The Aggies came into their third weekend of competition looking to live up to their new national ranking.
After seeing the way the UC Davis women‘s water polo team performed in Bakersfield, it‘s safe to say it lived up to its No. 7 ranking.
UC Davis dominated the first day of play of the Roadrunner Invitational with convincing victories over both Concordia and Colorado State.
The Aggies then ran into a good team in Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday, but took over in the fourth quarter to hold off the host‘s hopes of victory en route to posting a 4-0 record by the tournament‘s end.
“We had a really good weekend,“ coach Jamey Wright said. “I love the way we are playing.“
Saturday – No. 7 UC Davis 19, Concordia 5
UC Davis started off its weekend on the right foot, showing off their young talent against a struggling Concordia team.
Three Aggies – sophomore Dakotah Mohr, freshman Christina Miyabe and freshman Lyndsay Sutterley – recorded hat tricks in the tournament opener, while three others added two strikes each.
This marks the first time in which any single player has recorded a hat trick in the Aggies‘ first nine games.
Saturday – No. 7 UC Davis 18, Colorado State 8
Mohr tallied five goals in the nightcap to lead the Aggies to their second convincing victory of the day.
“She is the most physical player we have,“ Wright said. “She knows how to use her body to get open, draw kickouts and score.“
Senior Lindsay Kiyama added four goals, three of which came in the first quarter to give the Aggies a 4-1 lead. Freshman Alice Began, who had missed the first two tournaments with mono, scored three goals and tallied two assists.
“She is really hard to guard one-on-one,“ Wright said. “We just keep finding new weapons on this team.“
The Aggies never trailed in either game on Saturday.
Sunday – No. 7 UC Davis 7, No. 17 Cal State Bakersfield 6
The Aggies started off a tough Sunday schedule against the only other ranked team in the tournament.
Bakersfield and UC Davis remained even through three quarters, trading goals to get to 4-4 through 24 minutes.
“We knew it was going to be a fight,“ Wright said. “They returned three key seniors and have a solid team.“
The Aggies broke down the Roadrunners‘ wall in the fourth, exploding for three goals in the first three minutes.
Sophomore Rachelle Smith, who came in with two goals on the year, doubled her scoring total in the fourth with two counter attack strikes.
“Rachelle is a defensive player who counters really well,“ Wright said. “She did her job when we really needed to close them out.“
Sunday – No. 7 UC Davis 16, Cal State East Bay 8
The Aggies were looking to sweep the field with Sunday‘s nightcap, but the defending Division III national champions were looking to cool down the hot UC Davis team.
The game remained close at halftime, with the Pioneers staying within two through two quarters of play.
Mohr then proved to be too much to handle once again. She netted four strikes, three coming in the Aggies‘ six-goal third, to put UC Davis up 11-6 and bring her weekend goal total to 14.
“The way our team is playing, it‘s just really fun,“ Wright said. “Everyone is a part of everything we do, and that‘s a good feeling for the whole team.“
The Aggies return to action on Saturday in the Irvine Invitational, which annually brings the nation‘s best together in Southern California.
SAMMY BRASCH can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
