Event: The Rodeo
Teams: UC Davis vs. Brown; vs. Cal Baptist; vs. Air Force; vs. Bucknell
Records: Aggies 12-6 (11-0), Bears 13-4, Lancers 22-3, Falcons 7-11 (4-5), Bison 9-10
Where: Sulivan Aquatic Center – Santa Clara, Calif.
When: Saturday at 11:30 a.m.; 3:15 p.m., Sunday at 10:15 a.m., 4:30 p.m.
Who to watch: It’s obvious to opponents that Aaron Salit makes a difference in the pool. Over the course of the last two months, the Mill Valley, Calif. native has put up some big numbers as he leads the Aggies in goals (33) and is second in the team in points (34).
“His performance is coming up because of his endurance,” said men’s water polo coach Steve Doten. “He’s playing more minutes and that’s really hard for a center to swim [that many minutes]. He’s doing great.”
In UC Davis’ last game against Air Force, Salit posted a hat-trick, leading the Aggies to a 7-4 win on Sept. 20.
Did you know? Less than one month separates the Aggies from the Western Water Polo Association Championships.
Preview: The Aggies are saying goodbye to home – at least for a while.
After spending nearly a month in the friendly confines of Schaal Aquatic Center, the men’s water polo team will have to travel for five of their next of seven matches.
The Aggies will be heading to Santa Clara, Calif. this weekend to take on four teams in two days.
The last time UC Davis had more than four games in a three-day period was nearly a month ago, when it competed against Stanford, UC San Diego, Long Beach State, Santa Clara and Air Force in the NorCal Invitational.
Though they will play two games on both Saturday and Sunday, the Aggies will only have one WWPA team on their docket when they play Air Force.
The Falcons have won their past two games and are looking to start a winning streak in The Rodeo.
Air Force isn’t the only school looking to hit its stride this weekend. With only a pair of conference games remaining on their schedule, the Aggies can finish out the season undefeated in WWPA play.
However, with only one month before WWPA championships and six weeks until National Collegiate Championships, now is the time for the Aggies start firing on all cylinders.
– Matt Wang
