From The Desk Of The Athletics Director

Greetings Highlanders Fans

It is hard to believe, but the 2015-16 UC Riverside Athletics season is in the books, and what an exciting year it was.

From Faith Makau's Big West Cross Country Championship in the fall; to Women's Basketball's 16-0 conference mark and WNIT appearance; to Vesta Bell's National Championship in the Indoor Weight Throw; to Big West Championship performances by our Men's and Women's Golf programs, and Track & Field athletes Carl Nahigian (Men's Shot Put), Asha Giles (Women's 400m), Breana Jemison (Women's Shot Put) and Tayler Fleming (Women's Long Jump); it was truly a remarkable year.

In fact, it was the best year we have had athletically since joining the Big West Conference for the 2001-02 season. After years of finishing at or near the bottom of the league in the Big West Commissioner's Cup Standings, we posted our first upper division finish in our history coming in fourth place.

Although our ultimate goal is to finish at the top, this year marks a fantastic first step towards achieving that goal.

We took time to celebrate our achievements this year at our Annual Scotty Awards where Men's Basketball Player Jaylen Bland was named our Male Student-Athlete of the Year, and Women's Basketball player Brittany Crain and Track & Field athlete Vesta Bell were co-winners of the Female Student-Athlete of the Year award.

Women's Tennis player Natalie Penner was recognized for her efforts in the community with the Lindy Citizenship Award, and former UC Riverside Athletics Director Stan Morrison was on hand to announce the winner of the aptly-named Stan Morrison Best Teammate award, which went to Women's Basketball player, Annelise Ito.

Also in attendance was Dr. Larry Harper, and he presented Women's Golfer Haley Wian with the Hueston M. and Margaret W. Harper Scholarship.

We also hosted a Celebration of Champions at the Grier Pavilion atop City Hall, where we gathered with campus and community leaders to celebrate the many successes of the past 10 months. Mayor Rusty Bailey, Councilmember Andy Melendrez, Chancellor Kim Wilcox, Vice Chancellor Ron Coley, Athletics Association Chair-Elect Rob Field and others, helped send our award winners and 62 graduating seniors off in style, and I would like to thank all who attended for the roles they played in our success this season.

Speaking of graduates, I continue to meet former Highlanders on my travels around the state and the country, and recently had the chance to meet with a pair of Track & Field alumni, Rashaad Moore and Reanne Swafford.

It is my goal to engage with as many UC Riverside alumni and supporters of Highlanders athletics as I can throughout the course of each year, and my door is always open. If you would like come to my office, or arrange a meeting during my travels, please don't hesitate to reach out via email at athleticsdirector@ucr.edu.

In addition to traveling and meeting many of you, serving as your athletics director allows me to take advantage of some unique opportunities. The absolute highlight of my year away from the field of competition came earlier this month when I got to see Riverside from an entirely different perspective. That was when I joined Athletics Association Board Member Matt Friedlander, Head Women's Basketball Coach John Margaritis, Director of Development Krysta Plato, and UC Riverside mascot Scotty Highlanders in going "Over The Edge" to support Habitat For Humanity Riverside.

We were among scores of Riverside residence who rappelled down Mount Rubidoux Manor—the tallest building in Riverside—to raise funds for Habitat For Humanity's Veteran Services. I would encourage all of you to join the Highlanders contingent next year, and go "Over The Edge" to assist with this worthy cause.

Although our official NCAA competition schedules are done for the year, there is still activity to follow this summer. We have three members of our Track & Field programs—Emily Sanchez (Women's 5,000m), Jorden O'Neal (Women's Long Jump), and Ricky Wright Jr. (Men's Long Jump)—competing in Junior Nationals from June 24-26 in Clovis, California.

In addition, All-American Breana Jemison (Women's Shot Put) is taking part in the U.S Olympic Trails in Eugene, Oregon from July 1-10. She joins UC Riverside's three-time All-American Brenda Martinez '10, who is competing for a spot in the Olympics in the 800m.

Speaking of summer, there are plenty of opportunities over the coming months for you and your children to take advantage of our various sports camps. Help your child improve their skills at the hands of some of the best coaches in the nation by clicking on the Camps links on each sport's respective home page on gohighlanders.com.

Facilities improvements are also continuing to take place over the summer, particularly in the area of "The Bear's Den"—our new-and-improved locker room facility and lounge area, which will serve as the primary residence for most of our 300-plus Division I student-athletes. If you would like to contribute to, or learn more about this project, please contact our Athletics Development Office at (951) 827-4282.

With that, it is time for us to say our final goodbyes for the 2015-16 season. We will be back with more excitement, and more champions in the fall. Until then …

All the best, and Go Highlanders!

Tamica

From The Desk Of The Athletics Director

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