Men’s golf
UC Davis shot a team score of 299 on Friday, finishing 12th at the Hawaii-Hilo Invitational, as Ramie Sprinkling and Austin Graham posted a pair of top-25 individual finishes.
The Aggies, who also shot 299 on Wednesday before firing a 294 on Thursday, completed the 54-hole tournament at 27-over 892. The 17-team, 100-player tournament was played on the par-72, 6,913-yard North Course at Mauna Lani Resort Golf Course. The tournament featured 10 of the top 50 teams in the country.
Sprinkling and Graham – both tournament winners for the Aggies in the fall – paced UC Davis in the individual standings, finishing tied for 22nd and tied for 24th, respectively. Sprinkling had a 3-over 75 for a 4-over 220, while Graham had a team-best 73 on Friday to finish one shot back of his teammate.
UC Davis was just two strokes behind Florida State and Oklahoma and 18 in front of 13th-place Hawaii-Hilo.
The Aggies will be off until participating in the Fresno State Lexus Classic on Mar. 9-10.
Men’s soccer
The UC Davis men’s soccer team signed eight prospective student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during Wednesday’s national signing day, coach Dwayne Shaffer announced.
The prospects, in alphabetical order, are Jacob Barron of La Habra High; Sam Del Gobbo of Terra Linda High; Michael Garrick of Bishop O’Dowd High; Jameil Hall of Franklin High; Taylor Heer of Bellarmine College Prep; Brady Jimison of St. Francis High; Dan Reese of Jesuit; and Pat Reese of Jesuit.
“I think it’s an outstanding recruiting class,” Shaffer said. “We definitely filled our needs with this class and I believe this group will add a lot of athleticism, size and speed. This group will set a solid foundation for the future of the program.“
Softball
Stellar pitching, a pair of home runs and a key defensive play helped lead UC Davis to wins over Liberty and Fordham Saturday as the Aggies opened their season at the Cathedral City Kickoff. UC Davis defeated Liberty 5-0 before getting past Fordham, 2-1. The day turned into a marathon for UC Davis, as rain created delays and a reshuffled schedule.
Alex Holmes struck out 11 against Liberty, and Jessica Hancock fanned 10 against Fordham. Holmes also homered while Rachel Miller provided all of the offense against the Rams with a two-run blast. In addition, Marissa Araujo gunned down Fordham’s Sarah Campbell at the plate during a seventh-inning rally.
UC Davis was originally scheduled to face Southern Illinois and Fordham on Saturday, but the weather forced the cancellation of the SIU game. The Aggies then faced James Madison and Illinois Sunday to close out play at the tournament.
UC Davis split its two games Sunday with a 5-0 win over James Madison followed by a 2-1 loss to Illinois. Holmes struck out 11 in a two-hit shutout against the Dukes and also drove in a run. Julie Stauder and Miller also had RBI in the win. UC Davis concluded the tournament with a 3-1 record.
Holmes continued her impressive start to the season with a two-hit shutout. The sophomore struck out 11 and walked just one. The hits allowed included a first inning single and a double in the seventh. Holmes struck out at least one batter in each inning, including multiple strikeouts in four innings.
UC Davis is next in action Wednesday when it hosts San Jose State at La Rue Field.
Aggie Digest is compiled by the California Aggie sports staff with briefs from the UC Davis athletics website, ucdavisaggies.com.
