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.

Chris Lasher

Chris Lasher

Nanoengineering - Bioengineering specialty

Revelle College

Senior Nickname: Dungeon Daddy

2018-2019 Director of IT
2019-2021 Equipment Manager
2017-2021 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2018 West Regional Recurve Men’s Team Silver

Before entering college, Chris was your typical nerd-type. He loved DnD, video games, and kept to himself more often than not. Growing up in a “barren wasteland” as he describes, this was all Chris could really do. With 5,000 total residents in his home town of Lakeport, there was barely anything to do as a young, school-aged boy. However, if you have met Chris, on or off the field, he is one of the most charming, funny, and interesting people you will have the pleasure of ever meeting. Whether you’ve been shooting with the club for 4 years or 4 months, Chris will talk with you like he’s known you his entire life. He is nice almost to a fault. So much so that he will almost never say no, meaning his schedule is packed with events for one of the many friend groups that he has built from all of his interests. His friends often joke about having to schedule appointment times to hang out with him.

This just serves as a testament to Chris’s ability to work earnestly towards his goals. Something he states he honed through archery. Coming in to college, Chris knew that he wanted to explore himself and the world much deeper than he had been able while growing up. However, he was also kind of clueless as to where to start. He chose to join the archery club because it was one of the few things that he was familiar with from his home town. He first gained an interest in archery at a young age. As a nerd, Chris loved the Lord of the Rings franchise, so when he saw archery available from his boy scouts, Chris jumped at the opportunity. To his surprise, archery was a sport that Chris was naturally pretty good at. Before this, Chris has always been pretty slow to pick up sports, and health concerns made more physically demanding sports too hard for Chris. Thus, he continued with archery, but could only really shoot at summer camps and boy scouts, as there was no high school team, no real public range, and no JOAD program near him.

Upon joining SGA, Chris knew he had found his spot on campus. Not only did SGA offer Chris a field to pursue archery further than he could when he was at home, it offered a fun and welcoming community and a place that Chris could test his skills against his friends and peers. In only his first year shooting with the club, Chris was already able to begin to break out of his shell. Chris wanted to prove himself as a skilled archer that could compete among the rest of his peers. Not only was he able to do that, he qualified higher than the team captain, surprising both himself and the returning members of the club. Being able to compete with the men’s team at West Regionals in 2018 became a defining memory for Chris’s college life. Shooting with his friends, hearing the rest of the team shout “Gold” as he and his teammates hit the yellow, and surprising his peers as Chris held his own on on the team showed to Chris just how far he was able to come as an archer in a short time.

After graduating, Chris plans to pursue his Masters degree in the accelerated masters program for Nanoengineering. He hopes to find a job in the industry, with a potential option of moving abroad for work. However, for the time being, Chris will continue to shoot with the club as he pursues his masters and searches for his first job. We would like to thank Chris for his dedication in improving the club and hope that he has received just as much as he has given to the club.

Janae Zhang

Janae Zhang

Communication + Cognitive Science

Marshall College

Senior Nickname: Janaenae

USA Archery Level 2 Instructor
Social Chair 2018-2019
President 2019-2020
Director of External Affairs 2020-2021
2019-2021 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2021 SGA Apollonian Award

Upon first meeting Janae, she first seems a bit stand-offish. She’s a quite stubborn and often at odds against something, anything. She knows what she wants, and isn’t afraid of irritating others to get what she wants. However, underneath this cold persona she has on the surface, Janae is one of the most passionate members that SGA has seen. If you get to know Janae beyond how she seems at first glance, the amount of energy and passion she can put into things she enjoys is almost endless. Talk to her about archery, arknights, stationery, or tumblr and Janae can talk to you for literal days about how much she knows about each of these subjects.

Her passion for each of these subjects goes further than just being able to talk about them, however. Janae is always at the helm to do whatever project she is working on, whether for the club or a personal passion project. It is this passion that lets Janae thrive as an officer of SGA and an effective instructor. As long as her students are willing to put in the effort to learn about archery, Janae is willing to double that effort and more to teach the kids in the JOAD class, anyone picking up archery for the first time, or returning members that need a bit of help.

Although Janae did not shoot with the competitive team during her last few years, her impact on the team, the club as a whole, and many individual members within the club is undeniable. She was an extremely dedicated worker and her stubbornness served as a boon in Janae’s many efforts in forwarding the interests of the club. Janae’s single-minded dedication to the improvement of the club shined through whether she was teaching her JOAD class, coaching new or returning members on the field, or fulfilling her duties as an officer of three years.

Janae currently does not have specific plans for after college, though she hopes to find a job in graphic design, part of what she studied in college. We would like to thank Janae for her continued contribution to the club, and hope that the club could provide even half of what she gave to the club. We wish her the best of luck going forward in her life and thank her again for all she has done for the club.

Ryan Tran

Ryan Tran

Biochemistry + Chemistry

Sixth College

Senior Nickname: Best Grandpa

2016-2020 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2020 SGA Apollonian Award
2019 WROCC Men’s Recurve Team Bronze

Ryan went searching for Sun God Archery after having already shot for a summer. As luck would have it, on the first day of classes he found one of the club’s posters on Argo Hall that advertised workshop times. He attended one of the workshops, and soon after joined the club and team.

During his time on the team, Ryan’s favorite competition was 2020 SIACC, for mixed reasons. For one, during the tournament his extension bar broke, making his stabilizers fly 3 feet in front of the shooting line during practice ends. On a brighter note though, he was able to shoot an OR he was proud of, with two ends of 30 in four ends.

As an avid archer, Ryan has the following piece of advice for those seeking to perform competitively: “the easiest way to get better scores is to have the strength to draw and hold your bow easily. So shoot a lot and/or do a lot of SPT's”.

When he graduates, Ryan will be job-hunting while deciding if he wants to pursue a Master’s degree or a Ph.D.

We wish Ryan the best of luck in his future endeavors, and congratulate him on graduating!

Eric Tian

Eric Tian

Public Health

Revelle College

Senior Nickname: El CapiTian

USA Archery Level 2 Instructor
2019-2020 Team Captain
2018-2020 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Eric’s inspiration to do archery had always been with him when he saw the portrayals of archery within movies such as Lord of The Rings. With this inspiration, he had actually bought a cheap bow at first to just try out the sport but was really engaged with the sport when he discovered SGA at UCSD and all the opportunities that came with it. Like many, he had discovered SGA through their tabling on library walk during welcome week and from there on out it was history.

Eric’s favorite competition memory was Indoor Nationals 2018/2019. At the time, he did not have his own equipment and therefore was using a club bow at the competition. However, upon arriving at the competition, the string on his bow was damaged beyond use and his only option was to use a bow from the Easton Center. However, despite the setback, he ended up competing extremely well with his circumstances and he is proud of what he was able to accomplish given his situation.

Eric’s main piece of advice that he would like to give to incoming archers is to always ask questions and put in the hours. While he says that it may be hard at times to ask for help or questions, it is critical to your success in archery combined with the dedication of hours. Overall, there is a sense of discipline with the practice of archery. Eric’s experience with this need for self-discipline from the use of SPT’s has been his way of strengthening his own self discipline with an understanding of what he needs to improve. Due to this quality that he learned from archery, he now applies his everyday life to this; whether it is academics or his own religion.

Lastly, Eric would like to thank the board for all that they have done and enjoyed working with each and every one of them. They all offered an amazing experience and he would like to thank Nathan Chiu, his fellow captain, for his dedication and everything they have accomplished. He wishes the best of luck to the oncoming board as they navigate through the next season and will definitely visit in the future.

Abby Hora

Abby Hora

Literature/Writing + Music

Sixth College

Senior Nickname: sAltY mEme MaeSTra

USA Archery Level 2 Instructor
2017-2019 Treasurer
2016-2019 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2018 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Barebow Mixed Team Bronze
2018 Western Regionals Barebow Mixed Team Gold
2018 Western Regionals Female Recurve Team Silver
2017 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Barebow Mixed Team Bronze

As a commuter student during her time at UCSD, Abby started her freshman year off with a search for new friends and new activities. Upon discovering Sun God Archery, she knew the club would be the perfect place for both, and quickly became an integral part of the club’s social life and team.

From her time on the team, Abby’s fondest memory was at Westies 2018. Since she decided to shoot in both the barebow and recurve divisions at that competition, she was able to compete with more of her friends on the team. Though keeping up with both divisions was stressful at the time, she enjoyed the team rounds the most and will miss the energy and hype that always came with them. She’s grateful to the friends who supported me with each shot and for making that tournament one of the best memories she has from her time with SGA.

Like many of our competitive archers though, Abby struggled with performance anxiety. There were times when she had trouble feeling confident in her shot process, especially during competitions. However, through personal determination and the support of her teammates and coaches, she gradually learned to focus on enjoying archery for the experience of shooting with her friends rather than the location of her arrows on the target. Learning to let go of the need to succeed took a lot of pressure off her, and helped her grow both in and out of archery.

Given that, it’s no surprise that Abby’s most important piece of advice for new shooters is to have compassion for themselves. She understands that it can be easy to fall into a rut when you don’t progress at the rate you’d like, but emphasizes that there is nothing wrong with struggle--especially in a sport like archery that requires such mental strength. To Abby, it’s most important for new archers to enjoy archery for the sport and the people they meet in it, rather than winning medals and being the best. Overcoming the challenges of competition can be rewarding, but always take the time to work on your own shot process and grow at your own pace. And lastly, she reminds new archers to always have fun.

After she graduates, Abby will be attending SDSU for a Master’s in Creative Writing. We hope that as long as she’s in San Diego, she’ll continue to visit and never fail to make us laugh with her Spongebob jokes and references.

We wish her all the best, and congratulations on graduating!

Michael Philips

Michael Phillips

Linguistics

Sixth College

Senior Nickname: Micycle

USA Archery Level 2 Instructor
2017-2019 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2018 SoCal Indoor Archery Collegiate Championship Male Recurve Bronze

Michael found his way to the Sun God Archery through UCSD Recreation’s archery classes. He and his roommate were looking for something new to try, and had signed up for a beginner class in fall of their second year. From there, they continued fostering their interest in archery by joining the club, and eventually the competitive team.

Michael’s favorite competition was the 2019 NOCC in Ohio. This was due in part to a pre-existing desire to visit the state, but also because the tournament was his first time attending an outdoor competition. Being able to shoot with his friends and meet people from around the country made the event an altogether interesting, fun, and enjoyable experience for him.

However, Michael was also highly involved in the club outside the team itself--namely, teaching the JOAD classes. For him, teaching archery to kids of different ages and skill levels proved challenging, yet exciting due to the dynamic it created among the students. Acting as the personal coach for some of his more ambitious students, Michael recalls attending the 2019 JOAD Indoor Nationals as his fondest memory from his time in the club. It was the first time he’d attended a competition to support a student, and during the midday break between lines he and his student were able to eat and play board games together for a while.

Michael’s time as the JOAD instructor, both during the classes and while supporting students at competition, allowed him to better appreciate the work it takes to coach both new and continuing archers. At competitions, it allowed him to see tournaments from a different perspective and emphasized the importance of mindset and mental game in that setting. His biggest takeaway from working with young archers is that ultimately, archery is meant to be enjoyable for the process itself. It can be easy to get caught up in winning and focusing on success in score, but seeing the JOAD archers focus on having a good time reminded him why he enjoyed archery in the first place.

When he graduates, Michael will be going through a teacher credential program, then pursuing a Master’s in education. He hopes to eventually teach elementary school students. Congratulations Michael, and we wish you luck in your teaching career!

Dan Nguyen

Dan Nguyen

Biochemistry + Biology

Roosevelt College

Senior Nickname: Armed Waifu

2015-2019 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2018 SIACC Mixed Team Barebow – Bronze
2019 SIACC Mixed Team Barebow – Silver
2019 NOCC Individual Barebow – Bronze
2019 All-American Male Barebow

Fate has brought the bow into Dan’s hands, both before college and into Sun God Archery. His archery journey began when his sister’s co-worker invited them to go out to Miles Square Park to shoot at the public archery range back when he was in 8th grade. After this, he kept coming back, until his parents finally decided he should get his own bow. Later on in college, it was instead a friend from his 1st year dorm who invited Dan to join her at one of SGA’s beginning of the year GBMs. There, he saw the presentation that he would then see again for the next three years. After going to his first workshop, he was hooked, and came back to be a star archer in SGA’s competitive team.

Dan’s competitive career in archery has been fraught with many highs and lows, clearly reflected in his most memorable, then separately his most favorite memories at the competitive scene. Dan remembers fondly NOCC of 2016, being able to relax and have fun, a stark difference to when he’s on the line shooting. He also loves to think back on eating Lolita’s with the team and cheering on for his teammates (after getting quickly eliminated himself). This is a stark contrast to his most memorable memory, in which at NOCC 2019, Dan was about to win his semifinals match. All he had to do was score at least a white ring on the target. So, he promptly shot a 9 – on the next bail over. Effectively throwing his silver away, but instead walking away with a fantastic story.

In SGA, however, it wasn’t the stress of the competition that was his mortal enemy, or even his inner conflict with being a weeb, but rather performing consistently at the line, the foundational, yet most difficult task of archery. While he believes there’s always room for improvement, he recognizes he has come a long way since he walked on that field during the workshop so many years ago.

After Dan graduates, he’s looking to get into the highest paying job to get out of debt as soon as possible, and maybe even one day coming back to it to go to graduate school. We will miss Dan greatly, and truly hope him the best in his next chapter of life!

Elizabeth Wu

Elizabeth Wu

Human DevelopmentAl Sciences

Marshall College

Senior Nickname: The Wholesome Peace-Seeker

USA Archery Level 2 NTS Instructor
2016-2017 Vice President
2017-2019 President
2015-2019 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2019 SGA Apollonian Award
2018 Western Regional Female Recurve Team Silver
2017 Western Regional Female Recurve Team Champion

Elizabeth’s first experience with archery was at the young age of 10, when she took a 1-day class with her sisters. However, she never thought she would come back to it until her freshman year at UCSD when she found Sun God Archery on library walk. After attending a beginner's workshop, she was drawn to the welcoming community and uniqueness of the sport. From there, she began her journey into the world of archery.

As a senior now four years later, Elizabeth's favorite part of being in the club is still the community. With all the practice hours she attended, she became close friends with her teammates and the club quickly became part of her social life.

Another aspect of being on the team that Elizabeth appreciated was the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level despite no past experience in archery. During her journey in competitive archery, Elizabeth struggled with not seeing immediate results. She failed to qualify for the team during outdoor season of her first year, but rather than give up, she was only more determined to improve for her second year. Her patience and perseverance paid off in the following Western Regionals in Davis, CA when she shot and won gold with the women's recurve team.

For Elizabeth, archery has always been a learning process, whether that meant her participation on the team or as a club officer. During her three years on the board, she learned to appreciate improvement as an ongoing process, move past mistakes, and seek to better herself. These experiences and skills that she gained contributed a lot to her personal growth both inside and outside of the club.

Thinking back, one defining moment of archery for Elizabeth was at 2017 State Indoors in Tulare, CA. The team was waiting in line for the venue in the cold morning air and to stay warm, everyone started bobbing up and down. This quickly developed into a pattern, with every other person bouncing in sync with each other. Other memorable experiences included a bumpy and unsettling bus ride, card games, and fun food adventures.

Once she graduates, Elizabeth will be attending law school at Santa Clara University. We thank her for her years on the team and the board, congratulate her on graduating, and wish her the best of luck in all her future endeavors!

Brian Frastaci

Brian Frastaci

History + Classical Studies

Marshall College

Senior Nickname: Speediest Bookworm

USA Archery Level 2 Instructor
2015-2019 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2019 All-American Academic

When Brian first drew back a bow in the ninth grade, he enjoyed the feeling of shooting and wanted to see if it would be worthwhile as a hobby. When he found Sun God Archery, he was reminded of his high school experience and decided to continue shooting in college, and thus his adventure with Sun God Archery began.

What really drew Brian to SGA is how comprehensive it feels. With SGA being social, recreational, and competitive, Brian could he shoot and compete while making new friends. Of all of the tournaments he has competed at, Brian’s favorite is National Outdoor Collegiate Championship (NOCC) because he got the opportunity to travel to an exotic place like Ohio and compete there.

In his time with SGA, Brian has had many memorable experiences. His weirdest experience was accidentally walking into an arrow at NOCC and having to reassure his balemates--while he was bleeding--that he wasn’t diseased. Out of all his memories though, his favorite was shooting at Indoor Nationals and being the best collegiate barebow at the venue. Above all, he recalls this sport challenging him to grow.

After graduation, Brian will be applying to graduate programs for history or religious studies, and he also plans to do freelance copy-editing on the side. We wish him luck in all of his future endeavors! Congratulations on graduating!

Kelton Cheng

Kelton Cheng

Electrical Engineering

Warren College

Senior Nickname: The G.O.A.T. of Barebow

2015-2016 Vice President
2016-2018 Equipment Manager
2017-2018 Webmaster
2014-2018 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2018 SGA Apollonian Award
2015 National Indoor Championship Barebow Collegiate Male Qualification Gold
2015 Western Regional Male Barebow Gold
2015 National Collegiate Barebow Champion
2015 Male Barebow All West
2015 Male Barebow All American
2016 Western Regional Male Barebow Gold
2016 Western Regional Male Barebow Team Gold
2017 National Male Barebow Team Bronze
2017 National Mixed Barebow Team Bronze
2018 SoCal Collegiate Indoor Recurve Mixed Team Bronze
2018 National Indoor Championship Barebow Collegiate Male Qualification Gold
2018 Western Regional Recurve Mixed Team Champion
2018 National Mixed Barebow Team Bronze
2018 National Male Barebow Team Champion
2018 National Collegiate Barebow Champion

Kelton initially didn't have archery on his list of interests upon entering UCSD, and it wasn't until the summer after his first year that he decided to enroll in an archery rec class - partly because he always thought archery looked cool in the movies and partly because of his pestering brother. Kelton was finally introduced to SGA after running into Robert Nicholes during a CHEM 6C fire drill; they bonded over their arm guard tans, Kelton joined SGA, and he would go on to achieve the club's first national title.

Out of all the competitions that he has attended, Kelton's favorite was his second outdoor tournament NOCC 2015 in Virginia. It was his first time traveling with team members, and he was drawn in by the great sense of community and sportsmanship between all the colleges. He distinctly remembered cheering "Barebow best bow!" alongside fellow barebow archers after the first 36 arrows of day two. The surprise and confusion of fellow compound archers was a humorous touch to the memory, and Kelton also fondly recalled synchronizing shots with the other barebows on day one. It was here that he achieved the club's first national title: 2015 Barebow National Champion. It was a moment that Kelton and plenty of other archers were not going to forget.

Regarding memorable moments, Kelton's most defining memory of archery was his Recurve Mixed Team gold medal match with Kaitlyn Huang at WROCC 2018. This was his first time shooting recurve in the outdoor season, and he had been practicing tirelessly for almost an entire year to prepare. He stated, "This was the only chance that I had to shoot mixed teams with Kaitlyn, and I aimed for nothing less than a gold with her." When the time came, Kelton delivered as promised and worked with Kaitlyn up to the gold medal match. They came out with the win in the end, proving to Kelton that all his hard work had not been in vain. He set a goal for himself and saw it through to the end in that good old fashioned Kelton way.

The SGA community would always remain a strong favorite of Kelton's as well. He was able to challenge himself while still being able to form meaningful relationships with fellow members. Kelton provided one solid piece of advice for all incoming shooters: enjoy yourself, and don't focus too much on individual performance in relation to others. He definitely embodied this mindset and always stayed true to his shot process and goals, in and outside of competition.

After he graduates, Kelton plans on pursuing a career in information technology and is currently starting off in the health insurance field.

We wish the best of luck to Kelton and hope he continues to grace us with his charming presence at the field. His comedic personality and mind-blowing skills are out of this world, and we are very grateful for the privilege of getting to know him over the past few years. Congratulations on graduating!

Kaitlyn Huang

Kaitlyn Huang

Statistics and probability

Revelle College

Senior Nickname: The Derpiest Competitive Birb

USA Archery Level 3-NTS Coach
2016-2018 SGA Junior Olympic Program Director
2015-2018 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2016 State Indoor Female Recurve Champion
2016 Easton Foundation Vegas Prep Silver
2016 Western Regional Female Recurve Qualification Silver
2016 Western Regional Female Recurve Silver
2016 Western Regional Female Recurve Team Champion
2016 Western Regional Recurve Mixed Team Champion
2016 California State Outdoor Colligate Champion
2015-16 Female Recurve All West
2015-16 Female Recurve All American
2017 California State Indoor Female Recurve Champion
2017 Western Regional Female Recurve Qualification Silver
2017 Western Regional Female Recurve Bronze
2017 Western Regional Female Recurve Team Champion
2017 Western Regional Recurve Mixed Team Champion
2016-17 Female Recurve All West
2017 NOCC Recurve Mixed Team Champion
2018 SoCal Collegiate Indoor Female Recurve Qualification Bronze
2018 SoCal Collegiate Indoor Recurve Mixed Team Bronze
2018 Western Regional Female Recurve Qualification Bronze
2018 Western Regional Female Recurve Silver
2018 Western Regional Female Recurve Team Silver
2018 Western Regional Recurve Mixed Team Champion
2017-18 Female Recurve All West
2018 NOCC Recurve Mixed Team Bronze

Kaitlyn first delved into the world of archery when her parents' friends started an archery academy in Stockton, CA in February of 2013. She quickly picked up the sport and began attending various competitions; she was eventually introduced to Nick Kale by her coach at Indoor Nationals 2015. Upon her enrollment at UCSD, Kaitlyn joined SGA without a second thought. She stated, "All of the colleges I looked into had some type of competitive archery program. UCSD stood out to me for the convenient location, but I stayed in SGA for the community a.k.a. 'da fwendship.' :3"

Kaitlyn's defining memory of archery was her participation in the Recurve Mixed Team shootoff with SGA Alumni Jason Tong against Texas A&M at NOCC 2017. The energy of all the teams was a continuous hum in the air as Kaitlyn and Jason stepped up to the shooting line. Armed with her competitive nature and admirable concentration, Kaitlyn loosed an arrow into the 9-ring, a point above Texas A&M's 8-ring shot. Jason followed up with another 9 points as Kaitlyn watched with bated breath. Another 8 points from Texas A&M's second and last arrow. A smile just waiting to happen spread across Kaitlyn's face. The stress and anticipation were finally over. She had tirelessly fought for and achieved her 2017 National Champion title.

Additionally, Kaitlyn's fondest memory of archery was winning Recurve Mixed Team Gold with Kelton Cheng at WROCC 2018. It was the last opportunity for her to shoot with him, and they made sure to make the most of it. Their teamwork rivaled that of the other teams, and they performed as if they had been shooting mixed teams for her entire time with SGA. This marked Kaitlyn's third of three Recurve Mixed Team Champion titles for the outdoor season, and she couldn't have been more content to reach this achievement with Kelton.

After she graduates, Kaitlyn plans to participate in research projects for the time being. She has graduate school in mind and is planning to apply this coming Fall.

We wish her the very best in her future endeavors and hope to see her continuing to hit those 10's at the field. We extend our utmost gratitude to Kaitlyn for bringing her outstanding skills and beautiful personality to SGA.

Congratulations on graduating!

Yashwanth Nannapaneni

Yashwanth Nannapaneni

Computer Science

Warren College

Senior Nickname: The Nerdiest Naan-a-panini

2016-2018 Team Captain
2015-2018 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2016 National Indoor Collegiate Championship Male Barebow - Silver
2016 Western Regional Male Barebow - Silver
2016 Western Regional Male Barebow Team - Gold
2016 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Male Barebow - Silver
2016 All-American Male Barebow
2016 Academic All-American Male Barebow
2016 All-West Male Barebow
2017 National Indoor Collegiate Championship Male Barebow – Gold
2017 National Indoor Junior Male Barebow - Gold
2017 Western Regional Male Barebow Team - Silver
2017 All-American Male Barebow
2017 Academic All-American Male Barebow
2017 All-West Male Barebow
2018 Western Regional Male Barebow - Bronze
2018 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Male Barebow - Bronze
2018 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Male Barebow Team - Gold
2018 All-American Male Barebow
2018 All-American Male Barebow
2018 All-West Male Barebow

Yashwanth started archery his first year at UCSD with the traditional archery rec class and then moved to SGA because he wanted to shoot with other students. His roommate originally brought him along to the workshops and then they joined the traditional rec class together because it fit their schedule best. Eventually, however, his roommate dropped off but Yash wanted to continue and then joined SGA. When he joined archery, he enjoyed all the coaching he received, especially from Thomas (a community member), and hanging out with other archers like Kelton, Joyce, and Johnathan. He became more and more involved in archery because it felt great to shoot a good shot, which only comes from practicing more.

Yash’s favorite part of being a member of SGA is the community – the people are the reason he continued to come to practice despite hard points in his archery career. Just being at practice, hanging out with other people, and being a part of this community has made him many friends here at UCSD. If Yash could provide one piece of advice to incoming archers it would be to not forget to have fun even when you are under pressure to shoot well.

In regards to defining memories, Yash does not have just one: his whole archery career has been defining. Of course, there are high points in which he won national medals, but also some low points that have helped him mature and grow as both an archer and a person. “Being able to push through low points makes you a better person and archer because you struggle through it even when it’s hard”. Other important moments in Yash’s time with SGA were the team socials, like dinner at Souplantation in which the tables had a competition of who could eat the most bowls of soup. All together they probably had over 100 bowls!

After he graduates, Yashwanth will be going to graduate school for a Masters in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, PA. We wish him the very best of luck in all future endeavors and we hope he can find the time to visit us in the future. His warm smile and positive spirit will be greatly missed. Congratulations on graduating!!

Warren Au

Warren Au

BioChemistry + Cell Biology

Warren College

Senior Nickname: Martial Master

USA Archery Level 2 Instructor
2017-2018 Social Chair
2015-2018 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2018 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Men's Recurve Team - Silver

Warren stumbled upon archery at the beginning of his sophomore year while looking for a sport that didn’t require running or intense exertion. After trying it out, he found it really relaxing so he decided to continue and join the team. To him, going to the field to shoot became, as he describes it, “a source of mental clarity and relaxation”.

Of all the years he’s been in SGA, there are two memories that stand out. This first one was during his first year in archery when he managed to get an 8 average for each shot at 70 meters. Being able to do that gave him such a huge boost of confidence that he felt ready to go zombie hunting. The second one was collaboratively contributing to the "gaem [sic] plan" for the men's recurve team at the National Outdoor Collegiate Championship this year. This plan entailed the person calling arrows to shout "Johnathan's legs" for any shot in the white rings, "Daddy Arsi" for any shot in the black rings, "My tears" for blue rings, and normal calls for the rest. He states, “It was amusing to see how much the team enjoyed this and participated in carrying it out. We thought we'd get out in the second round but funnily enough, we actually made it to the finals and got silver.”

In terms of the defining moment of his time in archery, he provided a quick and bittersweet answer. “The defining moment is its ending. It makes me recall all of the fun moments - all the dumb things that turned into hilarious moments and all the good times - it's like having your life flash before your eyes, but it's archery.”

When asked what wisdom he’d like to impart on new and current archers he says, “Believing in yourself is the first step to shooting better. If that doesn’t work, do more SPTs.” As for a senior quote that would summarize his whole experience, he kept it very simple: “Thanks, you’re pretty too.” (if you’re interested in the backstory of this quote, be sure to ask him the next time you see him.)

After he graduates he plans to finish his TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification and then travel abroad to Asia where he’ll teach or work for an indeterminate number of years while exploring entrepreneurial business opportunities (like opening a transnational comfort food restaurant or cafe).

His natural ability to make others feel comfortable and have fun at the field has been felt by many of our members and will definitely be missed. We wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors! Congratulations on graduating!

Dalena Dang

Dalena Dang

General Biology

Sixth College

Senior Nickname: The Best Dang L-eye-t of Our Lives

2017-2018 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Dalena first found out about SGA when she attended the beginner workshops hosted at the start of the school year. Like many others, she kept coming back to the field because she found archery fun.

Though she had only started shooting her senior year, Dalena decided to make the leap to join the competitive team anyway. She felt it would be a good way to meet people from different schools and it would encourage her to improve “in a way that wasn't just practice.” Her efforts and dedication to personal improvement led her to compete at multiple tournaments with the team, including at this year’s NOCC.

As many competitive archers know, one of the most difficult aspects of being an archer is maintaining a strong mental game. Dalena was no different. However, she says, “SGA helped me keep my spirits up and gave me the encouragement I needed to do the best I could.”

After she graduates, Dalena plans to apply to optometry school after completing an internship with her optometrist.

We at SGA wish her the best of luck in everything she does and hope that she will have the time to come back to the field and see us again. Congratulations on graduating!

Wen Gu

Wen Gu

Chemical Engineering

Sixth College

Senior Nickname: Wenpai the Gu-fy Goober

USA Archery Level 3 NTS Coach
2015-2018 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2017 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Men's Barebow Individuals - Silver
2017 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Men's Barebow Team - Bronze
2017 Western Regionals Men's Barebow Individuals - Silver
2017 Western Regionals Men's Barebow Team - Silver
2018 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Men's Barebow Individuals - Silver
2018 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Men's Barebow Team - Gold
2018 All-American Male Barebow
2018 Western Regionals Men's Barebow Individuals - Silver
2018 Western Regionals Men's Barebow Mixed Team - Gold
2018 All-West Male Barebow
2018 National Indoors Men's Barebow Individuals - Silver

Long before he began his career at UCSD and joined SGA, Wen was an archer at heart. He was an avid video gamer and played as the archer whenever possible. When he got to campus in 2014 and walked down library walk during welcome week, a match was made in heaven. He saw someone holding a bow and walked over immediately. The club was SGA and the rest was history!

After starting off as a recreational shooter, Wen transitioned to the competitive team in his second year through which he has found great success as a barebow shooter and has created lasting memories at the tournaments he has attended. His favorite tournament to attend has been Western Regionals because this is where everyone shoots outdoor for the first time. It also gives him the opportunity to see familiar faces such as friends from the other UC's. However, his fondest archery memory has to have been the time he and some team members were coming back from state indoors. Hurtling down the road at 80 mph, he and five other teammates played Love Letter in the back of the car and had the time of their lives.

Wen's favorite part about being in SGA is archery itself and his love of the sport. It drives him to succeed both in the sport and outside it. As both a coach and an archer, Wen advises new shooters to "just enjoy the sport. Have fun!"

After he graduates, Wen hopes to find an engineering job. We at SGA know he will succeed at whatever he endeavors and wish him luck in all that the future has to offer! We hope he comes around to the range whenever he can because his fun loving presence will be missed. Congratulations on graduating Wen!