Catching up on USD sports

Men’s rugby and tennis saw success over Intersession break

Chris Spiering / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

On Nov. 20, 2019 the USD men’s rugby team participated in the Rugby City Championship Tournament, which was designed to showcase the best rugby teams in San Diego County. After two early victories for the Toreros, they earned the top seed in the tournament and defeated Point Loma Nazarene University 24-12 to win the championship. USD defeated University of California San Diego (UCSD) 17-14 in game one and defeated San Diego Mesa College 46-5 in game two. This is the team’s second championship victory since the creation of the tournament, but first since 2016. 

Fowards Ty Helfrich and Wyatt Darien were consistent throughout the tournament and were big reasons for the success. Darren Seward was named tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) after he dominated in each game. 

“No player had a bigger impact than tournament MVP Darren Seward,” Assistant coach Scott Thomas said. “Seward bounced off tackles all day and was immense on defense. Seward showed off his versatility, and showed up elsewhere but the score sheet.” 

On Dec. 12, 2019, USD played against cross-town rival San Diego State University (SDSU) and came out on top with a victory. 

“It was a big win and we won by quite a substantial amount,” sophomore forward Nick Classen said. “So that kind of just showed us that we are now becoming more and more of a force to be reckoned with.” 

The new season started as they will play six total games. USD plays their games on Manchester Field and will have three home games this season. 

The Toreros opened the season against Arizona State University (ASU) and lost 43-19. USD traveled to Tempe, Arizona where they had the daunting task of playing a tough ASU opponent. The Sun Devils are traditionally one of the best teams in the country.

The Toreros’ strong defense is a major reason for their early success. 

“Our defense is definitely something that makes us stand out,” Classen said. “We are not a huge team, but we come out and we are very physical and we make sure that — despite our lack of size — we are competing at the highest physical level and making sure we are doing our job.” 

Many rugby players know that their sport isn’t very popular, but that doesn’t stop them from playing the game they love. 

“I think it’s the group of guys that makes everyone stay,” Classen said. “The group of guys is like a small brotherhood, we all bond really quickly and we are all very close.” 

The team is always looking to add more players to the team and encourages students to come try out.   

“We would love to have more and more people come play rugby,” Classen said. “It’s a phenomenal sport and it’s super fun. It’s a great way to get out and exercise and meet a great group of people.” 

USD hosts Long Beach State on Feb. 22, Claremont College on Feb. 29, and then MiraCosta College on March 14.

Maria Watters / Asst. Sports Editor / The USD Vista

As the eyes of the world turn toward Melbourne for the 2020 Australian open, the USD men’s tennis team swept WCC rival SDSU 4-0 last Sunday. Not only did the Toreros win every finished match, the men only lost a single set across all nine courts. 

 The Toreros’ double-header weekend didn’t start the way they hoped, however. After a tough four hour 3-4 loss against UCF, the men had less than a day to shake off the defeat and prepare to face SDSU the next morning. 

 Head Coach Ryan Keckley prides himself on his team’s preparedness and ability to bounce back from tough losses.

“We were inches away from getting that win,” Keckley said. “To have to regroup in less than twenty-four hours, put our emotions aside and prepare for a match like San Diego State at nine thirty in the morning, it’s cold, there are a lot of excuses, and our team just looked at each other and said this is what we have to get done.”

 Sunday’s contest kicked off with the doubles matches. In collegiate tennis, three doubles matches are played to determine which team receives the first point. Despite not having senior All American, Gui Osorio, due to injuries, the Toreros put forth a strong lineup with senior Joel Gamerov and junior August Holmgren, leading the team at the first position. At second, the Toreros had redshirt junior Nico Borter and first year Marvin Schaber. And junior David Norfeldt and first year Sacchitt Sharrma rounded out the lineup at third. 

The Toreros would be relying on their upperclassmen to lead their team to victory. 

“Of course playing State is always a big match and a big rivalry,” senior Joel Gamerov said. “But it’s a new day and a new chance to do better than the day before.”

Borter and Schaber were the first to finish, making quick work of their opponents senior Rafael Gonzalez Almazan and junior Jan Kirchhoff in a decisive 6-0 victory. Gamerov and Homgren followed suit by defeating junior Ignacio Martinez and junior Aaro Pollanen, 6-3 to clinch the doubles point for the Toreros. 

Up one point to nothing, the Toreros entered the singles round with confidence and momentum. Holmgren led the Toreros at one with Gamerov at two, Sharrma at three, Norfeldt at four, Borter at five, and Schaber at six. Because USD won the doubles point, the Toreros only needed three more victories to win overall. 

Gamerov finished first by defeating Pollanen 6-2, 6-1, putting the Toreros up 2-0 overall. Borter finished soon after with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over senior Arnaud Restifo. 

The Toreros were up 3-0, but Homgren, Sharrma, and Norfeldt barely won their first sets, and were battling through the second. It seemed all hope for a 4-0 victory fell on first year Marvin Schaber. Schaber won the first set over Almazan 6-2. And after a hard-fought second set, the first year brought home the victory winning 6-4 and scoring the fourth point for the Toreros. 

After a heartbreaking loss against UCF, the Toreros were able to come back swinging, defeating SDSU 4-0. 

The Toreros are looking ahead to their next contest against Washington on Sunday.

“We have to set the bar high so that we can achieve what we want to achieve,” redshirt junior Joel Gamerov said. 

The Toreros did just that when they defeated the Huskies 4-3 in a highly competitive contest on Sunday. San Diego advances to 3-1 overall and will look to defend their undefeated home record.