Francesca Aleonar

Francesca Aleonar

International STudies: Linguistics

Marshall College

Senior Nickname: NTS Kyudo Alchemist

2021-2022 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

As a transfer student during the COVID quarantine, Francesca didn’t have much time with the club. She joined in 2020, but only had about a month or so of practice before quarantine and vaccine mandates forced her to stay home. However, once she was able to come to the field more and actually practice, Francesca became a core member of the team, competing as one of our barebow members on the mixed team during the outdoor season and the female barebow team when we could field one.

During the pandemic, Francesca started archery as something to do to get outside and have a little fun while doing it. So, she started taking lessons at a local archery range. Once Francesca came to UCSD, her mom saw a flyer for SGA advertising the workshops, and encouraged Francesca to join. Once she joined (and could actually come to the field), Francesca found her place on campus. As a commuter student, Francesca didn’t have many options to socialize, so joining this club gave her an opportunity to make new friends and get outside.

One of her favorite memories that she made during her time with the club was when she became a prophet… of a rubber chicken. Dubbed “Sun Gallo”, the rubber chicken became a sort of meme among the club members. Mostly because of the squawking sound it would make when squeezed (and the obvious annoyance it caused many of our club members), a lot of our members began to start worshipping it. She won this rubber chicken during our Halloween shoot, in which she won a prize and got the rubber chicken. She’s actually quite thankful to the rubber chicken, as she states that it helped her to start socializing with the club more.

Francesca isn’t only interested in the archery that SGA offers. For her birthday in 2021, Francesca also began taking classes on Kyudo, traditional Japanese archery. The members of the Kyudo club she took classes from made fun of her for her background in western archery (particularly dropping her bow), as Kyudo bows can be upwards of $2,000.

After graduation, Francesca plans on taking a job on campus and applying to language programs in Japan such as JET. She states that she will definitely continue with archery after college, though the form may change depending on where she goes. For at least a little bit, she will be finding a job around San Diego and plans to continue shooting with the club as a community member. We want to wish Francesca luck with whatever path she chooses to take and know that her positivity will carry her through whatever she faces.

Matt Hashimoto

Matt Hashimoto

Molecular and Cell Biology

Warren College

Senior Nickname: Mommimoto

USA Archery Level 2 Instructor
2019-2022 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Matt’s path through college has been a bumpy one, to say the least. His competitive archery career began in his sophomore year of college when he joined the club and tried to compete with a club genesis bow. After attending 12 qualifiers, at the very last qualifier that would be held, Matt qualified for the team by the skin of his teeth, literally qualifying with the lowest possible score, exactly 200. However, the entire time he was qualifying, he was cracking jokes, laughing (partially at himself), and having fun the entire time.

His college career was also just as rough. Having switched his major (from completely separate departments), applying for the CS lottery, and graduating with 286 credits, Matt worked himself to the bone in order to graduate on time. Juggling working in a lab, getting his school work done, socializing with friends, practicing and competing as an archer, and learning to become a coach ate up almost all of Matt’s free time, but he did it all earnestly with his infectious smile.

The troubles didn’t only come externally, however. Matt also struggled with feeling ready enough to do many of the things we see him doing now. When he was approached to potentially become the next head coach of the archery team, he questioned whether he was prepared enough to give new, incoming archers the same welcoming and fulfilling experiences that hooked him when he first joined SGA. However, in his graduating year, he finally made the decision to become the head coach of the team. He states that although he still believes he has a long way to go as a coach, he hopes that he helped younger archers as much as he learned about being a coach.

Going into the future, Matt hopes to find a job in the biotech industry and hopes to stay in San Diego. He plans to continue to act as the head coach for the foreseeable future and hopes he is able to create a community as welcoming as the one that welcomed him when he first joined. We want to thank Matt for his continued dedication to bettering the club and hope that whatever the future has in store for him, he deals with it all with that infectious smile on his face.

Xianglong Wang

Xianglong Wang

Cognitive Science - specialization in Machine Learning and Neural Computation

roosevelt College

Senior Nickname: Secret Bow Dealer

2021-2022 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Wang is someone driven by the urge to compete. To be able to test his skill and determination against his peers was something he actively sought after. He originally sated his drive to compete through cycling, where he competed for 7 years until it became too stressful for a college student to keep up. Both the physical and mental tax of training and staying motivated became too stressful for Wang to handle. The combination of this and COVID hitting China and stopping the races he could compete in forced Wang to find a new passion. During quarantine, Wang and his friends were hanging out at an Olympic training center, where they had archery classes. On a whim, he and his friends took a class, and Wang fell in love. The coach at the training center saw him and convinced him to keep training.

Once he returned to UCSD, he found SGA, and immediately knew this was where he wanted to be. Archery is a much more “relaxing” sport, not requiring much physical exertion (compared to a sport like cycling). Wang also appreciated the welcoming community the club offered, being able to rely on his friends and peers when he was feeling down or demotivated. Most importantly, however, the club competed. Wang was able to satiate his urge to compete through archery and SGA.

Wang states that his most memorable moment in archery was just getting his own gear. They had equipment for use at the center, but, to him, nothing compares to the feeling of being able to customize your own setup. He loved being able to customize every aspect of his bow, and he hopes that this is something that will encourage more archers to fall in love with the sport just as he did.

After college, Wang plans on attending Johns Hopkins University to study security informatics, network security, and cryptography. He hopes that he will be able to continue his archery career at JHU. We would like to wish him the best of luck in his athletic, academic, and professional career going forward, and hope that SGA has been a stepping stone for whatever path he chooses in his life.

Ethan Tao

Ethan Tao

Computer Science

Warren College

Senior Nickname: Surprisingly Photogenic international man of mystery

2019-2022 Director of IT
2019-2021 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2019 West Regional Men’s Recurve Team Bronze

Ethan is kind of a mystery. If you see him off the field or first meet him, he’s pretty quiet, doesn’t talk much, and often keeps to himself. However, when he is on the field, he is one of the most charismatic, interesting, and funny people you can meet. Ethan joined the club his freshman year and has quietly become a core member of the club. Although he didn’t compete in his last year with the club, he continued to come to the field, bringing his positive energy along too.

Ethan first got hooked on the club because of the family system. More specifically, his family went on a trip to Yosemite during his freshman year and this trip became a forming memory of his college life. Being able to get to know the other members of his family on a deeper level made Ethan feel more comfortable and welcome within this community. He states that this experience encouraged him to foster and grow the community that gave him this experience.

Ethan also states that the club has helped him grow as an individual as well. Throughout his college career, he struggled with feeling like he was falling behind his peers. But the club and archery have taught him that everyone progresses at their own pace. “Don’t compare yourself to others, getting to the finish line is the only thing that matters”, is one of the major lessons he has learned during his time with the club.

After college, Ethan has a job lined up as a software engineer and plans to stay in San Diego. He also plans to continue shooting with the club, though only as a community member. We will be waiting for him to return in the next few years with his positivity and wish him the best of luck in whatever path he chooses to walk in his life.

Irene Sha

Irene Sha

Mechanical Engineering

Warren College

Senior Nickname: Supreme Birb Overlord

2019-2022 Social Chair
2019-2021 UCSD Competitive Archery Team Member

Irene is a busy bee. If she’s not working on one of the many social events with the club, she’s in Envision working on a cosplay or a passion project, or managing one of the largest discords in UCSD, or finishing some of the 299 credits that she graduated with. Due to this, Irene has been too busy to spend a lot of time practicing with the team. But that doesn’t mean Irene hasn’t contributed to hosting some of the most memorable and fun events this club has offered in recent years.

Irene was always somewhat interested in archery, so when she saw a full recurve bow on library walk during her freshman year, she was immediately interested in the club. Once she joined, she fell in love with the club’s culture. Being able to improve as an archer surrounded by supportive friends and coaches made Irene feel welcome. Because of this, in her second year, Irene wanted to contribute to the community that made her feel so welcome during her first year, so she ran for social chair.

Once becoming the social chair, Irene’s schedule got more and more packed. Classes got harder, her responsibilities as an officer increased, and other responsibilities kept Irene from continuing her competitive archery career. However, Irene still ran some of the most fun and interactive events SGA has hosted.

After graduation, Irene plans to attend Princeton to pursue a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. We want to thank Irene for the memories she was able to help create from her events. Although archery may not be in her future, we wish her luck in her academic and professional pursuits and hope that SGA could offer her valuable lessons as she continues on her path.

Jason Sheu

Jason Sheu

Data Science

Warren College

Senior Nickname: Grey Wrangler

2019-2020 Vice President
2020-2021 President
2021-2022 Director of External Affairs
2018-2022 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2022 SGA Apollonian Award
NOCC 2022 Men’s Team Recurve Bronze Medal

Jason has been one of our most dedicated members since he came to UCSD in 2018. He became interested in his first year when he saw a flyer for the workshops and joined the club shortly after. He got hooked after the first team class when the club held archery tag, and he began to socialize with other members more. His favorite part of joining SGA at UCSD was all the friends he was able to meet through the club. Some of his closest friends in college were made through SGA, and he states that his college experience would be much different without them supporting him.

Jason competed through all four years of his college career, only really stopping when quarantine forced him to stop. Some of his favorite memories in the club come from competing with his friends and teammates, whether it was getting nearly blown away in the 25 MPH winds at 2019 NOCC, winning bronze at 2022 NOCC, or shooting against an old classmate and olympian Jack Williams at Arizona Cup. He states that some of the most important lessons he learned in life came from his shooting career. Learning to be mindful, staying calm, and most importantly, being able to ask his peers and coaches for assistance when he needs are just some of the lessons he has learned from shooting.

After college, Jason has gotten a job as a data scientist and plans to stay in San Diego as a coach and athlete with the club, hoping to still be able to compete as an athlete in his free time. As a coach, he hopes to help show people the aspects of archery that he fell in love with his first year of college. Since it’s his first year coaching, he hopes to be able to learn to better help club members not only as archers but as students and individuals.

We would like to express our profound gratitude to Jason for his continued service to the club and wish him the best of luck in whatever the future has in store for him.

Michael Yeh

Michael Yeh

Math - Computer Science

Warren College

Senior Nickname: “Average Tea Station Enjoyer”

2019-2022 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2022 SIACC Compound Men Qualification Bronze
2022 SIACC Compound Men Gold
2022 Mile Square Cup Compound Men Eliminations Bronze
2022 WROCC Eliminations Compound Men Bronze
2022 WROCC Mixed Team Compound Men Bronze

You could say that archery runs in Michael’s blood. He first got into archery in 2016, when he found out his father used to shoot in high school. Once he found out, he bought a compound bow and started shooting for fun with his dad. After getting accepted into UCSD, he learned about Sun God Archery during the summer of his first year, as he was Facebook friends with the niece of the current team captain. However, it wasn’t until his second year of college that Michael would really dig into the sport of archery.

Once getting into archery, Michael couldn’t stop. By the end of his second year, he had already bought a bow press and his first bale so he could practice at home. This would prove to be a wise investment, as just as he bought his equipment, COVID hit America. As the lockdown shut down the school (and our field practice hours along with it), Michael was practicing in his garage. He says, however, that he wouldn’t have been able to practice as much as he did if the club didn’t push him to be the best archer he could. He states that he was constantly driven by his peers and coaches to strive to be better both on the range and on campus. His favorite memories of the club aren’t any major achievements or events, but simply being able to hang out as friends outside of practice, whether it was going out to eat, grabbing boba, working out together, or playing games.

Michael is thankful to the club in many ways. The club not only helped him find new friends, which is quite difficult as a commuter student but also helped him grow as both an athlete and individual and even landed him his current job at UnitedHealth Group. After college, Michael already has a job lined up and plans to stay in San Diego as the compound coach of the archery team.

We would like to wish him the best of luck in his professional, athletic, and personal life going into the future, and extend our sincerest gratitude for passing down our club’s values as our compound coach.