Athletic competition is over at the 2012 Summer Olympics with the University of California well represented amongst the elite athletes in London. A contingent of nearly 100 UC affiliated student and alumni athletes, coaches, trainers, doctors and staff are proudly representing the United States and other nations from around the globe. From badminton to taekwondo, UC athletes and staff are key participants in at this summer’s world competition. It comes to no surprise that UC Berkeley and UCLA have two of the largest groups from the California University system however UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Riverside and UCSF are all being represented in London. What’s the missing link in this extraordinary group of UC schools? UC Santa Cruz of course. Although most of the UC schools represented in the Olympics are currently Division I teams UCSC athletics are definitely worthy despite a Division III ranking in the NCAA. So maybe 2012 wasn’t “The Year of the Banana Slug” but that doesn’t mean that 2016 can’t be. Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro will host the next Summer Olympics with probably even more UC athletes participating. Just imagine 6 foot 10 UCSC graduate Thomas Davidson on the men’s volleyball team or maybe standout Santa Cruz freshman Sarah Mackey leading a women’s basketball team to Olympic gold. As for now, keep up the good work Team USA and of course GO SLUGS!!!!!