Gulls Get Defenseman From N.Y. Rangers

Defenseman Murray Duval will join the Gulls on assignment from the NHL New York Rangers, it was announced Wednesday.

Duval, 21, was the Rangers’ second choice in the 1988 entry draft. He played the past season in the Western Hockey League, scoring 47 goals and assisting on 66 others in 67 games.

The Gulls have 25 players on their roster with the deletion of centers Jason LaFreniere and Rick Barkovich.

The Gulls (3-4) wind up a six-game road trip tonight at Phoenix tonight before returning home to host the Peoria Rivermen Friday and Saturday nights.

SOCCER

San Diego soccer varsities registered three shutouts Wednesday:

San Diego State defeated UC Irvine, 3-0; UC San Diego topped Cal Poly Pomona, 5-0; and the UCSD women remained undefeated by posting a 3-0 victory.

For the UCSD women, it was goalie Janelle Welling’s eighth shutout in 11 games. With goals from Cindy Eddy, Jaymie Bradford and Karin Lindsay, the Tritons (10-0-1) now have outscored their opponents 46-3 this season.

The UCSD men (9-4) got two goals each from Chris Romey and Mike Alberts as goalie Mike Madden picked up his seventh shutout of the season.

Andy Marrone scored twice for the Aztecs (9-1-2) and Tim Foster added a goal and an assist. Dan Dalzochio and Chris Volk combined for the shutout.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

UC San Diego eased past Occidental in Los Angeles, 15-11, 15-6, 15-7 behind an 11-kill performance from Elizabeth Tan. UCSD improved to 18-5, and Occidental fell to 5-8.

CYCLING

The Palomar Hillclimb, a 6.3-mile bike race with a climb of 2,450 feet, will be Sunday at 9 a.m. on Palomar Mountain. The race begins at the Oak Knoll Campground at Highway 76 and County Road S-6, proceeds up S-6 and finishes at the junction of S-6 and S-7.

There is no down hill on the course and the ascent is equal to a constant 9% grade. Last year’s winner, Jeff Evanshine of Anaheim, last summer became the first American to win the road race at the Junior World Championships since Greg LeMond.

The event is open to the public and entries will be accepted on the day of the race. For further information, call Bill Bees at (714) 549-9605.