The UC Davis men’s water polo team experienced extreme highs and lows this season. The Aggies started their season against an aggressive row of competition, facing the No. 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 teams. They lost all of these games, including a 19-3 beatdown by No. 2 USC in the season opener.
After starting the season off with a 1-6 record, the Aggies rebounded by winning six out of seven of their next matches. They were able to defeat No. 18 Navy and No. 19 Whittier, but mostly feasted on lower-ranked opponents. By the start of the school year, the Aggies were ranked No. 11 in the country.
The past six games have been another lull for the Aggies as they have faced four teams placed in the nation’s top 13. The Aggies were routed by Stanford at home by a score of 17-5 before falling to unranked Cal Baptist and losing three out of four matches at the SoCal Invitational.
The men’s water polo team will play five of its next nine games at home, with four away games coming in The Rodeo tournament at Santa Clara University. The Aggies have lost only one game to an unranked opponent this year and will not play against ranked opponents during the regular season.
Individually, the Aggies have seen outstanding play from a number of players. Senior attacker Sean Grab has been spectacular, leading UC Davis in minutes, goals and assists. Grab has a combined 68 points and drawing 37 kickouts. Senior utility player Chris Richardson has also played well, scoring 35 goals and adding 17 assists. UC Davis has also benefited from consistent play by freshman goalie Spencer Creed who has started all 20 games and has played all but six minutes in the goal this season.
The UC Davis men’s water polo team has fared extremely well this season in two situations. Playing at home, the Aggies have won all but one game against No. 2 Stanford. The fact that the Aggies have five of their next nine games at home should bode well for them.
With scheduling on their side, the Aggies are poised to close out their up-and-down season with a number of good games.
