45.5 F
Davis

Davis, California

Friday, March 29, 2024

Women’s Water Polo Preview

Event: San Jose State University Invite

Teams: No. 17 UC Davis vs. No. 7 San Jose State; vs. Cal State Monterey Bay; vs. No. 3 California; vs. Santa Clara

Records: Aggies, 1-0; Spartans, 2-2; Otters, 2-1; Golden Bears, 3-0; Broncos, 0-0

Where: Aquatic Center – San Jose, Calif.

When: Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Who to watch: The center position is a crucial position in the Aggies’ offense. With the return of Dakotah Mohr, the Aggies look to be even more effective on offense.

The Davis native has put up some staggering numbers in her career, including 133 exclusions in 2009. She will have her hands full defending the Spartans’ Allie Stewart, who scored a school-record eight goals in San Jose State’s opening game.

Did you know? This weekend will be the first time since 2005 that the Aggies will play a game at the San Jose State Aquatic Center. The last time they played there, the Aggies lost to the Spartans 10-9 in overtime but beat Santa Clara 3-2.

Preview: UC Davis will have its hands full this weekend as it takes on some of the best water polo teams in the nation.

One of the Aggies’ opponents is Cal. The Golden Bears blasted Sonoma State and Cal State Bakersfield last weekend by a combined score of 39-5.

But Cal isn’t the only ranked team the Aggies will face. The host Spartans, ranked No. 7 in preseason, and the Broncos – ranked fifth in the Western Water Polo Association coaches’ poll, also hope to knock UC Davis down a notch.

While coach Jamey Wright wants to win, his main intention for the weekend is for the team to improve.

“If we go 0-4 but we learn, then I’m happy,” Wright said. “If we go 4-0, we won’t do that unless we demonstrate that we’ve learned a lot.”

On Saturday, the Aggies will play a Spartan team that will look to stop a very fast UC Davis offense with a very physical defense.

“They don’t give you a lot of easy goals,” Wright said. “They play really tough and aggressive both offensively and defensively. We have to come in and have our chinstrap tight.”

With the Otters, on the other hand, Wright doesn’t exactly know what to expect.

“They’ll probably come up with some defense that will baffle us for half the game,” said Wright. “Eventually, I hope we’ll take control. They always come up with something that I’ve never seen.”

Though the Aggies have had success against the Cal State Monterey Bay in the past, the Otters are riding a nice two-game winning streak, having put up 17 goals against Azusa Pacific.

– Matt Wang

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