Event: UC San Diego Triton Invitational
Teams: No. 14 UC Davis vs. No. 20 Maryland; TBA; TBA; TBA
Records: Aggies, 1-3; Terrapins, 0-0
Where: Canyonview Aquatic Center – San Diego, Calif.
When: Saturday and Sunday, all day
Who to watch: Rarely does a player start off their college career like freshman Carly Ternasky did at the Nor Cal Cup last weekend.
The San Clemente, Calif. native made her presence known, scoring seven goals in her first four games.
Coach Jamey Wright expects more of the same from Ternasky in the future.
Did you know: The Aggies placed second at the Triton Invitational last year. UC Davis fell to San Diego State in the championship game, 12-8. Preview: When Wright picked the opening tournaments for the Aggies, he knew he wasn’t playing to get a good record.
“We could’ve started lower on the food chain and gotten some easy wins,” Wright said. “But in order to get better, you have to play the best.”
For the second straight weekend, the Aggies will compete against some of the top teams in the nation.
No. 14 UC Davis opens up the Triton Invitational on Saturday against No. 20 Maryland. The Aggies barely clipped the Terrapins in sudden death last year at Schaal Aquatic Center by a score of 10-9.
Wright admired Maryland’s speed and ability to move around in the pool.
Depending on how the Aggies do in their first game, they could match up against No. 11 Loyola Marymount, with the possibility of playing top-seed No. 7 San Diego State.
“There are no easy teams on our schedule,” Wright said.
With the difficult matchups, Wright said team chemistry helps deal with the highs and lows of the season.
“A close team can really help us as the season progresses,” Wright said. “The team helps each other separate from a bad game.”
Because of the Aggies’ depth, Wright has the option to substitute if a player is having an off day.
“Our scoring comes from everybody,” Wright said. “If one group isn’t doing well we can sub them out.”
To prevent this, Wright and the coaching staff uses positive reinforcement.
“We want to show the girls what they did right,” Wright said. “Therefore they can replicate the same things and we can be successful.”
– Jason Alpert
