmer, he said, is not interested in competing against anyone but the clock.

“We’ve had people finish in sixth and be totally stoked about it because of their time,” Munsch said. “By contrast, the person in first may be bummed out because it was just an average time.”

Co-captain Emi Yamaguchi said she currently is not trying to get a faster time. Yamaguchi is interested in the tests she faces this weekend versus San Jose State on Friday at the East Pool, and at the Mills College Invite on Saturday in Oakland. Yamaguchi will compete in the 200-meter butterfly stroke race.

“It’s going to be interesting,” Yamaguchi said. “I just want to see where I am at.”

Yamaguchi noted that the alumni do give the team more than monetary support. For her, the alumni provide a team support other students can’t give.

“I look forward to giving back.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Former Swimmers Give Back

Photo by Prescott Watson.

Sunday saw a rough match for the athletes of UCSC women’s soccer: Up against California Lutheran University, the Slugs held a final score of 0-2.

Currently at No. 11 in the nation, Cal Lutheran brought a hard match, combining both solid defensive backs with aggressive midfielders. The first goal was swept in within the first five minutes of the whistle, the second in the last two minutes of the first period.

However, Slug assistant coach Emily Scheese was confident her team would continue bringing the heat.

“I think it’s unfortunate,” she said after the first half. “So we’re frustrated. But despite the scores, the girls have shown they can compete at this level.”

And compete they did, with six saves by goalkeeper Monica Chazen, and 11 attempted shots by players Maritza Hernandez, Gloria Hernandez, Michele Stathatos, Kiku Koyano and Sofia Pasarow.

Immediately after the first goal of the first period, UCSC was prompted to kick up the game a few notches. After quick midfield passes up the pitch to Cal Lutheran territory, the Slugs were immediately batted back by opposing midfielders and forwards. The game was kept fairly equal throughout: They were well matched, passing the ball back and forth across the center line for, seemingly, most of the game. Appearing at the beginning and end of the first period, Cal Lutheran’s goals seemed to just barely slip through the Slug defense.

Team captain Adriana Moosekian said post-game that it was really the second period where UCSC showed its mettle.

“We became more of an offensive threat,” she said. “Our key was playing our outside midfielders — we found our wings there.”

UCSC women’s soccer is a young team: with seven freshmen, seven sophomores and only two seniors, head coach Josh Schelhorse noted the team’s lack of experience as a major constraining factor.

“We’re a young team,” he said. “Defensively we’ve got to be touch tight, but in the end we’re just young. And there’s a lot of things you just get from experience.”

UCSC women’s soccer has tough teams ahead. Home games against Concordia-Moorehead and Chapman University will fill the team’s heads until a match at William Jessup in Placerville on Oct. 28. Then, a final home game against Mills College will occur on Nov. 5.

Schelhorse said they are very close to making it in the playoffs, and with only one win needed to get there, one can tell the team is incredibly determined.

“They’re working harder and getting better. We just have to find a way to get that one inch,” he said. “We’ve got a great base — our players are fit, they’re technical — it’s just that last inch we need to push for.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Two Kicks Too Short

Members of the UCSC Men’s cross country team practice wind sprints on the East Field at the end of practice on Oct. 17, 2011. Photo by Toby Silverman.

2011 is bound to be a year to remember, as it marks the inaugural first season of men’s cross country at UC Santa Cruz. Led by head coach Aaron Jacobsen, the new kids on the block could establish a legacy at a university where school sports have not always been the focal point.

Due to a lack of funding, UCSC men’s water polo was cut in 2009, putting UCSC athletics beneath NCAA’s minimum NCAA requirement that all Division III schools have at least 10 sports teams. After a 2010 waiver allowing UCSC sports to continue, UCSC athletic director Linda Spradley made the decision to add men’s cross country.

“Men’s cross country was by far the most sensible option for our school,” Spradley said. “It helps us financially by saving us the trouble of hiring a new coach, building a new sports facility, and having a team too large in size. Not just that, but with cross country our athletes have a chance to compete for a national championship, something that other sports cannot boast about.”

Despite the team’s inexperience, Jacobsen is optimistic about the first season.

“While this is our first year as a team, these boys have a strong background, whether it’s from competing at the high school or club level,” Jacobsen said. “Any time you step up to college competition, there’s a definite learning process, though. We’re making adjustments and are going to keep getting better.”

Sophomore Eddie Strnad said Jacobsen has been a great coach so far, preparing them in the best ways possible.

“Aaron has been a smart coach,” Strnad said. “He runs us hard and pushes our limits, but also keeps us from burning out. There’s a good balance.”

Incoming players have noticed the change from high school to college, especially the jump in competition distance, from three miles to five.

“It might not seem like that much further on paper, but those extra two miles really make a difference,” sophomore Matt Thiede said.

The men’s cross country team began their season in style. At a recent invitational in Salem, Ore., the Slugs outperformed Lewis & Clark College, which currently sits as No. 9 in the West Region.

Jacobsen said this was a major milestone for the UCSC men’s cross country team. Having finally had the chance to compete against their rivals, they were able to gain the confidence they needed to build a great first season.

“The guys are figuring it out and getting more and more comfortable with the competition,” Jacobsen said.

Strnad said the rookie squad has soaked up the experience and has had a blast along the way.

“My favorite part of this year has been traveling with the guys, hitting the road in the big van and staying in hotels,” Strnad said. “The trips are what bring us together as a team.”

So far, UCSC men’s cross country has had a meteoric rise, shooting up to No. 8 out of 26 teams in the West Region. The Slugs remain hungry, though — practicing hard, putting in countless miles — and are slowly edging towards their hopeful destination: a National Championship. They will be nearing the climax of their season at the NCAA DIII West Regional in Claremont, Calif., on Nov. 12 and the NCAA DIII Championships in Oshkosh, Wis. on Nov. 19. To prepare themselves for these competitions, the team is out running on the track every morning of the week, except Fridays.

Should the Slugs finish as one of the top three teams at Regionals on Nov. 12, they will compete for the grand prize at the NCAA DIII Championships on Nov. 19.

Sophomore team member Thiede is excited about the rest of the season for men’s cross country.

“If everyone stays fresh and ready and competes as they should when the time comes, we have a great shot.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Men’s Cross Country Hits the Ground Running

Slug FC struggled against UC Berkeley on Sunday, losing 3-0. The former national champions are looking to find their form after a loss the team captain called “disheartening.” Photo by Sal Ingram.

“We’re not even in shape to go to nationals now, much less beat the best team in our division!” Juan Urquieta shouted to his players in a post-game huddle after Slug FC’s 3-0 loss to UC Berkeley A 3 on Sunday.

When contacted later for comment, the UC Santa Cruz club soccer captain described the loss as “disheartening.”

“The key to win is just connecting,” Urquieta said. “We just didn’t do that.”

Club soccer at UCSC is a level below the official NCAA team. While students still represent their university on the playing field, they do not make as much of a time commitment in practice.

Slug FC prides itself on its victories. They are California State Champions, a title they’ve held since spring and that they are trying to hold onto. Urquieta said their many victories last year led to a complacent performance on the field.

“You think just because you’re champions, you can come to games unprepared,” Urquieta said in the post-game huddle. “I hope this shocked you as much as it did me.”

The game was not close from the start. Within the first 15 minutes, Berkeley A scored a goal, and another just before halftime. UC Berkeley A sophomore striker Emeka Ofodire scored two goals, including one in the second half to put away Slug FC.

“We just played our game,” Ofodire said. “Getting the goals was part of the plan of keeping up the pressure.”

Slug FC kept up defensive pressure the entire game. UC Berkeley A missed numerous chances to score in both halves, while Slug FC controlled play in their goalie box whenever Berkeley A sped past Slug FC’s midfielders.

Urquieta attributed the loss to inadequate conditioning for Slug FC. Berkeley A had the advantage in speed and stamina, holding the ball for most of the second half. Urquieta saw Berkeley A’s speed advantage as frustrating. In the post-game huddle, Urquieta addressed his team’s conditioning in a candid manner.

“We need to step it up,” Urquieta said to his teammates. “You need to be running at least three miles every day.”

Slug FC had trouble scoring throughout the game. While the midfielders and forwards created many opportunities in the first half, they couldn not find the net. Attacking wingers were left isolated, with help too far apart to keep up pressure on offense. Slug FC midfielders passed long to keep attacks moving forward.

Urquieta said the team’s formation does not work with making long passing.

“We forced too many balls over the top of defenders,” Urquieta said. “If our midfield core can’t find each other, the team falls apart.”

Despite the loss, senior defensive winger Danny Maloney has high expectations for Slug FC.

“Our season doesn’t really start until spring,” Maloney said. “It’s weird not being at our full potential yet.”

UC Berkeley A leads the West Coast Soccer Association Pacific Division, one of four divisions in the club soccer league, with nine points this season. They have scored seven goals overall, while letting in only two in their three games this season. No team in the division is within six points of their lead.

Slug FC let in five goals in their two games last week, including two to UC Merced in preseason play on Oct. 2. Slug FC is tied for fourth with no points in division play.

Maloney said a lack of leadership contributes to Slug FC’s problems.

“We have a lot of young guys playing this year,” Maloney said. “While we only lost three guys [to graduation], we have a need to regain our chemistry.”

While the loss is considered to be key in Slug FC’s quest to regain its playoff spot in the West Coast Soccer Association state playoffs, Urquieta feels the team can play much better, hoping for redemption in next week’s game at the University of San Francisco.

“This week is going to be no-balls fitness,” Urquieta said. “We really need to be faster next week.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Slug FC Frustrated by Berkeley

Co-Captain Katherine Grow leaps to spike the ball across the court toward players from Holy Names University. Photo by Toby Silverman

By the fifth set, everyone in the West Field House was standing, tightly crossing their fingers and holding their breath as UC Santa Cruz women’s volleyball co-captain Katherine Grow served the ball. The fact that the Banana Slugs were down and nearly out in the final set didn’t even register with Grow.

“I didn’t think we were going to lose,” said Grow, a junior and a College Eight history major. “I have always had faith in my team.”

UCSC’s women’s volleyball win over Holy Names University on Friday night was climactic. With both sides splitting the first four sets, a UCSC victory was hardly assured.

The game featured numerous heated rallies exchanged by both sides. In the fourth set, UCSC took a seven-point lead, which Holy Names nearly overcame twice, only to be shut out by the rallying Slugs.

By the fifth and final set, Holy Names had an 8-4 lead before UCSC fired back six unanswered points thanks to some nasty spikes from junior middle blocker Ginger Berryman and outside hitter Grow. Finally, the Slugs had the momentum they needed to put away Holy Names. Game over. Holy Names had no answer for the Slugs’ onslaught.

“When you lose rallies, it’s important to keep your head up,” Grow said.

Before the comeback rally, UCSC huddled up to find their resolve. College Eight sophomore setter Jessica Peng, starting for the first time this season and the smallest starter on the team, had big words for her teammates.

“I said ‘infiltrate, destruct and destroy,’ in the huddle,” Peng said. “It completely worked.”

The set scores of 17-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-22 and 15-13 show it was anyone’s game right until the end.

Holy Names furiously returned UCSC’s spikes throughout the fifth set, yet UCSC blocked their shots and continued putting points on Holy Names. UCSC’s blocking at the net was no surprise to Berryman.

“Blocking is one of our greatest strengths,” said Berryman, a College Eight student. “We had nine blocks, which is a big number.”

UCSC’s win over Holy Names was a “revenge game,” according to the team’s Facebook page. In an away game earlier in the year, the Banana Slugs suffered a heartbreaking loss in five sets to Holy Names in Oakland. It was their first loss to Holy Names University in four years.

“Every time we play Holy Names University, I expect to have a battle,” said UCSC women’s volleyball coach Todd Hollenbeck. “Holy Names is playing better than I’ve ever seen them play before.”

Hollenbeck placed Peng as setter for the first time this season. Peng delivered, recording 59 set assists out of 60, finding Berryman, Grow and freshman outside hitter Kim Rabii for some thunderous kills. Her total was the most in the game, and the most of any Slug this season. Peng was unaware of the statistic.

“It’s all about playing for your team,” Peng said. “Not just for yourself.”

Berryman was happy to get revenge.

“I absolutely thought we got revenge,” Berryman said. “Once we started our passing game, we just crushed them.”

Despite the Banana Slugs beginning this season with a 1-4 win-loss record, Hollenbeck has big plans for his upstart program. He wants to take the team to the NCAA tournament, where he thinks their style of play can upset a few of the tournament’s big names.

“Our game is more about defense than offense,” Hollenbeck said. “We’re fast and scrappy and we can handle multiple swings easily.”

Hollenbeck noted that the women’s volleyball team’s record has improved dramatically in the last few weeks. Indeed, since then the Banana Slugs have been on a 4-1 tear. Their record is a solid but not too showy 6-5.

“If you look at all those losses [during the 1-4 stretch], we lost to some of the top-rated Division III programs in the country,” Hollenbeck said. “We stood toe-to-toe with the No. 11 program [Cal Lutheran] in the nation and barely lost.”

The Banana Slugs face a slew of tough challenges with a game at Dominican University on Sunday, before entering the La Verne and Colorado Classic tournaments in the coming weeks. Hollenbeck said he expects big things from his Slugs when they return home to play Mills College on Oct. 18.

“I fully expect us to be 9-5 after the [La Verne] tournament.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Slugs Shine in Home Win

Photo by Toby Silverman

Blue and yellow face-painted students in the East Remote Lot, boomboxes blaring as the soccer team takes the field, and loud chants asserting Banana Slug love for UCSC athletes. For many years, many students would agree this has not been the scene at UC Santa Cruz sporting events.

Cowell College fourth-year Rahul Kalra hopes to change this. Kalra believes sports games should create a sense of pride for the campus — Slug Pride.

“I’m just trying to get people together,” Kalra said. “UCSC could use some school spirit at our sports games.”

Kalra, a former high school athlete studying accounting and business management at UCSC, has found sports teams at UCSC lack the fans found at other universities. His proposal to garner support from students? A group of impassioned fans called Slug Pride, who will come out to sports games to raise the support level for UCSC athletes. They will make their first showing at the women’s volleyball game vs. Holy Names this Friday at 7 p.m.

“Slug Pride is like another extracurricular for Friday nights,” Kalra said. “I plan on it being a group of fans.”

For Danielle Lavy, Kresge third-year psychology major, the campus sports teams have been hard to find.

“We have sports teams?” Lavy asked, when questioned about her knowledge of the university’s sports teams. “I never see their games posted at the bus stop. I don’t even know when or where they play.”

Kalra agrees the sports community at UCSC could use a little more publicity.

“I was amazed when I found out we have an official women’s golf team,” Kalra said. “A few weeks ago I didn’t even know they existed!”

While intramural sports remain popular, UCSC’s official sports teams lack the same attention.

“People at UCSC are more interested in intramural sports than regular sports,” said David Silver, a College Ten third-year and legal studies major. “I mean, people are just interested in playing sports here. There’s not much interest in watching them, and there’s certainly not much interest in sports teams at UCSC.”

Kalra wants Slug Pride to support all teams, big and small. He wants Slug Life to do fundraisers, listing Woodstock’s Pint Night as a possible target.

“I want Slug Pride to help fundraise for UCSC sports [since] our SUA can’t help as much,” Kalra said.

Kalra sees sports as a way for UCSC students to come together. He envisions Slug Pride selling T-shirts and having a website and iPhone app to keep students involved with Slug Pride events, which might include cheering sessions during games and tailgating before and after them.

“I know we’re not D-I or even a D-II campus,” Kalra said. “But we can still come out and support our Slugs.”

Kalra has not always been a big sports fan. After immigrating from India when he was 12 years old, Kalra saw running for the high school track team as a way to fit in. While you’d never know it, Kalra, now an extrovert, had trouble being accepted when he was younger. Today his English is hardly accented, sounding more Southern Californian than Southern Indian.

“You know, a lot of my friends in high school joined gangs,” Kalra said. “Sports were always a way for me to stay away from that sort of thing. Basketball was my partying. It was my Xbox. I would spend a lot of my time trying to play.”

But Kalra’s love for sports eventually became a problem when he tore his ACL playing basketball in his second year at UCSC. To avoid injuring himself further, Kalra steered clear of sports. He had to end his dream of playing for the UCSC basketball team.

“I always felt I needed to be able to dunk before I could try out for the basketball team at UCSC,” Kalra said. “Right now, I’m lucky to be walking without crutches.”

Kalra said UCSC students are already enthusiastic about Slug Life. He is unsure of how much face paint to buy for students, because he is unsure how large the turnout will be.

“On the first day, I got like 10 ‘attending’s on our Facebook event,” said Kalra. “On the second day I got about 300.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Building a Better Sports Culture

Senior cross country runner Malia Nanbara’s asthma poses a constant challenge in her athletic endeavors. She compares having an asthma attack to “breathing through a straw.” Photo by Sal Ingram.

It feels like you are slowly suffocating.

If you want to know what an asthma attack feels like, Malia Nanbara continues, try breathing through a straw. Air comes in, but it doesn’t seem to fill your lungs.

“It’s the typical feeling you’ll have at the end of a race when you’re exhausted, but on top of that you’re having trouble breathing,” said senior cross-country runner Nanbara. “It’s a tightness in the chest and you can take in air, but it doesn’t come out.”

No one with asthma wants to experience an attack. But for UC Santa Cruz athletes like Nanbara who have asthma, frequent training and physical exertion virtually guarantee at least a few asthma attacks during competitive season.

A 2011 study by the American Lung Association said Santa Cruz County has grade “A” air, in contrast to Santa Clara, which received an “F” for its high ozone and particle pollution. But UCSC athletes with asthma still have to contend with pollen from Santa Cruz plants and trees — like redwoods — that trigger allergy-induced asthma attacks.

Nanbara did not anticipate this problem when she moved from Long Beach to Santa Cruz, where she expected to breathe easier in the cleaner air.

“I went and had an allergy test and found out I’m pretty much allergic to every pollen and imaginable plant that’s up here,” Nanbara said. “And I think that’s why I probably had some difficulty while I was up here that I didn’t really experience too much when I was down south, despite the poor air quality.”

Clayton Sorensen, a senior “winger” for the UCSC men’s soccer team, said when he moved from San Rafael to Santa Cruz, he suffered sudden attacks in the spring because of the proximity of the soccer field to pollinating grass.

“We’re mostly indoors in the winter, and then we head outdoors all of a sudden,” Sorensen said. “Being around a bunch of grass and breathing it in, it’s pretty tough.”

For athletes like Sorensen and Nanbara, practical and personal techniques have helped them to overcome asthma.

Sorensen — who has been playing soccer since he was six, and next year plans to play club soccer in Holland — said after he was diagnosed with asthma in the seventh grade, he began to treat asthma less as a disease and more as a personal shortcoming to be conquered through discipline.

“At some points in my life I viewed it as a weakness, so I tried to overcome it,” Sorensen said. “Sometimes I have to view it like I can’t really control it, but I’m the type of person where if I can’t do something to my full potential, it just means I’m not working hard enough.”

Because they are motivated to perform at the same level as their other teammates, UCSC athletes with asthma need to be especially aware of the limits of their triggers and know what to do in the event of an attack.

“The main reason so many people [who] first experience an asthma attack have a really strong reaction to it is that it scares them because they can’t breathe,” Nanbara said. “Over the years I’ve learned to feel when it’s coming on and then I either stop running or try to slow down, breathe in through the nose out through the mouth, hands on the head.”

Jeffrey Arnett, a coach for both the UCSC cross-country and track and field teams, said in his experience, most UCSC athletes with asthma require little assistance in managing their attacks.

“I think by the time they reach college, [their asthma] has been diagnosed earlier on and the athlete has figured out what to do and when to do it,” Arnett said.

Arnett said asthma is tricky because its severity varies from individual to individual and depends on the environment. This can be especially difficult for young athletes who want to push their potential, but sometimes do so at the expense of their personal health.

“For an asthmatic, [an attack] isn’t always a situation you can predict,” Arnett said. “You don’t know what might set it off, and if they do know their limits, you hope they’ll stay beneath it.”

For individuals like Nanbara and Sorensen who have been afflicted with asthma most of their lives, handling the disease is an unpleasant but manageable part of their day-to-day life. Both Nanbara and Sorensen rely on their inhalers, but if an attack catches them without one, they can rely on breathing exercises to open up their airways.

“Stop, breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth,” Nanbara said. “Most of it is about not getting freaked out by the fact that you can’t breathe, but slowing down your breathing. And usually a lot of people will want to bend over, but it’s better to put your hands on your head, open up your airways and stand straight.”

These may sound simple, but sometimes the best techniques are. For Nanbara and Sorensen, knowing how to breathe correctly is often all it takes to overcome an asthma attack.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Struggling for Breath: Asthmatic Athletes

Friday, “B” Basketball League, Div III

May 27: Team Bageera (2-3) vs. Triple-E (3-2) (East Gym Ct1) at 4:00 p.m.

May 27: Which Way Did They Go? (2-3) vs. 3-Peat (5-0) (East Gym Ct1) at 5:00 p.m.

May 27: asdf (3-2) vs. Monstars (2-3) (East Gym Ct1) at 6:00 p.m.

Friday, “B” Basketball League, Div IV

May 27: Pound Town (5-0) vs. The Abusement Park (3-2) (East Gym Ct2) at 4:00 p.m.

May 27: The Air Ballers (1-4) vs. Heavy Hitters (3-2) (East Gym Ct2) at 5:00 p.m.

May 27: Stop it! (3-2) vs. Sausage Monster (1-4) (East Gym Ct2) at 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, “COED” Softball League, Div V

May 26: Manitees (1-3) vs. The Miller Lowlifes (3-1-1) (East Field F1) at 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, “COED” Softball League, Div VI

May 26: The Flying J’s (1-4) vs. Wounded Soldiers (2-3) (East Field F1) at 6:30 p.m.

May 26: The Bombers (2-3) vs. The Backyard Bangers (5-0) (East Field F2) at 6:30 p.m.

May 26: Where my pitches at? (4-1) vs. The D Squad (0-5) (East Field F3) at 6:30 p.m.

Friday, “COED” Softball League, Div VII

May 27: Big Bangers (2-3) vs. “Winning” (3-2) (East Field F1) at 4:00 p.m.

May 27: Thunder Cats (2-3) vs. Team Sausage Monster (3-2) (East Field F2) at 4:00 p.m.

May 27: Smang it! (1-4) vs. The Sea Cow Annihilators (1-4) (East Field F3) at 4:00 p.m.

Friday, “COED” Softball League, Div VIII

May 27: SASS (2-3) vs. Wrecked’em (3-2) (East Field F1) at 5:30 p.m.

May 27: California Highway Patrol (0-5) vs. JUICED UP (4-1) (East Field F2) at 5:30 p.m.

May 27: Cup Check (5-0) vs. Thunder Threats (2-3) (East Field F3) at 5:30 p.m.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at This Week in Sports

Jeremy Parker and Robin Pisor participate in Relay for Life at the East Field. People participated in this event to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Photo by Sal Ingram.

Organizations set up booths where they sold a variety of goods and services. All the money collected was donated to the American Cancer Society. Photo by Sal Ingram.

“Cancer never sleeps.”

This was the motto of the 2011 Relay for Life, a 24-hour cancer awareness event and fundraiser. The relay, which began at 10 a.m. Saturday morning, was the third time that a Relay for Life has been hosted at UC Santa Cruz.

Ever since the first Relay for Life in 1985, millions of people — cancer survivors, families and friends of the victimized, and others still — across the nation have been inspired to do the same, raising hundreds of millions of dollars each year for the American Cancer Society.

On Saturday, hundreds of people gathered to help the cause by either raising funds, running, walking or by motivating others who looped around the OPERS East Field track. Opening alongside the NCAA men’s tennis regional tournament and against clouds that threatened to turn for the worse — and later would — turnout for the relay was pleasantly higher than expected by some.

Rohan Prabhakar, a third-year student volunteer with the Santa Cruz chapter of the student organization Colleges Against Cancer, said he was pleased with the amount of people who had decided to join the cause.

“Things turned out really well, considering the weather,” Prabhakar said. “We had well over 300–450 registered participants before the start, and with the number of people that have passed through so far, I’d say we’re up at around 600 people.”

Many had personal reasons to be there. Mimi Stroud, a second-year with the Student Volunteer Center relay team, was motivated to participate after the death of her father when she was 12.

“I’ve always wanted to become involved,” Stroud said. “There is a history of cancer in my family, and, well, when my father died it had a tremendous impact on my life. I’m glad I’m out here today — I think it’s worth it.”

While the sun was overhead, participants and passersby gathered freely about the relay’s organization bazaar. There, the sweet scent of freshly baked cupcakes was met with the harsher hint of rubbing alcohol. Relay teams sold everything from henna tattoos to handcrafted bracelets. While sifting through the goods and services from one display table to the next, shoppers also enjoyed live performances from groups including Grupo Folklorico and the Indian Student Organization.

Flitting about from tents to organizers and back was fourth-year Colleges Against Cancer president Teji Kapadia, checking to make sure the relay went swimmingly.

“Last year we felt like teams weren’t interacting enough,” Kapadia said. “We put in a lot of time making sure to promote unity and interaction this year.”

Having already put in 14–18 hour days preparing the event the previous week, Kapadia said she was determined for this year’s Relay for Life to be nothing short of a success.

“Teji has been relentless in working on this event,” volunteer Prabhakar said. “We were worried when so many of the original founding members of [the UCSC chapter of Colleges Against Cancer] graduated, but she’s put countless hours into making this happen.”

And it shows.

In 2009, UCSC’s first Relay for Life raised roughly $10,000. Last year, about $26,000. While the total amount for this year won’t be announced until Friday, Teji projected this year’s relay at over $21,000.

The symbolic gesture made by the relayers to carry on for the entire 24 hours held true throughout the night. Even at 4 a.m., as the storm rains and cold winds punished the relayers — some without poncho or coat to speak of — they could still be found making their rounds about the track.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at A World with More Birthdays

City on a Hill Press asked UC Santa Cruz athletes from a wide variety of sport backgrounds about their eating habits, both in and out of season. The athletes offered advice and encouragement to aspiring athletes who want to improve their performance and to students who are seeking a healthier lifestyle.

~~~~~~

Photo by Morgan Grana.

Sandor Callahan
Track and Field

Sandor Callahan, a senior and track and field star, has a passion for fitness. To perform at his peak, Callahan exercises his diet control as seriously as his workouts.

Callahan said he carefully monitors his diet to make sure it conforms to his workout schedule. After a workout, Callahan immediately eats a small but nutrient-rich snack to replenish his body.

“[I’ll have] maybe a peanut butter and apple sandwich with all-natural organic peanut butter and banana on whole wheat bread,” Callahan said. “Or the Clif Bar — the all-natural, 70 percent organic Clif Bar — because that’s got the right amount of calories you need and the right amount of protein. You want 190 to 300 calories and 10 grams of protein within the hour.”

To ease into a more nutritious diet, Callahan advised new athletes to try replacing junk food with healthier options in gradual steps.

“It’s often hard to go cold turkey — start with substitution,” Callahan said. “Maybe start with what you normally have for dinner, but instead of white rice, have brown rice. Have healthy snacks throughout the day instead of chips. Make your own granola, your own trail mix.”

A vigorous, healthy diet must be matched by an equally hearty workout, Callahan said, and athletes should exercise frequently and eat many small meals throughout the day to maintain an active metabolism.

“When you start to cut out all your food, you take away from your muscles because it slows down your metabolism and you get sluggish,” Callahan said. “You need smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. Especially after weightlifting, it’s really important to eat within the hour.”

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Photo courtesy of Jessica Meyer.

Jessica Meyer
Cross Country

For sophomore Jessica Meyer, running is all about balance: not just in the sport, but in her diet, too.

The most important part of her diet, she said, is the fact that she strives to eat diverse meals that satisfy all of her body’s needs.

“My diet is about balance,” Meyer said. “It’s about getting in the nutrients that the body needs.”

Specifically, she cites protein and vegetables as necessities in every meal, while gluten and dairy products should be avoided. In the days before meets, she defaults to gluten-free pasta with fresh veggies and chicken. It’s a meal that covers all her bases, allowing her to get lean protein, greens and carbohydrates all at once.

On the morning of a meet, she chooses to go with simpler foods. Less heavy foods like fruit don’t weigh her down, instead giving her body the energy it needs to go out and run.

While the cross country team is only in season for less than half of the year, Meyer made the point that runners really cannot take a break. Since off-season training doesn’t differ too much from the type of workout runners use while in-season, the diet of a runner doesn’t get much of a break, either.

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Photo courtesy of Jessica Meyer.

Chelsea Henry
Women’s Swim Team

As a junior and a captain on the women’s swim team, Chelsea Henry said experience has taught her to maintain a rigorous eating regimen in the off-season to keep her body prepared for the next season’s challenges.

“I cut back — I definitely don’t eat as much in the off-season, and I shouldn’t, because I’m not burning as many calories a day,” Henry said. “I work on portion control — I’ll eat a tiny little bit of something, then think, ‘I shouldn’t eat the rest of it, because I’m not about to swim ten thousand yards.’”

Henry said that during the season, swim team members have to adopt an unusual eating pattern to accommodate their practice schedule.

“Because of practice time, I eat at a different hours than most people would,” Henry said. “Our afternoon practice is 2 to 4 [p.m.], so during season I always have to eat an early dinner. Then I’m good for the rest of the evening, so I can’t really eat late at night.”

Henry said sticking to a healthy diet can be a challenge, even for an experienced athlete. When self-control fails for her, she uses physical exercise to make up for it.

“That’s why I exercise — I have a huge sweet tooth,” Henry said. “That’s why I force myself to work out almost every day, even in the off-season, because I’m really weak when it comes to having self-control with some food.”

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Photo by Molly Solomon.

Austin Brown
Rugby

If you want to eat anything you want and not have to worry too much about the consequences, sophomore Austin Brown has a solution for you: join the rugby team.

“The rugby diet is not a very strict one,” Brown said. “Probably no food is off-limits during the season.”

That sort of freedom doesn’t come without a cost, though. Brown says the heavy consumption of food is only possible because the rugby workouts are so demanding.

In particular, rugby players tend to load up on protein, as building muscle is essential to their sport. In addition to meat-heavy meals, Brown said, protein shakes are certainly a viable option for someone who is looking to get into rugby shape.

“I personally don’t [use protein shakes],” Brown said. “But there are a lot of guys that do because it’s cheaper than normal food. A protein shake is cheaper than a steak.”

However, Brown said, a bulky diet alone will not make a rugby player.

“Rugby isn’t a sport just about being strong and fit,” he said. “It comes to a lot of different athletic [body] types, so practice CrossFit stuff as well.”

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Photo by Prescott Watson.

Erica Wheeler-Dubin
Soccer

Soccer players need energy. With a solid 90 minutes of cardio on game days, it is imperative players structure their diets in a way that provides them with the fuel to keep going for the duration of the game. That’s why senior Erica Wheeler-Dubin makes sure she stays hydrated and stores up carbohydrates in the days before games.

“Usually before games we try to have pasta nights as a team,” Wheeler-Dubin said. “We meet together at a player’s house and have pasta, some salad, and a dessert like cookies.”

And when it comes to the morning of the game, Wheeler-Dubin chooses to pack light. She stays away from heavier foods, insisting it is easier for her to go on a relatively empty stomach with only lighter foods that pack high energy, like fruits.

“I don’t like a heavy meal in any way,” Wheeler-Dubin said. “Maybe an egg or two, or oranges, but really nothing heavy.”

But aside from game days, Wheeler-Dubin said, almost anything goes.

“During the season I kind of allow myself to eat whatever I want because of how hard I’m working,” Wheeler-Dubin said. “I know that if it’s not that great for me, I’m going to work it off.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at What the Athletes Eat

Photo by Sal Ingram.

While the U.S. News and World Report recently ranked UC Santa Cruz as the 72nd best university in the country, there is another publication that holds UCSC in much higher esteem — albeit for completely different reasons.

This past month, Surfer Magazine ranked UCSC as one of the top 10 surf colleges in the nation. The ranking was not numerical, with colleges instead getting a more specific assessment from the magazine, which looked at factors like distance to the nearest beach and consistency of waves. UCSC was crowned the best college for those who “Want to Surf at least 300 Days a Year” and called the “capital of consistency” in the article, which also praised the city of Santa Cruz for its high density of surf spots in a small area.

It’s a title that Stevenson College first-year and Monterey Bay native Cory Steinmetz agrees with. An avid surfer for about five years, Steinmetz made his decision to attend UCSC partially because of the surf scene here. As far as the assessment goes, Steinmetz whole-heartedly agrees.

“Santa Cruz is so consistent,” Steinmetz said. “There are always waves here.”

Doug Haut, owner of Haut Surfboards, also found Surfer Magazine’s rankings to be accurate. He said that the surfing conditions and the town itself are what make UCSC a top school to attend for someone interested in surfing.

“[Santa Cruz] has all the diversified surf spots,” Haut said. “We have right handers, left handers, point breaks, beach breaks. Up and down the coast we have more surf spots in 50 miles than any other place. It’s a great surf town because there are so many people involved in surfing here.”

The university itself has found a way to capitalize on its surf school reputation by offering a variety of surfing classes through the recreation department. The program offers a beginner’s one-day clinic on surfing, as well as a weekly class that last the entirety of the quarter.

David Schulkin, a UCSC alumnus and current surf instructor at the university, said that the Santa Cruz surf scene and culture was a major reason why he came to and stayed in Santa Cruz.

“I came to UCSC because the waves are so good,” Schulkin said. “And then I realized that I could get paid to teach this.”

Schulkin, who has been a surf instructor for 14 years with 11 of them being at UCSC, also said that it is the consistency of the surf in Santa Cruz that makes it stand out.

“[Santa Cruz] has a lot of different breaks,” Schulkin said. “It’s a ton of world-class waves in a small radius.”

That consistency and breadth of spots that Schulkin speaks of is what got UCSC on the list, but some say it should have helped them get an even higher ranking. While the list wasn’t ranked numerically, Surfer gave an “Overall Winner” award to UC Santa Barbara.

While he acknowledged that UCSB has some nice spots, Steinmetz still felt that Santa Cruz was more deserving of the top praise.

“Santa Barbara is flat half the year,” Steinmetz said. “And the beaches aren’t as beautiful.”

When asked if he felt similarly, Schulkin said that he “doesn’t really care” about the ranking, but also said that Santa Barbara doesn’t offer the same constant opportunity that a surfer gets in Santa Cruz.

“Santa Barbara has some really wonderful spots,” Schulkin said. “But it also has the Channel Islands that block a lot of activity.”

While much of the praise in the Surfer Magazine article and from people like Steinmetz and Schulkin has been for the city of Santa Cruz more than the university itself, the proximity to the storied surf city is perhaps the biggest reason for UCSC’s high ranking. With the campus a considerable distance from the waves, Steinmetz said that just being located in one of the most famous surf towns in the country is what makes UCSC a great surf college.

“It’s just the fact that [UCSC] is in Santa Cruz,” Steinmetz said. “[Santa Cruz] just has world-class waves and so many great spots.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Surfer Magazine Gives UCSC High Marks

Sophomore parker larsen practices at the West Field House tennis courts on April 27. Larsen, part of the team’s top doubles duo, will be playing this weekend when UCSC hosts one of the regional rounds of the NCAA tournament. Photo by Prescott Watson.

This weekend the UC Santa Cruz men’s tennis team will begin its quest for the eighth Division III national title since 1989, and this year, the road to the top begins right at home. On Monday, UCSC was officially named one of the eight host sites of the regional round of the Division III men’s tennis tournament.

UCSC was named host of the regional round after finishing at the top of its region this year. In an unusual twist, the Banana Slugs won their region but finished behind Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) in the national rankings due to a loss to Washington University at St. Louis. The result is that UCSC will be one of the eight regional hosts, but CMS will host the final three rounds as the last eight teams battle for the top spot.

With the tournament approaching quickly, both the players and their coach, Bob Hansen, are thankful for the home-court advantage they will enjoy this weekend. While Division III tennis doesn’t benefit from the raucous home crowds or stadiums that Division I football and basketball programs enjoy, sophomore Parker Larsen said the familiarity of playing on their own courts in front of their own fans is what the players will really benefit from.

“Being at home just creates a sense of comfort for the players,” Larsen said. “We practice there every day all year. It gives you an advantage and gets your opponents out of their comfort zone.”

Coach Hansen echoed this statement, emphasizing the importance of knowing the actual court on which the matches will take place.

“We’re definitely perfectly comfortable on [our] courts,” Hansen said. “We know the speed of the courts and how they bounce. All of that stuff adds to your energy and focus.”

The team is grateful for these advantages because they know that the competition this weekend will be difficult. Hansen said that the western region is “by far the hardest” out of the eight spread across the country. Three of the four teams playing at Santa Cruz this weekend are ranked in the top 10 in the nation, with the CMS Stags ranked third, UCSC ranked fourth and the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens ranked eighth.

While the team prepares itself for the competition this weekend, the staff at OPERS and the athletic department are doing some preparation of their own. UCSC does not regularly host sporting events of this size, with the last time being the regional round of the NCAA men’s tennis tournament of 2008. The staff will be working to accommodate the increased number of visitors and participants in this weekend’s festivities.

This week has seen a flurry of meetings and conference calls between UCSC, the NCAA and delegations from the other three schools. Athletic director Linda Spradley said a serious amount of work went in before the tournament to set up the games and ensure that they run smoothly.

“People think it’s real easy, just sign a sheet of paper,” Spradley said. “It isn’t. It takes a lot of work — you put in a lot of hours. Once it gets going you can finally sit back and relax, but until then it’s a lot of work.”

With the tournament just two days away, the focus is shifting from the preparation to the performance of the Slugs this weekend. If the Slugs want to make a run at an eighth national title, they will have to win both home matches this weekend.

UCSC will open by playing Pomona-Pitzer, who are ranked eighth in the nation. If UCSC beats them, the team will advance to play the winner of the match between CMS and the University of Texas at Tyler. With CMS expected to beat Texas-Tyler, the Slugs are anticipating facing the Stags in the regional final.

UCSC has some history with CMS, having beaten them earlier this season to secure the top spot in the region. However, the players know that the early victory has only put a target on their backs for this weekend.

“[We have to] come in 100 percent and take out a team that is gunning for us,” Larsen said. “They’re going to be really fired up, wanting to take it to us, and we have to be ready to give it back.”

With a tough road ahead, the team remains confident that they are up to the task.

“Our kids are really committed,” Hansen said. “They’ve improved a lot this season, and they feel pretty good about where they are right now. I feel good about how deep their training has been, their commitment and how they’ve grown. I know they’ll come to play.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at UCSC Gets Home Court Advantage

Members of the UCSC juggling team hosted a weekend juggling festival. The West Field House was open to everyone, from experienced juggling enthusiasts to people learning for the first time. Photos by Molly Solomon.

Anyone would be envious of Chris Garcia’s hands. With them he can make a diabolo — also called a Chinese yo-yo — dance with electric leaps across a string. When juggling five balls, he keeps his hands at hip level, snapping each beanbag so it arcs just above his eyes before plopping perfectly into his other hand. Even at rest, he loosely bounces a fistful of markers in his hand, giving the impression that with just a flick of his wrist he can steal your breath away with a dazzling performance.

But on Friday morning, he did not have an audience yet. Walking alone around the West Field House Gym, Garcia, the head of the UC Santa Cruz Juggling Club, was still making preparations for the third annual Santa Cruz Juggling Festival.

Hosted May 6–8 at the West Field House Gym, the free festival offered juggling workshops for beginners, a nature juggling walk, public exhibitions of world-class jugglers and a fire show on the beach.

Despite the attractions, the club website anticipated only 50 attendees. Garcia, a third-year Merrill student who has run the club for three years, said he did not expect a large turnout because juggling at UCSC does not have a consistently large community.

“[The UCSC Juggling Club] Facebook group says we have 100-plus people,” Garcia said. “But only three people showed up to our meeting last night. It varies — usually, later on in the quarter, people get busier with college.”

The UCSC Juggling Club was founded in 1984 as a nonprofit campus club open to jugglers of all skill levels. The club meets twice a week and puts on performances once a month downtown.

Garcia has been running the UCSC Juggling Club since he was a first-year. Garcia said because there is no intercollegiate juggling league, festivals and competitions are the primary ways collegiate jugglers participate in the community.

“There aren’t too many competitions for colleges,” Garcia said. “It would be kind of cool, but nobody organizes it. There’s no community that organizes it, like [in] basketball.”

This year the club received a grant from UCSC to fly in guest performer and teacher Erin Stephens from Colorado.

Stephens said festivals allow college-level jugglers to develop relationships with other juggling clubs and learn from professional jugglers.

“A lot of college campuses that have a juggling club will often put on a juggling festival,” Stephens said. “That’s where a lot of festivals happen across the country.”

Stephens, who is a UCSC alumna and former member of the UCSC Juggling Club, said festivals are especially important for maintaining a strong juggling community because in her experience, membership in clubs is prone to fluctuation.

“There were some years when it was pretty big — I mean like 15–20 [students],” Stephenson said. “Then there were times you’d come and there were only four or five. It just depended on the time of year — usually the beginning has a lot of interest from new students, then it kind of peters off through the year.”

By Saturday, the event had attracted a score of jugglers — newcomers and pros alike — among them Matt Hall, Chris Garcia’s former high school teacher and a professional juggler.

Hall said Santa Cruz has traditionally been a strong center for juggling culture.

“Santa Cruz is home to Renegade Juggling, which is one of the first juggling prop makers — those guys have been around for 20 or 30 years,” Hall said. “And there’s always been a juggling club here at Santa Cruz.”

Hall, who won a silver medal in the 2003 International Juggling Championships, said even in Santa Cruz it was unlikely to find a large population of skilled jugglers. Hall said juggling gets exponentially more difficult with each new trick.

“For every ball you add, you decrease [the number of people who can juggle it] by a factor of 10 or 100,” Hall said. “So there may be millions of three-ball jugglers, but the number of people who can juggle four balls is probably in the hundreds of thousands. Five-ball jugglers, now you’re talking tens of thousands.”

Hall praised both the club and festival, but harbored doubts as to whether the club could survive without the direction of a strong leader like Garcia.

“Chris is definitely the guiding spirit, the moving force behind this club,” Hall said. “If he goes away, I’d be surprised to see if it survives.”

Although Garcia admitted his club is mostly composed of novices, he said the club remains committed to bringing in new members. He said he hopes the juggling club will encourage those who have never juggled before to pick up the new hobby.

“You don’t need to know how to juggle or anything,” Garcia said. “You could just come and we’ll teach you and accept you into our group, as long as you show an interest.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Inside the UCSC Juggling Club

Freshman Bryce Bettwy serves a ball during a practice on Tuesday. Photo by Prescott Watson.

Junior Yushi Ayabe returns a serve during the team’s Wednesday practice. Within NCAA Division III, men’s tennis at UCSC is a powerhouse, with seven titles and the most Division III final appearances in the country. Photo by Prescott Watson.

With seven NCAA Division III titles and the most NCAA Division III final appearances in the country, the UC Santa Cruz men’s tennis team doesn’t have to do much to prove it belongs among the elite in collegiate tennis. However, that reputation does not leave the team resting on its laurels.

This weekend, the team is traveling down to Ojai, Calif. to participate in the 111th Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament. One of the biggest tennis tournaments in the nation, Ojai sees competition all the way from Division I to the the high school level. The competition is split into a number of tournaments, with Divison III, community colleges, high schools and the Pacific-10 Conference all playing in their own individual brackets.

UCSC men’s tennis coach Bob Hansen said that size and scope of the playing field makes Ojai a proving ground for the players.

“It’s a huge tournament,” Hansen said. “It’s a finer atmosphere. It’s the closest many of our guys will get to the pros.”

Besides the importance that the tournament holds in the tennis world, performance at Ojai also has implications for the NCAA Division III tournament later in May. The seeding for the tournament is decided by a panel of judges, and Hansen said Ojai is one of the judges last chances to look at the players before making their decision.

In spite of the mounting pressure, the team is still keeping its cool. After a successful showing at Ojai last year when senior Brian Pybas took first place in singles, the team is confident that they can put on a strong performance this year. Sophomore Parker Larsen, the third-ranked singles player on the team and Pybas’ partner as part of the team’s No. 1 doubles duo, said he has high expectations for the tournament.

“I hope to see every Slug go as far as they can go,” Larsen said. “I know we have the potential to go all the way. I expect to see medals.”

While coach Hansen shares that optimism, he made note of the fact that the tournament won’t be easy by any means.

“I feel good about where we are and about our training. I want to see a deep run by a number of our players and I expect to do so [as well],” Hansen said. “But that being said, from the first round forward there are a lot of obstacles. There will be no shortage of very talented players for sure.”

sIn addition to the competition, both Pybas and Larsen also acknowledged that the sheer length of the tournament is a challenge in and of itself. With multiple matches each day over the entire weekend, the tournament will also be a test of stamina for the players.

“It’s a really tough tournament,” Pybas said. “You play singles and doubles and you play three or four matches a day. By the time you get to Sunday you’re pretty beat.”

The second-ranked singles player, senior Erich Koenig, said one of the ways to combat that fatigue is to capitalize on the earlier matches, which may be less competitive.

“[I want to] manage the matches I can win easily and not play more tennis than I have to,” Koenig said. “[Ojai] is a mental and physical challenge.”

The team members are eager to go to Ojai. Larsen and Koenig, as well as the team’s fifth singles player, sophomore Sam Rodgers, agree it is the atmosphere at Ojai that makes it such a special tournament for the team. The players who make it to finals at Libbey Park have the chance to play in a stadium alongside the televised Division I final, and follow in the footsteps of tennis superstars like Andre Agassi, who played at Libbey Park in his youth.

“[Playing at Ojai means] being a part of a lot of really special players,” Rodgers said. “The history there is hard to match. It’s what you play for.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Men’s Tennis Heads to Ojai Tournament

Sophomore Cameron Ferguson discusses how Bay Area collegiate orienteering is hindered by a lack of support and the difficulty of getting to the remote locations for tournaments. Photo by Prescott Watson.

“Can you see the control from here?” asked UC Santa Cruz second-year Cameron Ferguson.

Standing on a knoll overlooking the sun-blasted valleys and hills of Pacheco State Park, Ferguson wiped the sweat from his face and scanned the landscape. After a moment broiling under the sun, Ferguson — oblivious to the heat — pointed to a tree a kilometer from his position. Squinting, Ferguson noted the tree’s position on his topographic map.

“It’s right there,” Ferguson said. As if on cue, three runners in the distance loped through the high grass toward the tree. Ferguson, already jogging down the knoll, called over his shoulder, “See?”

The sport is orienteering.

In a wilderness setting, participants use a topographic map and a compass to find “controls” — small markers that have an electronic register to record the time when a runner locates it. The controls can be placed several hundred meters to several miles apart. The goal is to find all of the markers in the correct order as fast as possible.

Half cross country racing, half wilderness survival, orienteering combines all the physical rigors of endurance athletics with the mental acuity of a chess game.

But despite an enthusiasm for racing and the wilderness, Americans have yet to make orienteering popular in the United States. Given the sport’s widespread popularity in Europe, enthusiasts wonder: What’s keeping orienteering off the map?

Jay Hann, an event coordinator for the Bay Area Orienteering Club (BAOC), said that it is sometimes difficult to explain the appeal of orienteering.

“It’s what you get when you cross mathematics and P.E.,” Hann said. “It’s hard to explain what’s fun about it — it’s a lot easier to explain when you’ve experienced it.”

The BAOC is one of 74 clubs in the United States that belong to the International Orienteering Federation. Each year, there are a multitude of international championships held for different types of orienteering, but the biggest ones are trail and skiing. In the United States, individuals compete in A-level meets to qualify for a spot on one of the U.S. championship teams.

On Saturday, Hann was organizing the second day of a three-day meet in Pacheco State Park for the U.S. Intercollegiate and U.S. Interscholastic Championships, which the BAOC was hosting.

Despite the swarms of participants streaming in from Seattle to West Point, Hann said this event’s numbers were nothing compared to those in Europe.

“In the big European events, they’ll have camera crews out in the field taking pictures of the runners,” Hann said. “They’ll have a big display board in their arena and have 1,000 or 2,000 people watching the video footage coming across.”

Gavin Wyatt-Mair, another event coordinator for the BAOC, said that because of the sponsorship given to orienteering in Europe, Europeans tend to dominate the United States in international orienteering competitions.

“We usually have some people go over there, but they kick our butts,” Wyatt-Mair said, laughing. “They are so much better than we are!”

However, Wyatt-Mair is the father of a successful navigator. His son, Malcolm Wyatt-Mair, is a U.S. orienteering champion and UCSC graduate who competed in Australia and Sweden for the Junior Orienteering World Championships in 2007 and 2008.

For Gavin — who has been orienteering for 24 years — orienteering has practical value off the course as well.

“When you are in a job, you have to make decisions quickly,” he said. “Orienteering teaches you how to make quick decisions. It also teaches you to focus on a goal — your next control — teaching you to focus on it and get there in the most direct way.”

For the few college students who do orienteering on the West Coast, the benefits of the sport are outweighed by the logistical troubles of reaching a meet.

“You have to get to these different state parks around the Bay Area, and most college kids don’t have cars,” Ferguson said. “If it were big in the states, it would be big among college kids, because then colleges would take buses to the events.”

BAOC coordinator Hann said orienteering has the potential to catch on as a popular sport in the United States, but that would require teaching orienteering early on in schools.

“We’re trying to figure out ways to make it easier for P.E. teachers to do it,” Hann said. “It’s kind of a mind sport, and there are a lot of things about it you can’t tell people through photographs.”

Taking a break from helping a few dozen latecomers register for their races, Wyatt-Mair described the philosophical benefits of orienteering.

“One of the things that occurs in life is that you’re going to get lost, and it occurs in every aspect of your life,” Wyatt-Mair said. “Orienteering teaches you to relocate. And when you do that, it’s a wonderful experience because you say, ‘Yeah, I was lost, but I’m going to find my way out.’”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Students Lose Themselves in Orienteering

Illustration by Louise Leong.

With the crack of the starter pistol, the crowd of runners surged forward, signaling the start of the Santa Cruz Half Marathon. Lean, tanned professionals jogged alone, setting their stopwatches and adjusting nutrition packets harnessed to fanny packs, while groups of friends and families slowed down to laugh and wave at the cheering throngs of spectators lining the Boardwalk.

This year’s ninth annual Santa Cruz Half Marathon and 10K drew a total of 4,374 registered racers. This figure eclipsed last year’s total by over 1,000. Sunday’s competitors competed in either the half-marathon (13.1 miles) or the shorter 10-kilometer race.

Tom Cotton is the owner of Threshold Racing as well as Firstwave Events, the company that organizes the half marathon along with many other California-based races each year. He credits the popularity of the half marathon to its scenic route along West Cliff Drive and through Wilder Ranch.

“The scenery is great,” Cotton said. “On the way back [from Wilder Ranch] you get to look down on the surfers, the lighthouse, and you can see the finish line.”

Cotton also noted the benefit of having a route that gives runners a clear view of the Pacific Ocean.

“In the last couple years we’ve seen whales,” Cotton said. “[There are] not many marathons you can do running and whale watching in.”

UC Santa Cruz professor Daniel Wirls, a nationally ranked racer who last year finished in 12th place overall in the half-marathon with a time of one hour and 20 minutes, said that the course was especially appealing to serious runners.

“This is a nice course because it’s reasonably flat and scenic and about a third of it ends up being on dirt, which is kind of nice,” Wirls said. “Running 13 miles on pavement is actually pretty brutal.”

Wirls, who has been racing competitively since graduate school, maintained his regular training regimen the week before the race, doing one 10-mile endurance run per week along with three shorter runs that typically involve speed work or hills. Despite his rigorous schedule, Wirls said he had to be cautious about taking risks with his body.

“Once you get over 45 [years old], you’re just always worried that your body will betray you, in the sense that you’re a little tighter than when you were younger,” Wirls said. “So I think the challenge is not so much that I’m worried about not being prepared enough, it’s just will I be loose enough.”

Also racing was Amanda Philbin, a third-year who, prior to Sunday, had never raced competitively in a half marathon. Philbin said she only began training seriously for the half marathon during winter break. Before that, she mostly used running as a stress reliever.

“I used a half marathon

ten-week-long training program that I found online,” Philbin said. “I did my last long run early [last] week, about 11 miles, and some four-mile runs.”

Philbin said that she wrestled with a bout of anxiety the night before the race, but her desire to run calmed her nerves. As soon as she started running, Philbin said she was able to enjoy the exercise and the scenery.

“I loved it, this declining slope onto the beach — it was great,” Philbin said. “It was a very Santa Cruz flavored race — there were little boys with surfboards interweaving between the racers on West Cliff. Just another day in Santa Cruz.”

Speaking before the race, as he watched waves crash along the beach, Firstwave Events owner Cotton said maintaining the high quality of the course is vital for attracting runners. Cotton even donated money to the state department so they could afford to pay maintenance costs on the course trails in Wilder Ranch.

“We’ve just been trying to keep the consistency of high quality of the race going,” Cotton said. “As soon as something goes wrong, you hear about it. Runners are vocal about what they like and don’t like.”

Wirls, who placed 19th overall and second in his age group with one hour and 23 minutes, said Santa Cruz has an international cachet among athletes because of its races.

“For such a small town, we’re really known worldwide for our endurance athletic events,” Wirls said. “The triathlons, the running races, the swims… It really does bring people into town who otherwise wouldn’t have come.”

Speaking after the race, Amanda Philbin, who placed 302nd in the race and 23rd in her age group, said that competing for a numerical rank was worth far less to her than gaining a sense of personal satisfaction.

“I feel like I achieved my goal,” Philbin said. “It makes me want to keep running and actually, I would like to run a full marathon — maybe next year.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Half Marathon Draws a Crowd

Second-years Greg Gerschenson, Ahil PonArul and Jon Tong hit the slopes in homemade sleds last Saturday at Red Bull’s Schlittentag event, hosted at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort. Photo by Sal Ingram.

“We are going to die.”

That was the conclusion College Nine second-year Greg Gerschenson reached as he drove College Ten second-years Ahil Ponarul and Jon Tong to Alpine Meadows Ski Resort on Saturday, April 9. The trio were discussing their plans for Red Bull’s Schlittentag.

“Every possible scenario I can think of ends in all of us dying,” Gerschenson said.

Schlittentag, German for “Sledding Day,” is an event Red Bull holds at various ski resorts across the nation. Event participants build sleds from found materials and ride them down a course. Teams compete under team names reflecting their chosen theme. This year’s Schlittentag saw igloo-riding eskimos and three men in a tub tearing down the Tahoe slope.

One week before Schlittentag, Gerchenson, Tong and Ponarul decided they wanted to bring some UC Santa Cruz representation to the slope. While teams were not required to be affiliated with a college, the event was marketed towards university students. Consequently, a significant number of the teams displayed some form of school spirit.

Two days before Schlittentag, the trio started gathering supplies to make their sleds. Having started later than most, the group from UCSC said they did not have their eyes on one of the top three positions. Sleds at Schlittentag are scored on a 100-point scale, with 50 going to speed, 25 to creativity and 25 to style. Gerchenson said they were more concerned with just having a good time than with winning.

“Well, we’re going to enjoy ourselves,” Gerchenson said. “Maybe we’ll get best crash — that would be awesome.”

Another team led by UCSC second-year Samuel Bruns was slated to compete, but had to back out at the last minute due to a family emergency. This left Gerchenson, Tong and Ponarul with an extra sled and the idea of splitting into two teams.

Gerchenson decided to use a plank of wood Bruns had found, attach skis and a beach chair to it and adopt the team name “Wait.. This Isn’t Cabo.” He completed the outfit with board shorts, a tank top and flip-flops. Unable to transport his entire sled from Santa Cruz to Tahoe, Gerchenson built it just minutes before he took it down the slope. Saying that his sled may not have been the best, he remained confident that he would be able to make it work.

“My sled is probably about 70 [percent prepared for the course],” Gerchenson said. “But I’m around 100.”

Gerchenson was the first person to register on-site at the competition, so he was given the honor of going first.

When constructing the sled, Gerchenson underestimated the effect that all the duct tape he put on the bottom would have. The friction created by the layers of duct tape holding on the skis brought his sled to a halt before he reached the first jump in the course. However, after giving himself a few pushes, he was slowly but surely able to make it to the bottom.

“At least I can say I had the safest sled out there,” Gerchenson said.

Team Banana Swag, comprised of the banana-suit-clad duo Tong and Ponarul, had a little more success. Riding face-first on boogie boards rented from OPERS, they launched themselves down the hill separately because, as Tong said, “Two slugs are better than one.” Tong picked up more speed on the course and finished with a clean run. Ponarul trailed behind by a few yards and lost his momentum before the last jump, slowly sliding across the finish line.

Neither team managed to place in the competition, as only the top three and best crash were announced. First place went to a golf cart mounted on snowboards and second was awarded to a Bat-mobile replica built and manned by the family of UCSC third-year Tessa Santos. Best crash went to a sled from Stanford that exploded into pieces when it hit the last jump. However, the failure to claim a prize didn’t bother Gerchenson.

“I didn’t expect [my sled] to be the safest sled,” Gerchenson said, “but at least I finished. And my sled didn’t explode like Stanford’s.”

And the trio is already looking forward to Schlittentag 2012. Gerchenson discussed contacting the Ski and Snowboard Club and having them make it one of their events in order to increase the UCSC participation. Ultimately, all three of the UCSC participants said that the best part of Schlittentag was that it provided a unique, albeit slightly wacky, way to show their school pride.

“In the end [winning] didn’t matter,” Gerchenson said. “We went with an idea, executed it, and it went well. It was fun and I got to represent my school for a little bit.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Slugs Take on Schlittentag

Photo by Morgan Grana.

On Saturday afternoon the Santa Cruz men’s lacrosse team played St. Mary’s on the upper east field. The Slugs lost the game, but are motivated to work harder and compete against St. Mary’s again. Photo by Morgan Grana.

Photo by Morgan Grana.

The UC Santa Cruz men’s lacrosse team suffered a 2-6 loss to St. Mary’s College on Saturday. As the weary Slugs departed the field, stripping off sweaty shirts and tossing their sticks to the ground, a lone St. Mary’s supporter planted a St. Mary’s flag on the side of the field, taunting the Slugs, bellowing, “This is our house now!”

Although it was officially only one conference game of five, for the players and coaches of the UCSC team, losing to St. Mary’s has been the hardest experience they have had to endure in a struggling season.

Midseason, UCSC stands with two wins and eight losses, a record that threatens to upset their previous season’s record of 10 wins and five losses. The loss also marks the second consecutive conference game UCSC has lost to St. Mary’s.

UCSC men’s lacrosse head coach Jeremy Graves attributes the bitterness of their loss to the fierce competition growing between St. Mary’s and UCSC.

“It’s built up and festered over the years into a big rivalry,” Graves said. “We play them in the regular season and the [Western Collegiate Lacrosse League] conference. St. Mary’s and Santa Cruz are the top two. We’re always the two top teams.”

UCSC men’s lacrosse is a club sport that competes in Division II of the WCLL, playing a regular season in the spring with intermittent conference games. From 2007 to 2009, UCSC won three consecutive WCLL Division II championship games.

Prior to Saturday’s game, team president Samir Chaudry said that the rivalry really intensified following UCSC’s first-ever defeat at the hands of St. Mary’s in the 2010 WCLL Championship.

“They make my fucking blood boil,” Chaudry said. “They beat us last year in the WCLL Championship and took our spot. This game is probably the most meaningful game of the season — we’ve waited so long to play them again.”

Scowling as he repeatedly hurled a lacrosse ball against the OPERS gym wall after the game, senior midfielder Jamie Merkler said that defeat was especially difficult to swallow because he believes UCSC’s team is superior to that of St. Mary’s.

“Last year we beat them in the regular season, then won the [WCLL] championship,” Merkler said. “We’re definitely a better team than them.”

The disappointment of Saturday’s loss was compounded by a lackluster season for UCSC that Chaudry ascribed to the season’s unusually unbalanced schedule.

“We’re a Division II team, and we’ve played a bunch of Division I teams and all of them are ranked,” Chaudry said. “And every Division II team we’ve played is also ranked.”

In 2009, the Slugs defeated the St. Mary’s team in the WCLL Division II championship game 10-1, making it the third consecutive year UCSC went home victorious.

Chaudry credited the team’s graduating seniors for building up the team’s national reputation and prestige, as most, if not all of the players, were on the team during the heydays of the Slug 2007–2009 dynasty.

With only one more possible championship game in their future, the seniors found Saturday’s loss to St. Mary’s especially unbearable.

“This group of seniors kind of defines UCSC lacrosse,” Chaudry said. “When they were freshmen, it was the first time we were nationally ranked, the first time we went to the national championship. We built the program.”

Head coach Graves said that while the Slugs still have a shot at making it to the WCLL Championship, in light of Saturday’s conference game, working on offense will be essential in order to win the necessary games.

“Offensively, we usually put double digits on the board in any game,” Graves said. “We have got to secure the way we play offense. If there’s anything we need to change, it’s finding a system that’s a little more productive [for offense].”

Midfielder Jamie Merkler agreed with this view, specifically citing the tendency of the offense to operate independently instead of coordinating attacks among the players.

“Our defense was great, and our offense too, but they didn’t put it in the net,” Merkler said. “We couldn’t produce like we should have.”

Despite Saturday’s setback, both coach and players expressed unwavering confidence in the strength of their team as a whole and their eagerness for the next match with St. Mary’s in the regular season.

“I think there’s a really bright future, especially because of the freshman class we brought in,” Chaudry said. “The younger kids have an incredible passion for the team. Coach Graves has such an incredible regimen system. We’ll be zooming back into the national tournament.”

Huddling together after the game, Coach Graves addressed his disappointed players in a loud, firm voice that drowned out the jeering of the lone bearer of the St. Mary’s flag.

“We will see them again,” Graves said. “Put it on your calendar. We will see them again. You will line up again with St. Mary’s. I will see you that day.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Slug Lacrosse Feeling the Pressure

Photo by Sal Ingram.

Freshman Julian Laguisma practices for the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Club’s national tournament this weekend in Richmond, Va. Photo by Sal Ingram.

Photo by Sal Ingram.

It’s not every season that UC Santa Cruz athletes get attention at the national level. However, this weekend Banana Slug athletics might be able to make a name for itself in the gymnastics world on the back of a 5’6″ freshman.

This weekend, Julian Laguisma will be competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs (NAIGC) championship tournament in Richmond, Virginia. Laguisma will be the sole representative from the College Gymnastics Club at UCSC this year, and the third in the program’s history.

Founded in 2006 by UCSC graduate Andrew McMartin, the College Gymnastics Club fields competitors on both the regional and national level. McMartin created the club with the intention of it also being a recreational club for people of all skill levels.

As the club is not entirely focused on competing, it does not always send members to national competitions. Laguisma, who qualified by competing in two club meets earlier this year, is the first gymnast from the College Gymnastics Club since 2009 to attend nationals.

A competitive gymnast since the age of 12, Laguisma joined the club in fall quarter and has since become one of its premier gymnasts. Michelle Telegas, owner of the Santa Cruz Sports Central gym where the team practices, has been watching Lagusima and noted that his skill level makes him stand out among the other members of the club.

“He’s definitely one of the strongest gymnasts in the UCSC club program,” Telegas said. “He makes his routines satisfy the rules and play to his strengths.”

In the five years since its founding, the College Gymnastics Club has grown into one of the bigger collegiate clubs on the west coast. On Feb. 26 the club hosted the fourth annual Banana Slug Salto, a tournament that outgrew the Santa Cruz Sports Central gym this year. Drawing teams from as far as Oregon State University and UC San Diego, the competition had to be moved to a larger gym in south San Francisco to accommodate the number of entrants.

“The program has made a lot of progress and exceeded my expectations,” McMartin said. “We started years ago as this small ‘let’s get together’ thing and now we are one of the biggest clubs on the west coast.”

Laguisma placed third in the all-around event at this year’s Banana Slug Salto and has since turned his attention to nationals. His demanding regimen — practices about five times a week at both the Santa Cruz Sports Central gym and the Santa Cruz Gymnastics Center — is necessary for the challenges ahead. He will be competing in every category at nationals. This means prepared routines for pommel horse, rings, vault parallel bars, horizontal bar and the floor.

While this is his first time at nationals, Laguisma has high hopes for his performance. The tournament has six preliminary round sections, with the top four from each section going on to a final round. In addition to the individual event competitions there is also an all-around event that combines all the different routines.

After watching videos from last year’s competition, Laguisma feels confident that he can achieve at least moderate success in the tournament this weekend.

“From what I saw, I could be competitive in floor and vault because those are the two main events that I focus on,” Laguisma said. “If I could place top three in vault or floor that would be great.”

Laguisma’s success would not only be a personal achievement, but a definite step forward in bringing the gymnastics program further into the UCSC sports consciousness. As of right now, the team is not affiliated with the school on the NCAA or club level. Rather, the College Gymnastics Club is a student organization that fields a team in these tournaments.

McMartin, who now serves on the board of directors for NAIGC, sees these national competitions as opportunities to strengthen UCSC’s presence in the gymnastics world.

“I would love to see UCSC take up a stronger tradition of sending athletes to the national level,” McMartin said. “I also hope that UCSC will able to take on a leadership level, not only on the west coast but across the country as well.”

Telegas, who is also a member of USA Gymnastics, the governing body of gymnastics in the United States, says that she, too, would like to see the program grow. Telegas has allowed the club to use her facilities since its creations and thinks that continued success could lead to a further establishment of the program at UCSC.

“I would love to see [UCSC gymnastics] become completely affiliated with the school, become a full club sport,” Telegas said.

Telegas and McMartin are both focusing on how Laguisma will do in Richmond this weekend. McMartin said that his competition will be stiff, noting that he will be going up against the “big dogs in the country,” but is still confident in Laguisma’s ability.

“A lot of these guys are fielding competitors from very seasoned and matured programs, so I think it’s going to be tough,” McMartin said. “But my hopes are quite high.”

Laguisma shares those hopes. He said that the pressure is on him for this event, but he remains confident that he can succeed on the collegiate level.

Laguisma said he is confident that he’ll be successful if he has a clean routine.

“I know I can do it.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Gymnast to Participate in National Competition

Photo by Sal Ingram

Recent Results

Men’s lacrosse

March 25: UCSC vs. UC San Diego (away) 5-3 (win)

Women’s tennis

March 26: UCSC vs. UT Dallas (away) 9-0 (win)

Men’s tennis

March 27: UCSC vs. Trinity University (away) 5-4 (win)

Upcoming Athletics

Men’s tennis

April 2: UCSC vs. Sonoma State University (home) at 10 a.m.

April 2: UCSC vs. Fresno CC (home) at 3 p.m.

Men’s volleyball

April 1: UCSC vs. Holy Names (away) in Oakland, CA at 7 p.m.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at This Week in Sports

Two students spar during the Krav Maga club’s practice. Krav Maga is an Israeli martial art that focuses on redirecting the attacker. Photo by Kyan Mahzouf.

“When people come to me asking me for a specific defense move, I tell them to go out for cross country, so that they can run away,” said second-year Zack Schick, co-founder of the UC Santa Cruz Krav Maga club. “I get a lot of stupid questions outside of the class, like ‘What happens if you get hit?’”

Schick and Cynthia Friedman, also a second-year, began UCSC’s first Krav Maga club last spring in an effort to educate fellow students as well as improve their own skills.

“We both really missed [Krav Maga] and we didn’t feel that there was anything parallel to it in Santa Cruz,” Friedman said.

Krav Maga, or “contact combat,” was developed in Israel after World War II and was used mostly by the Israeli army. Since then, the fighting style has expanded and is now a common form of self-defense across the world due to the effectiveness of its movements and attacks.

“It’s 100 percent practical fighting,” Friedman said. “There are no Krav Maga tournaments. It’s based on situations where you are at gunpoint or at knifepoint: How do you survive and get out with your life?”

New club members learn the basics of fighting and defending themselves.

“It’s practical. I learned how to punch properly,” said first-year Ben Lilly, swinging his arm to demonstrate how it is “just like grabbing milk from the back of the refrigerator.”

The more advanced students work on situations in which they practice defenses against armed attackers. The play knives and play guns are used by the attacker and the goal of the exercise is to redirect the weapon and counteract the offensive move

“The goal is: When attacked, become the attacker,” Schick said, while demonstrating a move to break his attacker’s nose and successfully gain control of the bright yellow rubber gun.

Schick’s and Friedman’s club has grown since last spring and it now has about 15 regular participants.

“It’s grown through word of mouth,” Schick said. “It’s become more goal-oriented. We get to learn more.”

Last Friday, the group’s lesson began with a warm-up. Then Schick and Friedman focused the day’s work on ground work, a rarity in Krav Maga.

“The motto of Krav Maga is ‘Don’t go to the ground,”’ Schick said. “If you do, get the fuck up.”

The group split off into pairs, doing two minute wrestling-on-your-knees-sorts of stunts — pushing, shoving and trapping opponents in between legs and then elbowing at the attacker’s crotch in order to get free.

“It’s a mentality of doing whatever you can to get out of there. If you could get away by kicking in the groin, then we teach you to do that,” Friedman said.“If your attacker has you in a dangerous situation, then you should hurt them.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at A New Way of Fighting