The 2016 NSSA Collegiate State Championships were blessed with rolling swells and sunny skies. Competitors rode waves as long as 300 yards in their pursuit of surfing glory. Despite stellar conditions, most UC San Diego surfers failed to surpass the second round of the event, leaving the pressure on Michael Ciaramella and Frankie Seely. Round after round, the two grinded through heats, often waiting until the last minute to secure a wave strong enough for advancement. In the women’s final, Frankie fought hard but ultimately came up just short of first position, thus finishing a respectable 2nd. In the men’s division, Michael started off strong but was unfortunately plagued by a flat ocean for the remainder of the final, thus relegating him to a lowly fifth place finish. All in all, the team had a decent event and finished 6th place overall.