Author: Nilesh Tendolkar

The outdoor program at the Academic and Student Recreation Center will be organizing a two-day Snow Camping trip on Mt. St. Helens Jan. 28 and 29. The destination could be changed to Mt. Hood depending on the weather and other factors.

“We will make a decision between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood depending on the avalanche danger, whichever is lower, and the comfort level,” said Adam Edwards, a post-baccalaureate sociology major and trip leader. “The decision will be made on Wed., Jan. 25.”

The Academic and Student Recreation Center will host the Healthy U Wellness Challenge’s opening ceremony at 8 a.m. today on the second floor of the ASRC building. The event’s staff will provide detailed information and answer any questions participants may have.

The Healthy U Wellness Challenge is a nine-week competition open to Portland State students, faculty, staff, family and friends. Participants can compete individually or as a part of a team. Competitors log points online to win prizes and incentives.

The Portland State men’s and women’s tennis program hired a full time assistant coach, Angelo Niculescu, before the start of the 2012 season. A former University of South Carolina player, Niculescu is the first full time assistant in the program’s history.

“I am very excited to have Angelo fill that role,” third-year head coach Jay Sterling said in a statement. “His strong résumé as both a player and a coach make him qualified to be an assistant coach at any Division I school around the nation, so I’m really happy that he chose to join our coaching staff here at Portland State.”

The Portland State men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams will travel to Nampa, Idaho, to compete in the Jackson’s Open at the Jackson’s indoor track on Friday and Saturday. With this event, the Vikings will begin their 2011–12 season campaign.

Idaho State is hosting the two-day event, which will bring together track and field athletes from 15 colleges including Stanford, Portland State, Nevada, Central Washington and Lewis & Clark. The various events over the meet include the indoor pentathlon, heptathlon, weight throw, pole vault, high jump, shot put and long jump.

The Portland State women’s volleyball team will play host to Big Sky rivals Sacramento State at the Peter W. Stott Center on Saturday in the last game of the regular season. The team will honor its only outgoing senior, defensive specialist/libero Nicole Bateham before the first serve.

This season the Vikings hold a record of 16-12 overall and 11-4 in the Big Sky Conference. They are currently second in the Big Sky table, one win behind league leaders Northern Colorado. Sacramento State sits third in the conference with nine wins and five losses (16-13 overall). Both the Hornets and the Vikings are assured a spot in the Big Sky playoffs this year. Eastern Washington is the fourth team qualified for the postseason.

The Portland State Cycling Recreation Club took part in the eighth series race of the River City Bicycles Cross Crusade at the Portland International Raceway on Sunday. Two members of the club completed the race in their respective categories. The club is the official cycling team for Portland State University.

Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing in which the participants do multiple laps of a short course on terrains involving pavement, wooded trails, grass, mud, steep hills or other obstacles. The circuits typically vary between 2.5 km to 3.5 km in length. The Cross Crusade race series is one of the largest cyclo-cross series in the United States, with over 700 participants racing in different categories.

The Portland State Cycling Club will compete in the eighth series race of the River City Bicycles Cross Crusade at the Portland International Raceway on Sunday. The Cross Crusade series is a cyclo-cross race based in Portland. Since 2005, it has been one of the largest cyclo-cross series in the United States.

“I am very excited for the cyclo-cross crusade,” geography senior and club officer Michael Paxson said. “Even though I have never actually raced in a cyclo-cross event, I have a watched my fair share. I am planning on fixing up my mountain bike to race this upcoming weekend.”

Portland State women’s soccer, the reigning Big Sky regular season champions, lost 4-3 on sudden-death penalties to Weber State after a goalless overtime draw, in the first semi-final of the Big Sky tournament in Greeley, Colorado on Friday.

Portland State was the dominant team, out-shooting Weber State 22-8 in the game. The Vikings also led the corner kick count 5-0 and at one point were ahead 3-2 on penalties. However, they couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities and allowed the game to go into penalty kicks.

Despite being one of the most successful teams in recent Big Sky Conference history, the Big Sky Tournament title has eluded the Portland State women’s soccer team. The Vikings have won the Big Sky regular season championship twice in the last three years but have faltered at the semi-final barrier on both occasions.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Vikings, the reigning co-Big Sky regular season champions, will have the opportunity to advance to the Big Sky tournament final if they defeat Weber State in Greeley, Colo.

As a season of many firsts, the 2011 Timbers’ season will be fondly remembered in Portland’s sporting history. In its first ever season in Major League Soccer, the Timbers produced some truly remarkable moments and in the end, almost made it to the playoffs. The Timbers finished the season with a 11-14-9 record in the MLS (9-5-3 home, 2-9-6 away) and finished just four points short of the last postseason spot.

“The disappointing thing was we had the points in the bag,” Timbers head coach John Spencer said in a media statement. “We were [a few] points short of the playoffs, and we had those points in the bag here and let them go by conceding late goals.”

Get ready for a celebration this Sunday as the Portland State women’s soccer team will play its 2011 alumni game at the Hillsboro Stadium. The team’s current roster will be pitted against a team made up of former players. The alumni will surely have their work cut out for them, as they’ll be lining up against the reigning Big Sky champions.