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Thursday, March 28, 2024

This week in sports

Athletics action between Feb. 16 and 22

 

Baseball (5-2-1):

UC Davis vs. Santa Clara University (W, 4-1)

UC Davis vs. Gonzaga (W, L, L, W)

 

In the UC Davis season home-opener, the Aggies jumped out to an early four point lead and finished with a 4-1 victory of Santa Clara University. Senior Max Cordy was credited with his second win of the year, while junior Nat Hamby finished with the save.

With their first home win under the belt, the Aggies faced visiting Gonzaga for four games in three days. The team was able to finish the first and last days with victories, but fell in two straight on Feb. 21. UC Davis allowed an average of three and a half runs per game in their victories, but gave up an average of 10.5 in their losses.

The Aggies will play two games at home against Eastern Michigan on Feb. 24 and 25 before hitting the road for seven straight competitions.

 

Men’s Basketball (21-4):

UC Davis @ Long Beach State (W, 65-58)

UC Davis vs. Hawai’i (W, 74-67)

 

In their first televised game of the season, in January, the Aggies faced off against Long Beach State and squeaked by in overtime. The second time the teams faced, again on ESPN, UC Davis won by a decisive seven point margin. UC Davis was led by senior guard Corey Hawkins who had 26 points in his return from a three-game injury break. The Aggies also led first team all-conference guard Mike Caffey to 15 points on 5-18 shooting.

After their TV victory, UC Davis returned home to face Hawai’i, the only Big West team who has been able to beat them this year. In a game which saw Hawkins make only one of eight shots for six points, senior guard Tyler Les was the star as he hit nine three-pointers for a total of 28 points. The Aggies now have only four games left in the regular season before turning to the Big West Championships for a shot at the NCAA Tournament. Read more about the game here.

 

Women’s Basketball (13-11):

UC Davis vs. Long Beach State (W, 83-66)

UC Davis @ Hawai’i (L, 60-62)

 

After suffering a three point loss in Long Beach earlier this year, the Aggies found redemption at home due to hot shooting. UC Davis tied a single-game record with a combined 17 three-pointers, including five by senior forward Sydnee Fipps.

With five straight victories under their belt, the Aggies headed to Hawai’i to face the number one team in the conference. Fipps scored 20 points on an efficient 7-12 shooting, while junior forward Alyson Doherty added 14 points on just six shots. The team started the game on a 12-0 run, but Hawai’i slowly clawed their way back. UC Davis was able to hold its opponent to 33.8 percent shooting, but turned the ball over 17 times and gave up 25 offensive rebounds.

 

Gymnastics:

UC Davis @ San Jose State (2nd, 192.525)

Despite falling to San Jose State, the Aggies put on a strong showing including several career highs and a broken UC Davis record. UC Davis was able to take first and second place in the vault, the uneven bars, and the floor exercises while failing to place on the balance beam. Sophomore Katy Nogaki, fresh off of back-to-back school record breaking performances, placed first in the vault.

As a team, the vaulters combined to break the school record with freshman Alexis Brown scoring a career high in that area, good for second place. The Aggies will return to the Pavilion on Friday, Feb. 27 to face off in a quadruple meet with Sacramento State, Iowa and Central Michigan.

Men’s Golf:

The Prestige at PGA West (11 out of 14)

Playing the role of host at the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, the Aggies finished No. 11 in a field that included UCLA, Stanford and many other top competitors. In the first round, senior Mike Brockington shot a 3-under 69 to finish in eighth overall individually. The team was ranked No. 11, staying consistent throughout the entire tournament.

After his strong performance, Brockington dropped off after shooting a 76 and 78 on the last two days. Junior Luke Vivolo finished No. 30 individually after a 2-under 70 on the final round of the tournament. The Aggies will now take nearly a month off before visiting Oregon for the Bandon Dunes Championship on March 13.

 

Lacrosse (0-2):

UC Davis @ Lehigh (L, 2-7)

UC Davis @ Lafayette (L, 12-14)

The Aggies started their season in faraway Pennsylvania, losing both of their games in their season opening weekend. The first competition, against Lehigh, proved to be a low scoring affair as the Aggies were held to only two goals. Sophomore Melissa Kellan and junior Mary Doyle each had a goal for the Aggies while senior goalie Kai Murphy had 12 saves. Despite the significant difference in final score, the game was played almost evenly over the second half.

Once again, the Aggies fell behind in the first half before playing the second evenly. Sophomore Melissa Kellan had a game high five goals while four other players scored. The teams were all tied up at eight before Lafayette went on a 4-0 run that sealed an Aggies loss. UC Davis lacrosse will now return to UC Davis for four straight home games, beginning with their home opener on March 2.

 

Softball (4-8):

UC Davis @ Stanford (L, 3-4)

Down 0-2 headed into the second to last inning, the Aggies staged a comeback by scoring three runs in the top of the sixth. With two runners on base, and two outs, freshman Ashley Lotoszynski slammed a ball over the fence to take the lead. The hit was one of two that the freshman had on the day.

Still, the comeback did not go as planned as Stanford responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to regain the lead. The Aggies were unable to bring any points in during the final inning, ending their chance at an underdog victory. UC Davis will travel to San Diego for several games before returning to face Stanford at home on March 4.

 

Men’s Tennis (9-3):

UC Davis @ Saint Mary’s (W, 7-0)

UC Davis vs. Holy Names (W, 7-0)

UC Davis @ San Francisco (L, 3-4)

UC Davis vs. Nevada (W, 5-2)

UC Davis vs. Sonoma State (W, 7-0)

 

Coming into their match against Saint Mary’s with four straight victories, the Aggies added to their streak with two straight 7-0 sweeps. Finally, UC Davis fell as they travelled to face the University of San Francisco. The two teams tied in singles matches, but the Aggies failed to win the doubles point.

On a pleasant sunday, the Aggies faced two straight opponents at home and finished with two victories. UC Davis failed to win one singles match and did not win the doubles point against Nevada, but swept Sonoma State. The Aggies will now turn to the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championships from March 5 to 8.

 

Women’s Tennis (3-7):

UC Davis @ UC Irvine (L, 3-4)

UC Davis @ University of San Francisco (L, 3-4)

On Feb. 16, the Aggies headed for warmer weather in Irvine and returned home with a loss under their belt. The team was able to steal the doubles point, but moved on to lose four out of six singles matches. Sophomore Frederique Sleiffer was able to win both of her matches.

A similar storyline played out against University of San Francisco as the Aggies nabbed the doubles point and fell in four of six in singles play. Sleiffer, once again won both a singles and doubles match while freshman Jessie Lee managed to win one as well. The Aggies will now return for four straight, and 11 out of 12, at home.

 

No. 13 Women’s Water Polo (8-8):

UCI Invitational (L, W, L, W)

In two days, the UC Davis women’s water polo team faced off against four top-15 opponents and came home with two victories. The Aggies started the tournament off slowly, facing No. 4 Cal and falling 2-10. Two UC Berkeley players finished the game with a hat trick. The second game of the day, however, saw the Aggies take on No. 14 Michigan, winning after jumping out to a 5-2 halftime lead. Senior goalkeeper Jillian Wilding finished with seven saves.

The second day of the tournament went the same way as the first, with the Aggies falling in their early game before scoring a late victory. Against No. 8 San Jose State, UC Davis was able to go into the final quarter tied at seven before allowing their opponent to finish with a two point victory. Against No. 10 San Diego State, the Aggies let their guards slip in the fourth quarter again, but rode a four point third quarter to victory.

UC Davis will play UC Santa Barbara at home on March 6 before hosting the Aggie Shootout on March 7 and 8.

 

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