Finding ways to win games when they matter most. Battling it out for tournament seeding. Making come-from-behind victories a part of the regular routine.
Nothing beats watching your team gear up for postseason play.
Unless, of course, six of your clubs are preparing for it all at once.
Five UC Davis teams – yes, five – will be gunning for Big West Conference titles within the next two weeks. Another – women’s lacrosse – will be looking for a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship.
The men’s and women’s tennis teams get their tournaments started today. The men’s golf team then gets its championship under way on Monday. The women’s water polo, golf and lacrosse teams, meanwhile, begin playoff action next weekend.
Three of these Aggie squads will enter postseason play as legitimate title contenders: men’s golf, women’s water polo and women’s golf.
Men’s golf
The men’s golf team enters Big West postseason play as the tournament favorite, having been ranked among the nation’s best for the entirety of its spring season. The team currently checks in at No. 33 – a full 19 spots ahead of UC Irvine, the Big West’s second-ranked team.
The Aggies are led by their three-headed scoring monster of sophomore Austin Graham and seniors Ramie Sprinkling and Nate Pistacchio. For more on these three and the rest of the UC Davis men’s golf lineup, see Monday’s Aggie.
Women’s water polo
The Aggies are expected to enter their Big West Championship as the tournament’s No. 2 seed. UC Davis is ranked No. 10 in the country, placing it a shade behind No. 9 UC Irvine.
The Anteaters won a pair of closely contested games with the Aggies during the regular season. If the bracket spells a rematch between these two squads, expect another nail-biter – this time with the tournament title on the line.
Women’s golf
The Big West knows the Aggies are coming to play. After finishing second at conference last season, UC Davis enters this year’s tournament ranked No. 55 in the country, placing it just seven slots behind league No. 2 Long Beach State.
No. 28 UC Irvine enters as the favorite. With the way sophomores Chelsea Stelzmiller and Alice Kim have been playing for the Aggies, though, the Anteaters will certainly be looking over their shoulders come tournament time.
Have a question you’d like answered in next week’s All AG-Cess? ADAM LOBERSTEIN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
