UC Santa Barbara Gauchos

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
University	University of California, Santa Barbara
Conference(s)	Big West Conference (18 teams) Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (2 teams)
NCAA	Division I
Athletics director	Mark Massari
Location	Santa Barbara, CA
Varsity teams	20
Basketball arena	UCSB Events Center
Baseball stadium	Caesar Uyesaka Stadium
Soccer stadium	Harder Stadium
Other arenas	Robertson Gymnasium
Mascot	Olé (official) Fantom of the Thunderdome (unofficial)
Nickname	Gauchos
Fight song	"Big 'C'" (official) "Gaucho" (unofficial)
Colors	Pacific Blue, Gaucho Gold, and Navy Blue
Homepage	UCSBGauchos

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos comprise intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of California, Santa Barbara, located in Santa Barbara, California. UCSB athletics are best known for its women's basketball and men's soccer programs. UCSB has won two NCAA National Championships for 1979 Men's Water Polo and 2006 Men's Soccer.

Most of UCSB's teams compete in the Big West Conference, but Men's Water Polo, Men and Women's Swimming, and Men's Volleyball compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Overview of UCSB athletics

The mascot of UCSB is the Gaucho, while the school colors are "Pacific Blue" (Pantone 286) and "Gaucho Gold" (Pantone 130), with the occasional accent of "Navy Blue" (Pantone 275). In 2009, the athletics program under the leadership of new athletic director Mark Massari underwent a transformation, giving UCSB a new brand and visual identity. As a result, the UCSB athletic program released a new logo, different colors, and unifying names. For athletic purposes, the school is now known as "UC Santa Barbara" or "UCSB".

The main rivals of UCSB are California State University, Long Beach (more often known as Long Beach State) and California Polytechnic State University (known as Cal Poly). New this year, the Blue-Green Rivalry series calculates points between Cal Poly and UCSB to see which is the better sports school.

UCSB currently fields a varsity team in 10 men's sports and 10 women's sports:

Men's sports Baseball Basketball Cross country Golf Soccer Swimming & Diving Tennis Track and field Volleyball Water polo

Women's sports Basketball Cross country Indoor track Soccer Softball Swimming & Diving Tennis Track and field Volleyball Water polo

Selected varsity programs

2006 NCAA soccer champions visit President George W. Bush at the White House.

Men's soccer

Main article: UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer

See also: UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer professionals and UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer seasons

In 2004, the UCSB men's soccer team advanced to the College Cup. It routed Duke in the semifinals 5-0, but lost in the championship match to Indiana on penalties.

In 2006, UCSB again advanced to the College Cup. In the semi-finals, UCSB and 2nd seed Wake Forest played to a 0-0 tie before UCSB won the game on penalty kicks 4-3. In the championship game, UCSB defeated UCLA 2-1 to win its first NCAA Men's Soccer title and its second NCAA championship (1979 Men's Water Polo) in school history.

In conference play, the Gauchos have dominated Big West competition. They have won the Big West Championship in 5 of the last 7 years. Also, the Gauchos have had no less than 5 former players receive full international caps.

The Gauchos have led the NCAA in attendance each year from 2007 to 2012, and averaged 5,873 fans during their 2010 home matches. The Gauchos Sep. 24, 2010 match against UCLA drew 15,896 fans, the highest attendance for an NCAA soccer match since the year 2000.

Basketball

Both the UCSB men and women's basketball teams play at the UCSB Events Center, commonly known as the Thunderdome.

In 2005, UCSB Women's Basketball won its unprecedented ninth straight Big West Conference Championship. The team had its best year in history during the 2004 season when it advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 where it lost to eventual champion UConn. UCSB was the only team to hold UConn to less than a double-digit victory in the NCAA playoffs.

In the 2012 Big West Tournament, the UCSB women's basketball team became the first 6th seed to win the tournament. In the first round, the team traveled to UC Irvine and defeated the 3rd seeded Anteaters 61-51. The Gauchos continued on their playoff march against the Pacific Tigers in the semifinals hosted at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. Pacific swept UCSB in the regular season, but the Gauchos were victorious when it mattered the most as they bounced the Tigers out of the tournament with an overwhelming 84-66 decision. The 84-point output currently stands as the most points the Gauchos have scored under head coach Carlene Mitchell. After defeating the number 3 seed and number 5 seed, the Gauchos ended up being the higher ranked team in the championship game as they were set to face Long Beach State who pulled off two miraculous upsets of their own as the 7 seed. The Gauchos went on to capture its record 14th Big West crown with a 63-54 final tally. Gaucho center Kirsten Tilleman had a double-double (16 points and 11 rebounds) against the 49ers, which earned her the tournament MVP honors. She was also included on the All-Tournament team roster along with her teammate sophomore guard Melissa Zornig, who averaged 16.7 points per game in the tournament. The 2011-2012 Gauchos' season ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament where they fell 81-40 against the eventual national champion Baylor.

UCSB Men's Basketball had its best years in the late '80s and early '90s under coach Jerry Pimm, highlighted by a 77-70 victory over #1 UNLV in 1990, and NCAA tournament appearances in 1988 (lost to Maryland) and 1990 (defeated Houston and lost to Michigan State). The Gauchos returned to the NCAA tournament in 2002 where they nearly upset powerhouse Arizona in the opening round. Over the years, a few of Pimm's assistants at UCSB have gone on to coach other major programs around the country, including Ben Howland (1982–1994) of UCLA and Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh.

In the 2009-10 season, UCSB Men's Basketball was the regular season champion and final tournament champion in the Big West Conference, defeating Long Beach State. It won an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament and played 2nd seed Ohio State, losing to the Buckeyes. In 2010-2011, they placed fifth in the regular season. They defeated Long Beach State in the tournament final for the second year in a row. The Gauchos were the lowest seed to win the Big West Tournament since sixth-seeded San Jose State toppled Utah State in 1996. They played the 2nd seeded Florida Gators and lost. It was the first time that UCSB entered an NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons.

Some famous Gauchos basketball players are Brian Shaw, Conner Henry, Carrick DeHart, Eric McArthur, Chris Devine, Alex Harris, Cecil Brown, Raymond Tutt, Lucius Davis, Doug Muse, Branduinn Fullove, Mark Hull, Nick Jones, Don Ford, Ray Kelly, and Orlando Johnson who currently plays for the Indiana Pacers of the NBA. On the women's side, Kristen Mann currently plays in the WNBA and Mekia Valentine was drafted by the New York Liberty in the 2011 WNBA Draft.

Swimming

Based out of Campus Pool on the UCSB campus, the swimming program has seen its fair share of success. For 32 seasons Gregg Wilson has been the head coach of the men's and women's swimming teams. Wilson has posted a dual meet record of 292-208-1 (172-115 with the men, 120-92-1 with the women). Even more impressive, his squads have collected 34 Big West Conference Championships, 24 by his men’s teams and 10 by his women’s teams. Before the Texas Longhorns men's swim team broke it, the UCSB men's swim team set the NCAA record for most consecutive conference titles in any sport with 23 straight Big West Conference championships from 1979-2001. The men’s teams have been ranked as high as 16th nationally and several of his swimmers over the years have advanced to the NCAA Championships. In fact, the men’s team has turned in 38 All-American performances under Wilson.

Notable alumni of the program include Olympic gold medalists Richard Schroeder, Jason Lezak, Sandy Neilson, Sophie Kamoun, former 50-meter freestyle world record holder Bruce Stahl (the first person to ever hold this world record), and Pat Cary.

Water Polo & Volleyball

UCSB won the 1979 National Championship in men's water polo, defeating UCLA Bruins in the championship match by a score of 11-3. The men's volleyball team has finished as the NCAA runner up 5 times, most recently in 2011. The women's volleyball team plays at the UCSB Events Center, while the men's team plays at Robertson Gymnasium.

Notable club sports

Athletics at UCSB is not limited to the Intercollegiate Athletic Department. While there are 450 students-athletes in ICA, there are over 700 in Club (Recreational) sports teams including: Alpine Racing, Cycling, Fencing, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Rugby, Sailing, Soccer, Triathlon, Ultimate, Water Ski, and Rowing. Many of these teams are highly regarded and compete against Intercollegiate teams from across the United States. The Women's Water Polo team captured two Collegiate Club titles, in 1987 and 1989.

Rowing

Rowing has produced several National Team members including nine-time US National Rowing Team member Amy Fuller, winner of several Olympic and World Championship medals who currently serves as the head coach of the UCLA Bruins rowing program.

Rugby

The Gauchos play college rugby in Division 1-A in the California conference against traditional rivals such as Cal Poly. The Gauchos previously played in Division 1-AA, where they were consistently one of the better teams in the Division. In the 2010-2011 season, the Gauchos were undefeated in regular season play, and finished second in Division 1-AA, notching playoff wins against Stanford and Oregon State. The Gauchos were promoted to Division 1-A following the 2011-12 season. The Gauchos have produced several top rugby players, such as Bill Leversee, who has played for the U.S. national team. Gauchos rugby is led by head coach Kevin Battle.

Surf

UCSB's 12-time national championship surf team holds more trophies than any other surf team in the nation. Its last national championship was led by captain Colin Andersen in 2010 at the National Scholastic Surfing Association Nationals.

Fight song

“	Olé, Olé Olé Olé! Gauchos, Gauchos!	”
—The unofficial fight song.

El "C" Grande
We are Sons of California,
Fighting for the Gold and Blue.
Palms of glory we will win,
For Alma Mater true.
Poly’s men will soon be routed
By our dazzling “C”,
We’ll stomp ’em in the mud
Their green will turn to blood,
In our hour of victory!

U! C! Sss! B! U-C-S-B, Go Gauchos!

Notable alumni

• Joe Cannon, 2002 & 2004 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, current goalkeeper for the San Jose Earthquakes, and former member of the United States National Team.
• Larry Dierker, 1969 & 1971 MLB All-Star pitcher and 1998 NL Manager of the Year for the Houston Astros.
• Eric Fonoimoana, 2000 Olympic Games Gold Medalist in Beach Volleyball.
• Rob Friend, soccer forward for Borussia Mönchengladbach of the German Bundesliga and the Canadian National Team.
• Carin Jennings, 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup and Golden Ball Winner, 1996 Olympic Games Gold Medalist in soccer; National Soccer Hall of Fame (Personal) and United States Olympic Hall of Fame (as 1996 Women's Soccer team) inductee. UCSB's only 4-time All American and the NCAA's all-time leading scorer (men or women) with 102 career goals.
• Jason Lezak, 4 time Olympic Gold Medalist and 7 time Olympic Medalist swimmer in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympic Games.
• Tony Lochhead, soccer left back for Wellington Phoenix FC of the Australian A-League and the New Zealand National Team.
• Thiago Martins, soccer striker for FK Bodø/Glimt of the Norwegian Tippeligaen.
• Kevin McClatchy, co-owner of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates franchise.
• Sandy Neilson, 3-time Olympic Gold Medalist freestyle swimmer in the 1972 Olympic Games.
• Todd Rogers, 2008 Olympic Games Gold Medalist in Beach Volleyball; 1997 AVP Rookie of the Year, 2004-2007 AVP Best Defensive Player, 2006 AVP MVP, 2007 AVP Champion.
• Jim Rome, Sports radio talk show host and former Sports Director of KCSB, the college radio station located on the UCSB campus.
• Brian Shaw, 3-time (2000, 2001, 2002) NBA Champion point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers and current assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers.
• Ryan Spilborghs, MLB center fielder for the Colorado Rockies.
• Craig Wilson, U.S. Olympic Water Polo goalie Silver Medalist in the 1984 & 1988 Olympic Games and participant in the 1992 Games.
• Michael Young, 5-time (2004–2008) MLB All-Star shortstop for the Texas Rangers and 2006 MLB All Star Game MVP.
• Kristen Mann WNBA Basketball player, most recently with the Minnesota Lynx in 2010.
• Scott Fisher Former National Basketball League Australia player and head coach.
• Charissa Thompson ESPN on-air talent, current co-host of SportsNation.
• Steve Czaban Yahoo! Sports Radio, nationally syndicated sports radio host

External links

• Official website