The California Aggie’s fall quarter spotlight team was selected by Aggie Sports Editor Max Rosenblum, Aggie Associate Sports Editor John Heller and Aggie Sports writers Sammy Brasch, Kyle Hyland and Richard Procter.
Name: Paul Marcoux
Year: Senior
Sport: Men’s soccer
Position: Midfielder/forward
Last season, Marcoux was overshadowed by the likes of teammates Quincy Amarikwa, Sule Anibaba and Dylan Curtis.
This year, Marcoux will step into the limelight of the Aggies squad as one of the co-captains of the 2009 team.
The Mountain View, Calif. native, who was an all-Big West Conference Honorable Mention selection in 2008, has already scored three goals this season including one in game-winning fashion.
Marcoux scored twice in a 3-1 win over Central Arkansas at the UNLV Nike Invitional in Las Vegas on Sept. 6.
Name: Carson Lowden
Year: Senior
Sport: Volleyball
Position: Setter
In volleyball, it is said that the setter is like the quarterback. She runs the offense and distributes the ball.
Now a senior on a young squad, Lowden is taking to that moniker now more than ever.
A native of Yuba City, Calif., Lowden is entering her third year as the starting setter for the UC Davis squad, but has emerged as a true leader in her senior season.
So far this year she has dished out 10.62 assists per game, up one from last season, and has led the Aggies to a quick 9-5 start to 2009.
Name: Avreeta Singh
Year: Senior
Sport: Volleyball
Position: Libero
In 2002, the libero position was officially introduced into NCAA volleyball games.
Since then, no UC Davis player has owned the position like Avreeta Singh.
After the 15-dig performance against Montana State on Aug. 29, the Fresno, Calif. native set the UC Davis all-time record for digs with 1,591, surpassing the previous record-holder Mary McClelland who had 1,446 in her career.
This season, she has already amassed 174 digs, 4.14 per set, and has served up 12 aces, good for second on the squad.
Name: Greg Denham
Year: Junior
Sport: Football
Position: Quarterback
Winner of the team’s T. Palmer Moody award as an outstanding sophomore, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback is back to where he left off last season.
In a 17-10 defeat at the hands of No. 4 Montana, the Auburn, Calif. native completed 43 of 67 passes, tying a UC Davis record for completions, for 362 yards and one touchdown.
Denham, who hit seven different receivers in the contest, earned second team All-Great West Conference honors in 2008.
He threw for 3,478 yards and 27 touchdowns last season, including a five-touchdown performance versus Iona.
Name: Chris Carter
Year: Senior
Sport: Football
Position: Wide receiver
After posting a team-high in catches to go along with 768 yards and five touchdowns last season, 2009 looks to be much of the same for Carter.
As part of a pass-happy offense, the Danville, Calif. native caught a UC Davis record 18 balls for 190 yards in the Aggies‘ 17-10 home-opening loss to No. 4 Montana.
Carter, who received All-Great West recognition last year, is wasting no time making waves in the league this year as he was named GWC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Grizzlies.
Carter broke the school record of 15 receptions set by Tony Kays in 2005.
Name: Rochelle VanBuskirk
Year: Senior
Sport: Women’s soccer
Position: Forward
The UC Davis women’s soccer squad has already scored 20 goals this season, three more than it did all of last year.
So far this season, VanBuskirk has been at the head of that dangerous Aggie offensive attack.
The Pleasant Hill, Calif. has already notched seven goals and four assists this season. Both are tops in the Big West.
She had her best game of the season thus far in a 6-1 victory over Eastern Washington Sept. 13 as she found the back of the net twice and assisted on three more goals.
VanBuskirk and the Aggies are off to a 4-2-1 start.
Name: Jonathan Peterson
Year: Sophomore
Sport: Men’s cross country
In a sport where it is advantageous for a squad to run as a pack, Peterson has separated himself from the rest of the group.
The Clovis, Calif. native placed first in the four-mile race at the Hornet Jamboree in Sacramento on Sept. 12 with a time of 19:34, eight seconds ahead of teammate Russ Pfaff.
Peterson’s first-place finish helped UC Davis take first as a team with a cumulative score of 23.
For his performance, he was named the Big West Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week.
Name: Austin Graham
Year: Junior
Sport: Men’s golf
Over the past two years, Graham has made swinging a golf club appear as easy as riding a bike. And to think – it seems as if he is continuing to get better.
The San Clemente High School graduate tied a course record with a 7-under 65 score at the Palouse Collegiate in Pullman, Wash. on Sept. 15. Graham got third place for his efforts and helped the team to a third-place overall finish.
This is only a small portion of what Graham has done in his time at UC Davis.
As a sophomore, he won the Big West Championship in a playoff with teammate Ramie Sprinkling. Graham won two other tournaments on the year and was tops on his team in scoring (72.1) and top-20 finishes (10).
Graham also shot a UC Davis record 63 in the second round of the Prestige at PGA West en route to a first-team All-Big West selection.
Name: Alice Kim
Year: Junior
Sport: Women’s golf
Sometimes overshadowed by her junior companion Chelsea Stelzmiller, Kim has been just as an important part of the women’s golf team.
The Walnut, Calif. native led the Aggies last season in top-five finishes (four), top-10s (nine) and scoring average (73.4 strokes per round).
She helped the Aggies to a second place finish at the Big West Championships and also had individual appearances at the NCAA Regional Tournament, the Division I Championships, the Public Links Championships and the U.S. Women’s Open.
Kim tied for eighth overall at the NCAA Division I Championships and was selected as an All-America Honorable Mention by the National Golf Coaches Association.
Name: Cory Lyle
Year: Junior
Sport: Men’s water polo
Position: Attacker
With both first-team All-WWPA selection Grant Muenter and second-team nod Adam Bennett graduating last year, junior attacker Cory Lyle is expected to fill the void for the Aggies on offense in 2009.
So far, the Carlsbad, Calif. native is getting it done.
He has scored a team-high 12 times this season, having led or tied for the team lead in goals in four of his team’s games.
The Aggies are off to a 5-4 start, which includes an upset of No. 10 Pacific at the NorCal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.
Name: Marissa Hughes
Year: Freshman
Sport: Field hockey
Position: Forward
Hughes has wasted no time displaying her presence at the head of the UC Davis offensive attack.
The Vista, Calif. native recorded an assist and a game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Missouri State to open the season.
For her performance, Hughes was named the Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8 for the West Division of the Nor-Pac Conference.
She has started in all of the Aggies‘ eight games this season, has two assists and has put a team-high 15 shots on goal, helping the Aggies to a 3-5 start in their first year of competition since 1982.
