Adam Makhyoun, a fourth year Psychology major at UCSB, is a regular participant in Intramural basketball and football. Even though Adam looks like another athlete pulling down rebounds and catching passes, he faces unique challenges, not just while on the basketball court or football field, but in every day life.

When he was 19 years old, Adam was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. “I lost thirty or forty pounds in a month,” Makhyoun said when describing the symptoms he experienced just before he was diagnosed. “I went to the doctor and my blood sugar was at 768, which means I was in danger of falling into a coma. I spent a couple days in the ICU and they got me back to normal. I read some books, talked to some nurses, and I’ve been learning about the disease ever since.”

Diabetes is a metabolic disease where the body is either unable to produce the required amount insulin, or the cells do not respond to insulin, resulting in high blood sugar. Makhyoun was eager to explain the difference between Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes.

“I am Type 1, which mean I’m insulin dependent, so basically my pancreas does not work. Type 2 diabetics are insulin resistant. Their body rejects the insulin that is produced. 95% of people with diabetes have Type 2, so I am part of a small minority.”

Diabetics must be constantly aware of their blood sugar level, and most carry a testing kit with them.

“I test between classes, always before I eat, and before I go out or go to play ball,” Makhyoun said. “It’s always the first thing I do when I wake up, and I test six to ten times a day, depending on how much I have going on.”

Makhyoun stressed how beneficial playing sports is for his condition.

“When exercising, your muscles absorb the sugars in your blood, and I can sometimes go four to six extra hours without additional insulin. I love basketball, and the fact that it helps with my diabetes makes it that much better. But you have to watch out, because ten to twelve hours after playing, sometimes when you’re sleeping, you will get hit with low blood sugar. But I just eat some sugar and I’m back to normal in a matter of minutes.”

Makhyoun stressed how importing eating well is in his life, “the most important part of a diabetic’s life is family, food, and friends, in no particular order.”

Despite his condition, Makhyoun remains constantly optimistic.

“Diabetes is more of a yield sign than a stop sign,” he said. “It makes you more aware. I pay much better attention to my health now than I did before. I’m better off now in my life, with diabetes, than I was before.”

By Brent MacDonald

Often times, tournament play is most important during season-ending conference matches held between different teams in a league. For the UCSB men’s club volleyball team, tournament experience has been regular competition. The Gauchos have won both of its tournaments this season, and play in the third tournament of the year this weekend at home.

“This tournament will be a chance to get a lot of game experience with each other,” junior Daniel Samarin said. “We’ll be able to get our timing down, which is important.”

UCSB won its first game at UC Berkeley during the pre-season, and placed fifth out of 24 teams at the Long Beach Classic tournament last weekend. One of the teams participating at Long Beach was USC, which UCSB beat during the same weekend. USC will travel to Santa Barbara this weekend to participate in the league tournament being hosted at the MAC pavilion on campus. UCLA and Cal State Channel Islands will also be playing this weekend.

UCSB plays at Channel Islands this Thursday in a league game. The Gauchos’ only other duel match has been an exhibition against Cal Poly, which resulted in a UCSB loss.

As UCSB is a club team and not school sponsored, the team has a  restricted amount of practice time per week, depending on availability of the practice courts on campus. To be one of the best teams in league, Samarin knows that each game must be utilized as an opportunity to work on team performance.

“We have a lot of really talented players but not much time to practice together,” he said. “So each tournament is a big deal.”

Though the team may not have as much time to play together as other teams in league, there is an advantage that UCSB may have over many other squads.

“Other teams lost a lot of guys from last year. We lost one,” junior Ben Johnson said. “Anytime you can play with the same group of people you’re going to be better [than other teams].”

The Gauchos will try to use their strong core of returning players to improve their defense.  So far, their offense proves to be the strongest part of UCSB’s play this season, but Samarin says that a National Championship contending team is able to succeed on defense as well.

“We’ve been good at keeping the ball in play [on offense],” Samarin said. “But we’ve been focusing a lot more on our defense, mainly blocking and digging.”

By Brent MacDonald

To be the best, oftentimes it is necessary to beat the best. The UCSB Men’s Rugby team is currently the top-ranked team in its league, and the upcoming game against University of San Diego will provide another team with a chance to challenge the Gauchos.

“Every team is trying to beat us,” junior tight-head prop Stephan Salimi said. “They think if they can take us down they have a shot at winning our division.”

The UCSB Men’s Rugby team is a Division 1 Collegiate League team, and a part of the Southern California Conference (SCC). Other teams in the SCC include UC Irvine, University of Southern California, University of San Diego, and Loyola-Marymount University.

UCSB’s top-ranked success in the league comes from its past two victories in conference play, and its rigorous preseason schedule. The Gauchos have beaten both UCI and LMU in its first two official league games. UCSB played seven games in the pre-season, including then-4^th ranked University of Utah and the United States Under-20 National Team, a squad compiled of the best players in the

US under twenty years of age.

“We had a pretty rough pre-season,” senior flanker Mitchell Raisch said. “We got pretty highly ranked because of it.”

The Gauchos are currently ranked fourth in the nation, and Raisch knows that to keep this ranking throughout the season, the team must utilize its strengths from both last season, and the past few games.

“We have a really big, strong forward pack,” Raisch said. “Our weaknesses have always been staying focused…I think if we reiterate what we’ve learned in practice we’ll be alright.”

Only a few practices remain before UCSB travels south for a match against University of San Diego. USD is currently 1-2 on the season, having lost games to both BYU and Claremont. The sole conference game for USD was a win against USC, 58-5. The UCSB team has already beaten USD during the pre-season when the Gauchos paired with the Academy team, made up of Santa Barbara City College students.

After losing once to UCSB already, USD will try to use the experience as motivation for the game this weekend.

“It’s gonna be one of our most physical games for sure,” Salimi said.

UCSB will play against USD this Saturday at noon at the University of San Diego. USD is currently second-ranked in the SCC behind the Gauchos, and the game will offer an opportunity for either team to prove itself worthy of a first-place conference ranking.

“They’re a good team, and we’re a good team,” Raisch said. “If we come out victorious we’ll have a pretty solid grasp on the league.”

Season openers are often the most exciting games for a team, especially when the match is held on a home field. For UCSB women’s lacrosse, the anticipation about its home opener has been felt for months.

“Practicing is super fun but it’s no comparison to an actual game,” said Ashley Antoon-Algieri, senior attack for UCSB. “When all the adrenaline is pumping through you it’s exciting.”

UCSB women’s lacrosse began its season Saturday with a home match against Claremont College. Prior to the game, UCSB’s record against Claremont was an undefeated 3-0 over the past three years, with each of the three wins coming by a margin of two goals. Claremont College women’s lacrosse is a Division 3 athletic team, which means it is both school sponsored and nationally ranked. These are two qualities that UCSB women’s lacrosse lacks, yet neither of which had an effect on the outcome of the game.

“Worst case, we lose to a great opponent,” Antoon-Algieri said before the game. “Best case, we strut our stuff and we win.”

It was the first official match of the season for UCSB, as the only competition the team has seen thus far was an alumni game during fall quarter in November and inter-squad scrimmages during practice.

UCSB was dominant throughout the match, beating Claremont by a score of 21-11. Nine players scored at least once for the Gauchos, and Antoon-Algieri led the team with five goals and five assists. Junior Maegan Cruse scored five goals as well, in addition to three assists.

“It always helps to start with a big win,” Antoon-Algieri said after the game. “We were focused and we had a lot of fun.”

A new addition to UCSB’s practices has been a rigorous strength-training regimen, implemented in one-hour sessions during two practices per week. The training program has already shown improvement in many players, and the team looks forward to exploiting the benefits of the hard workouts.

“If you train slow you’ll be slow, if you train fast you’ll be fast. The way you train is the way you play,” junior defender Courtney Choi said. “A lot of girls have been pushing themselves a lot harder and it’s showing.”

The game against Claremont was the first of four games leading up to the annual Santa Barbara Shootout, which is scheduled for the weekend of February 18-20. A record 64 teams will participate in the 23^rd annual event, which will bring over 2,500 athletes, coaches, referees and family members to the sunny setting of Santa Barbara.

“It’s a lot of great players in one spot,” Antoon-Algieri said. “It’s our favorite tournament of the year and a great venue - a lot of girls enjoy it.”

Both the weeks leading up to the tournament and the shootout itself will provide UCSB with the game time experience that it has been training for since fall quarter. However national championship games won’t be played for months, and the Gauchos know that the game against Claremont is only the beginning of a long season.

“We’re preparing ourselves for more competition,” Choi said. “We need to focus on each game before moving to the next one.”

UCSB Women's Lacrosse Homepage

By Brent MacDonald

“Practicing is super fun…but it’s no comparison to an actual game,” senior attack Ashley Antoon-Algieri said. “When all the adrenaline is pumping through you…it’s exciting.”

Gaucho women’s lacrosse began its season this Saturday with a home match against Claremont College. Prior to the game, UCSB’s record against Claremont was an undefeated 3-0 over the past three years, with each of the three wins coming by a margin of two goals. Claremont College women’s lacrosse is a Division 3 athletic team, which means it is both school sponsored, and nationally ranked. These are two qualities that UCSB women’s lacrosse lacks, yet neither of which had an effect on the outcome of the game.

“Worst case, we lose to a great opponent,” Antoon-Algieri said before the game. “Best case, we strut our stuff and we win.”

It was the first official match of the season for UCSB, as the only competition the team has seen thus far has been an alumni game during fall quarter in November, and inter-squad scrimmages during practice.

UCSB was dominant throughout the match, beating Claremont by a score of 21-11. Nine players scored at least once for the Gauchos, and Antoon-Algieri led the team with five goals and five assists. Junior Maegan Cruse scored five goals as well, in addition to three assists.

“It always helps to start with a big win,” Antoon-Algieri said after the game. “We were focused and we had a lot of fun.”

A new addition to UCSB’s practices has been a rigorous strength-training regimen, implemented in one-hour sessions during two practices per week. The training program has already shown improvement in many players, and the team looks forward to exploiting the benefits of the hard workouts.

“If you train slow you’ll be slow, if you train fast you’ll be fast. The way you train is the way you play,” junior defender Courtney Choi said. “A lot of girls have been pushing themselves a lot harder and it’s showing.”

The game against Claremont was the first of four games leading up to the annual Santa Barbara Shootout, which is scheduled for the weekend of February 18-20. A record 64 teams will participate in the 23^rd annual event, which will bring over 2,500 athletes, coaches, referees and family members to the sunny setting of Santa Barbara.

“It’s a lot of great players in one spot,” Antoon-Algieri said. “It’s our favorite tournament of the year…it’s a great venue and a lot of girls enjoy it.”

Both the weeks leading up to the tournament and the shootout itself will provide UCSB with the game time experience that it has been training for since fall quarter. However national championship games won’t be played for months,

and the Gauchos know that the game against Claremont is only the beginning of a long season.

“We’re preparing ourselves for more competition,” Choi said. “We need to focus on each game before moving to the next one.”

By Devyn Howard

The UCSB Rugby teams got off to a roaring start this past weekend as both the men’s and women’s team played in their season openers. 

The men's team competed at home against UC Irvine in an intense game that was dominated by our Gauchos.  The Gaucho men pushed hard against the challenging Anteaters, and went on to soundly win the game, 50-10.

The women's team also kicked off the season with fireworks as they played a tough match against the UCLA Bruins.  The Lady Gauchos worked hard but ultimately lost in a close 18-14 game that kept Gaucho fans on the edge of their seats. Undaunted, Barbara will come back to fight even harder at their next game.

The success and spirit of these Gaucho ruggers should come as no surprise as they are both made up of athletes, who are expertly coached by the Director of Rugby, Kevin Battle.  Expressing his perspective on what is to come this season, Coach Battle explained that conditioning and practice in the preseason has led to a group of confident players who aren't afraid to work hard.

"They're working their butts off,” he said. “They're an extremely, extremely talented group."

Setting the bar high is another powerful motivator for the teams. "We've set our goal as the National Championships,” Battle said, noting that this goal is different than in previous seasons. "We've realized that if we want to be National Champs, we have to do things a little bit differently. That's why we get started earlier each day."  Previously, the teams had their eyes set on League Champs, but it seems that aiming for the Nationals will push the teams to work even harder to triumph in this year’s seasons.

The disciplined Gaucho teams train 5-6 days a week starting before the sun comes up. It’s not an easy schedule for busy students, but one that Coach Battle feels is important to the success of the teams. "We try to control the things we can control: the effort we put into it,” Battle said. “If we’re willing to get up early and put in the work, then results will come. You do what you can do. We’re done training before most people have woken up. It helps the team get their day started off right.” This strategy is one that Coach Battle believes strongly in.

While he admits that all teams would love to win every game, he recognizes that the occasional loss can help the teams learn.

"Losing offers you an opportunity to look at what are your weaknesses,” he said. “I think you learn far more from your losses than you do your wins."

The fast paced sport of rugby has attracted a pretty enthusiastic following in past seasons, and Coach Battle acknowledges that team support is a valuable asset. "The more people we can get to support the teams, the better,” he said. “We’d love to see the crowds grow and I think they’ll enjoy the pace of the game. It’s a very physical game. It’s a lot of fun."

Both the men's and women's teams also get positive energy from each other, according to the Coach.  "I think they feed off of each others energy,” he said. “They kind of push each other, too. If we can maintain our focus and effort and the work that we put in, I don’t think too many teams will be able to stand in the way." We agree!

With all of the hard working players and the dedication of Coach Battle and his assistants, the Gaucho ruggers are faced with a powerful and exciting season for the Gaucho Rugby teams. Catch their upcoming games as the men's team plays LMU at Rob Field this Friday, and stay tuned to the results of the women’s team as they travel down to San Diego to play UCSB this Saturday.

Despite the rain, we all know that Winter Quarter in SB still lets us run around in tanks, shorts, and even swimsuits. Well, here’s your chance to add to your “winter” collection by receiving a free UCSB Rec Sports Tank Top! If you are Caught on Campus wearing you Rec Sports “Where Gauchos Play” wristband, you’ll be eligible to get your very own tank! The Marketing Team will be around campus this month rewarding gauchos everywhere who rep their blue wrist décor.

Register on GauchosPlay.com, and when we’re out on campus, you’ll find out the exact locations of where the Marketing Team be handing out Rec Sports swag. It’s always a great day to be a gaucho, especially when you’re wearing a fresh, free tank!