UCSD Tops Santa Cruz for 17th in a Row

The UC San Diego men’s basketball team ended its regular season Saturday night with a 90-84 nonconference victory against UC Santa Cruz, extending its winning streak to a school-record 17 games.

UCSD finished the regular season 22-4, with playoff pairings for Division III, where the Tritons are ranked third, to be announced Monday.

Against UCSC (12-12), Rick Batt and Erik Johnson combined for 45 points for the Tritons.

UCSD’s free throw shooting in the first half, where it was 12 of 14, helped the Tritons take a 48-38 halftime lead. Teammate John Spence added 11 points.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

A freshman trio vaulted San Diego State to a 78-69 Western Athletic Conference victory over Wyoming in Laramie. Wyoming double- and triple-teamed Kieishsha Garnes, the Aztecs’ leading scorer, all night, enabling Falisha Wright (25 points), Michelle Suman (19) and Christina Murguia (16) to pick up the scoring slack.

“It was a tremendous team effort,” SDSU Coach Beth Burns said. “They tried to take Kieishsha out, and our three freshman came through. It shows how our team has grown.”

Garnes settled for 10 rebounds and assists and seven points. Murguia, a Castle Park High graduate, had a perfect night. She was four of four from the foul line and six of six from the field. Suman had nine rebounds and was eight of 11 in field goal shooting. SDSU is 16-7, 8-2; Wyoming is 4-7 in the WAC.

West Coast Conference leader Portland kept its top spot with an 83-66 victory against USD in Oregon. Mt. Carmel graduate Lynda Jones, a senior, led the Toreras (9-14, 4-7) with 19 points. Teammates Jill Shaver and Melisa Sortino scored 11 points apiece.

Senior forward Martha Sheldon’s 39 points gave her a single-season WCC scoring record with 652 points for Portland (13-12, 9-3).

UCSD had four players in double figures--Cari Young, Molly Jonnum, Lisa Beaver and Tami Oviatt--and everyone scored as the Tritons overwhelmed Cal Lutheran, 85-62, in a nonconference game at Thousand Oaks. Young had 15 rebounds to go with her UCSD-high 14 points, and Beaver had three blocks and seven rebounds to complement her 10 points.

The Tritons improved to 15-8. Cal Lutheran is 1-21.

BASEBALL

Three Aztecs were two for four as SDSU easily handled Cal State Los Angeles, 8-2, at Smith Field. They were Jason Ledford, who had two doubles, two RBIs and scored a run, Matt Franco, who drove in a run and scored once, and catcher Rick Page, who scored a run for the Aztecs (7-4). John Lynn earned his first save. CSULA is 5-8.

The University of San Diego evened its record at 4-4 after sweeping a doubleheader at Cal Poly Pomona, 9-1 and 7-0.

In the first game, Pat Crema went the distance for his first victory of the season and Tony Moeder drove in three runs with a double in the fifth inning.

In the second, Mike Saipe pitched all seven innings for his first victory. He got help from Kevin Herde, who hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot in the third.

Cal Poly Pomona fell to 3-7.

By sweeping a doubleheader over Biola, 5-4 and 7-3, UC San Diego improved to 6-0, its longest winning streak to begin a season ever. In 1988, UCSD opened 5-0.

Kurt Luhrsen finished each game and picked up a save in each, his first two of the season.

Biola fell to 3-4.

SOFTBALL

USD took two games from Redlands, 9-5 in the first, 7-3 in the second, to improve to 4-0. The Toreras Aimee Reinard was three for four in the first game, and teammate Natalie Brewer picked up two hits. Brewer, a catcher was three for three in the final game.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Former San Diego Section doubles champion Carla Quaresma of Poway High helped lift unranked USC to a 5-4 upset against 18th-ranked USD in Los Angeles. Quaresma and Maggie Simkova, in the No. 3 doubles slot, came back from a 5-2 third-set deficit to defeat Toreras Tracy Ishii and Kara Brady, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).

Point Loma Nazarene suffered an 8-1 loss to Pomona-Pitzer, but won in its second match against Redlands, 9-0. Monica Clancy got PLNC’s lone victory against Pomona-Pitzer, defeating Erin Hendricks, 6-2, 6-3. Clancy moved to No. 1 singles against Redlands and got by Lynne Cavender, 6-2, 6-0. PLNC improved to 3-2.