Digest: Former director of basketball operations taking on coaching job at UC San Diego

Former UCLA men’s basketball Director of Basketball Operations Chris Carlson was recently announced as the new head coach of the UC San Diego men’s basketball program. He will replace Bill Carr, who put together a 38-45 record over his three-year tenure at UCSD. Carlson had worked under Ben Howland for the past four seasons and will become the third assistant to leave Howland’s staff in Westwood to become a head coach. In 2006, Ernie Zeigler was named the head coach at Central Michigan, and earlier this year Kerry Keating left to become the head coach at Santa Clara.

“The caliber of student-athlete that I have been associated with at UCLA makes it very hard for me to leave,” Carlson told UCLABruins.com. “They are a great group of young men, and I wish them continued success in their future endeavors.”

FUTURE BRUINS SHINE: Incoming freshmen had a successful day last Friday at the USA Track and Field Junior National Track Championships in Indianapolis. On the women’s side, Tori Anthony took first place in the pole vault by clearing a height of 13-feet-3.50-inches, and Ke’Nyia Richardson took first in the triple jump with a distance of 44-2.50. For the men, recent Westlake Hills grad Cory Primm won the 800 meters, finishing at 1:49.76. With the wins, all three earned spots on Team USA for the Junior PanAm Games next month in Brazil.

FORMER BRUINS, TOO: Recent grads Amy Acuff, Michelle Perry and Jessica Cosby all qualified for the World Track Championships this August in Osaka, Japan, with strong showings in the senior division of the USATF Championships. Acuff won the high jump with a height of 6-2.25, Perry took second in the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.63 seconds, and Cosby finished third in the hammer throw by notching a distance of 223-9 on her final throw of the competition.

O’TOOLE OUT: UCLA junior golfer Ryann O’Toole was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 31st U.S. Women’s Amateur Publinks Championship at Kearney Hill Golf Links in Lexington, Ky., this past Friday. O’Toole never lead in the match, losing 4 and 3 to Wonjoo Choi of Korea.

FOODY TO JOIN GYMNASTICS: It was recently announced that Jim Foody, a former NCAA champion for UCLA and a former member of the U.S. National team, will join the UCLA women’s gymnastics coaching staff for next Fall. Foody, who will work as an assistant to coach Valorie Kondos Field, will replace the recently departed Marshall Nelson, who resigned after three years to devote more time to his career as a performance artist.

“It’s exciting to think about the areas Jim will be able to complement the coaching staff,” said Field. “Jim has evolved into a respected and knowledgeable coach whose experience, combined with his love and passion for UCLA, will be a great combination for us.”

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