TOP SPORTING EVENTS: APRIL 28-MAY 9
UPDATE: UCSB defeated Cal State Long Beach 3-1 (25-17, 26-28, 25-20, 25-23) in the MPSF men’s volleyball semifinals Thursday. The Gauchos will face USC in the title match Saturday night at the Galen Center.
UCSB has an outside shot at NCAA tournament berths in men’s volleyball and women’s water polo this weekend, and the Gaucho rugby club has its sights set on the USA Rugby Division 1 college final four.
The Gauchos face Long Beach State tonight (Thu., Apr. 28) in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball tournament at USC’s Galen Center. Seventh-seeded UCSB upset No. 2 BYU on the road last weekend, while No. 6 Long Beach knocked off No. 3 Stanford. The Gauchos are 0-2 against the 49ers this year, winning only one set. Top-ranked USC takes on No. 4 UC Irvine in the other semifinal. The winners will vie Saturday night for the title and a berth the NCAA final four next week at University Park, Pa. The last time UCSB reached that plateau was 1988.
Four Gaucho seniors are All-MPSF selections: Jeff Menzel, who had a season-high 27 kills against BYU, on the first team; Scott Slaughter and Andy McGuire on the second team; and setter Vince Devaney, honorable mention.
UCSB is hosting the Big West women’s water polo tournament at the Campus Pool. The conference winner will be awarded an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament for the first time. The Gauchos, seeded third, will open against Long Beach State on Friday. Top-seeded UC Irvine, undefeated in Big West regular season games, has a bye to Saturday’s semifinals. Cortney Collyer, a senior from Santa Barbara, leads the favored Anteaters. She is their leading scorer as well as a defensive standout.
The Gaucho rugby club ran roughshod over its Southern California competition and will take an 8-0 record into a West regional matchup Saturday night against Oregon State at Harder Stadium. Stanford and Northern Colorado will play the other semifinal, with the winners facing off Sunday for a spot in the national final four.
Meanwhile, runners of all ages can participate in the Gaucho Gallop, one of the most popular events of the fifth annual All Gaucho Reunion, on Saturday morning. The 10K and 5K races will start at 9 a.m. The pre-race at 8:15 is the Dioji Dog Dash, a 1K race for human-canine partners.
In high school action, the Santa Barbara Dons and Dos Pueblos Chargers will meet on the DP baseball diamond Friday afternoon in the rubber match of their Channel League series. The Dons won 7-0 on Tuesday, and the Chargers bounced back with a 10-6 victory Wednesday.
Thursday, April 28
College baseball – Oxnard at SBCC, 2:30 p.m.; Azusa Pacific at Westmont, 3 p.m.
High school track & field – Santa Barbara at Dos Pueblos, 3 p.m.
High school softball – Malibu at Carpinteria, 3:30 p.m.
High school boys volleyball – Santa Barbara at Dos Pueblos, 6 p.m.
College men’s volleyball – MPSF semifinals at Galen Center, Los Angeles: UCSB vs. Long Beach State, 5 p.m.; USC vs. UC Irvine, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 29
High school baseball – Santa Barbara at Dos Pueblos, 3:15 p.m.; Buena at San Marcos, 3:15 p.m.; Nordhoff at Carpinteria, 3:30 p.m.
High school softball – Dos Pueblos at Santa Barbara, 3:30 p.m.
College women’s water polo – Big West Tournament at UCSB: First round: UC Davis vs. Pacific, 3:30 p.m.; UCSB vs. Long Beach State, 5:15 p.m.
College baseball – UCSB at UC Riverside, 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 30
High school boys volleyball – Dunn at Laguna Blanca, 11 a.m.
College track & field – UCSB vs. Cal Poly at Westmont, 12 p.m.
Basketball – Hollywood Aztecs at Santa Barbara Breakers, SBCC Sports Pavilion, 4 p.m.
College women’s water polo – Big West Tournament at UCSB: Semifinals, 3:30 p.m.
College rugby – Division 1 playoffs at UCSB’s Harder Stadium: UCSB vs. Oregon State, 6 p.m.; Stanford vs. Northern Colorado, 8 p.m.
College baseball – UCSB at UC Riverside, 6 p.m.
College men’s volleyball – MPSF championship at Galen Center, Los Angeles: UCSB vs. USC, 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 1
College baseball – UCSB at UC Riverside, 1 p.m.
College women’s water polo – Big West Tournament at UCSB: 5th place, 11 a.m.; 3rd place, 12:45 p.m.; championship, 2:30 p.m.
College rugby – Division 1 playoffs at UCSB’s Harder Stadium: Consolation, 4 p.m. Winners match, 6 p.m.
Monday, May 2
Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon, Harry’s Plaza Café, 12 p.m.
High school baseball – Nordhoff at San Marcos, 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 3
High school softball – Ventura at Santa Barbara, 3:30 p.m.; Buena at Dos Pueblos, 3:30 p.m.; Carpinteria at Bishop Diego, 3:30 p.m.
High school boys volleyball – Nordhoff at Bishop Diego, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, May 4
High school baseball – Santa Paula at Bishop Diego, 3:30 p.m.
High school softball – Carpinteria at San Marcos, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 5
High school track & field – Tri-Valley League Finals at Carpinteria, 3 p.m.
High school baseball – Buena at Dos Pueblos, 3:15 p.m.
High school boys volleyball – San Marcos at Dos Pueblos, 6 p.m.
Friday, May 6
Special Olympics – Santa Barbara School Games (track & field), La Playa Stadium, 9 a.m.
College baseball – UCSB at Cal State Northridge, 3 p.m.; SBCC in Southern California Regionals.
High school track & field – Channel League Finals at Ventura, 3 p.m.
High school baseball – Ventura at Santa Barbara, 3:15 p.m.; Buena at Dos Pueblos, 3:15 p.m.; Oaks Christian at Carpinteria, 3:30 p.m.
High school boys volleyball – Mission Prep at Cate, 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 7
High school softball – Bishop Diego at San Marcos (2), 11 a.m.
College baseball – UCSB at Cal State Northridge, 1 p.m.; SBCC in Southern California Regionals.
College softball – SBCC in Southern California Regionals.
Basketball – Venice Beach Ninjas at Santa Barbara Breakers, SBCC Sports Pavilion, 4 p.m.
Roller derby – Mission City Brawlin’ Betties vs. Prison City Derby Dames, Earl Warren Showgrounds, 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 8
College baseball – UCSB at Cal State Northridge, 1 p.m.
College softball – SBCC in Southern California Regionals.
Polo – Lisle Nixon Memorial at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, 1 p.m.
Monday, May 9
Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon, Harry’s Plaza Café, 12 p.m.
RUNNING, WALKING, CYCLING
Friday-Saturday, April 29-30 – Santa Barbara Endurance Races (100 mile, 100K, 50 mile, 50K, 35K, 25K 15K), Rancho Oso, 6 a.m. sber.co.
Saturday, April 30 – Gaucho Gallop, 10K/5K, and 1K Dog Dash, UCSB Harder Stadium, 8:15 a.m. ucsbruns.com.
Wednesday, May 4 – Nite Moves Summer Sunset Series (1k swim, 5k run), Leadbetter Beach, 6 p.m. Continues every Wednesday through August 31. runsantabarbara.com.
Saturday, May 7 – Wine Country Half Marathon, Sagunto Street, Santa Ynez, 7 a.m. runsantaynez.com.
Saturday, May 14 – Lakes of Love 4-Mile Run/Walk for Cancer Research, Stow Grove Park, 9 a.m. lakesoflove.com.
Friday, May 20 – Amgen Tour of California at Solvang: Women’s International Time Trial Challenge, 11:30 a.m. Amgen Tour Men’s Sixth Stage Time Trial, 12:30 p.m. amgentourofcalifornia.com.
SPECIAL EVENT
Monday, May 23 – 44th Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Hall of Fame Banquet, Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort, 6 p.m. Inductees: Jenny Santos Lafferty, Linnea Mendoza Meister, Omel Nieves, Scott Puailoa, Kyle Shotwell, Ken Preston, Bill Pintard and the South Coast Community Aquatics Association. Reservations: www.sbart.org