Event: Pac-10 Conference Tournament
Where: The Pavilion
Records: Aggies (3-12, 1-6)
When: Friday and Saturday all day
Who to watch: Junior heavyweight Ricky Alcala has been a strong leader all season for the Aggies.
The team captain is currently ranked No. 17 in the country at the heavyweight slot and is looking to lead the Aggies to success at the tournament at home.
Alcala is excited to have the tournament at the Pavilion this year but his approach does not change even though it is at home.
“I am excited, but I would be excited no matter where the Pac-10 tournament was,” Alcala said. “It will be fun to have all the support of friends and family.”
Did you know? This is the second time in Pac-10 history that the Aggies are hosting the tournament. The last time was in 1999 when Cal State Bakersfield won its second title in four years.
Preview: The Aggies have not had a strong season.
However, they are excited for the chance to redeem themselves in front of a home crowd at the Pac-10 tournament.
“As a team we didn’t do well this season,” Alcala said. “That doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is the conference championship.”
The Aggies can forget their bad season with a strong tournament outing.
The chances of a strong performance are aided by the fact that UC Davis should have their top three wrestlers (Alcala, Barrett Abel and Brandon Low) make it to the national tournament as all three are nationally ranked in the top 20 in their class.
Meanwhile, coach Lennie Zalesky is excited to be hosting the tournament.
“I think this is one of the best places to host in the nation,” Zalesky said of the Pavilion.
UC Davis will welcome to a lot of the nation’s best wrestlers this weekend.
The Aggies are hoping that their wrestlers will be counted among them.
– Kyle Hyland
