Event: Stanford Invitational
Teams: No. 15 UC Davis, No. 1 Stanford, No. 5 San Jose State, No. 3 USC
Records: Aggies (2-4); Cardinal (2-0); Spartans (5-0); Trojans (0-0)
Where: Palo Alto, California
When: Saturday 8:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.; Sunday 9:10 a.m.; TBA
Who to watch: Senior attacker Ariel Feeney leads the team with six assists and her seven goals place her second on the team with 13 total points.
Did you know? This weekend’s tournament in Stanford is comprised of the No. 1 (Stanford), No. 2 (California), No. 3, No. 4 (UCLA), No. 10 (Hawaii), No. 13 (Michigan) and No. 15 (UC Davis) ranked teams in the country.
Preview: The tough early season schedule continues for the UC Davis women’s water polo team this weekend at the Stanford Invitational.
The Aggies will begin with a rematch against the Cardinal and hope for a better showing than last weekend. UC Davis will also play the Spartans for the third time in as many weekends.
“We have to make sure to finish off plays on defense,” Head Coach Jamey Wright said. “We have to get good defensive position, otherwise Stanford will make you pay. We’re working on protecting the ball, staying spread out and transition defense.”
The Aggies will also face another top-five opponent Sunday in their first meeting with USC on the season. UC Davis will also play a fourth game on Sunday against an opponent yet to be decided.
With so many games in one weekend, Wright figures to use the depth of his squad once again.
“The scheduling with so many games in on weekend isn’t that unusual,” Wright said. “It’s a cultural thing in water polo. They’ve all been doing it since they were young playing multiple times in a day at weird hours.”
Wright looks forward playing against all the tough competition, saying it’s much more beneficial for his team to play Stanford and get that experience then it might be for the Cardinal to play the Aggies.
