UC Davis athletics from Feb. 8 to Feb. 15
Women’s Basketball (15-9 overall, 8-3 Big West Conference)
UC Davis vs. Cal Poly (W, 82-71)
UC Davis vs. Cal State Fullerton (W, 80-56)
The Aggies came in strong over the Cal Poly Mustangs on Wednesday, Feb. 10, winning 82-71 due to an amazing performance by sophomore guard Rachel Nagel. Nagel scored 19 points and collected six rebounds, falling one point short of her career high from last year against UC Irvine in the Big West Conference Tournament. Just behind Nagel, senior forward Alyson Doherty contributed 17 points and six rebounds, while sophomore forward Pele Gianotti added 12 points. Sophomore guard Dani Nafekh scored 10 points and senior forward Celia Marfone ended up with the most rebounds of the night, coming in at seven.
Take a look at a recap of the game by sports reporter George McConnell here.
Coming in with another win, Nagel and Gianotti led the team to a big 80-56 victory on Saturday, Feb. 13 against Cal State Fullerton. The duo each scored 20 points, and Doherty contributed nine rebounds and three blocks. Marfone added 12 points for the win, and overall the Aggies made 24 assists on 28 successful baskets, with help from freshman guard Courtney Eaton at seven assists and sophomore guard Dani Nafekh with six.
Catch up with a recap by sports reporter Julia Wu here.
The Aggies will cruise over to Hawai’i for a game on Feb. 18, and then will return home for a game against UC Riverside on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
Men’s Basketball (10-14 overall, 5-6 Big West Conference)
UC Davis vs. UC Santa Barbara (L, 72-66)
UC Davis vs. Long Beach State (L, 57-48)
Junior guard Darius Graham excelled in the game against UC Santa Barbara, scoring 19 points, while freshman guard Siler Schneider contributed 13 points. Junior guards Lawrence White and Brynton Lemar both scored 11 points, but overall, the Aggies were not able to pull through and lost to the Gauchos 72-66.
Sports reporter Veronica Vargo covered the game.
Coming off of their previous loss, the Aggies kept the score even throughout the game against Long Beach State, but lost 57-48 in the last minutes of the game. Senior forward Josh Fox, for the fourth time in his career, scored 20 points, while junior center Neal Monson added 10 rebounds and Schneider put in five points, getting closer to setting a new freshman scoring record.
Get a recap from sports reporter Aaron Sellers here.
The Aggies will travel next week to take on Cal Poly on Thursday, Feb. 18, and will face UC Santa Barbara two days later.
Softball (2-2)
UC Davis vs. Montana (L, 4-3)
UC Davis vs. Sacramento State (postponed)
UC Davis vs. CSU Bakersfield (W, 7-1)
UC Davis vs. CSU Bakersfield (L, 4-2)
UC Davis vs. Santa Clara University (W, 3-0)
Against Montana, junior center fielder Brianna Warner scored and freshman second baseman Meghan Bradbury earned her first RBI.
The end of the softball game on Feb. 12 versus Sacramento State was postponed due to inadequate lighting.
Sports reporter Michael Martinez covered both games.
Senior pitcher Leah Munden excelled in their first game against CSU Bakersfield, defeating 11 of the 13 batters for an eventual score of 7-1. The following game versus the same teams, the Ags were not able to earn another win, despite Bradbury’s first home run. The final score was 4-2.
Later that day, the Aggies did an amazing job at not letting the Santa Clara Broncos garner any points, especially with a two-run home run by sophomore outfielder Megan Salazar during the second inning. The game ended with a win for the Aggies, 3-0.
The UC Davis softball team will return home on Feb. 25 to face Iowa State.
Women’s Gymnastics
UC Davis at Seattle Pacific (1st, 192.550)
The Aggies won by a slim margin, coming in at 192.550 as junior Katy Nogaki tied with a Falcon senior at 9.800 on the vault, but earned a victory over sophomore teammate Alexis Brown on the beam with a score of 9.875. The Aggies’ performance on the bars was solid, yet suboptimal, with Brown scoring 9.775, sophomore Miranda Holder scoring 9.650 and junior Yonni Michovska contributing 9.625. Doing better on the floor, the Aggies scored a 49.050, as freshman Yasmine Yektaparast scored 9.850 and was followed very close behind by Holder at 9.825, while freshman Kara Jones tied with sophomore Amanda Presswood at 9.800.
UC Davis will take on Michigan at Southern Utah on Feb. 19.
Men’s Tennis (9-3 overall, 1-0 Big West Conference)
UC Davis at Sacramento State (W, 6-1)
Five of the six singles matches were won by UC Davis athletes, as well as two of the three doubles set ups. Juniors Alec Adamson and Bryce McKelvie dismantled their opponents in two sets, 6-2, 6-0 and 6-2, 6-3, as did senior Brett Bacharach, 6-1, 6-0.
The Aggies will compete against Villanova on March 3.
Women’s Tennis (4-4 overall, 0-1 Big West Conference)
UC Davis at UCLA (L, 4-0)
UC Davis at UC Santa Barbara (L, 4-0)
UC Davis at Cal Poly (W, 4-0)
With a significant loss, the Aggies were unable to defeat the UCLA Bruins who won two of the three doubles matches, even as senior Tiffany Pham and junior Alex Huie won theirs, 6-4. Junior Samantha Martino was on track to win her singles competition, but the Bruins had accumulated enough points to render her final result invalid.
Coming off of their previous loss, the Aggies were again not able to bridge the gap. Similar to their match against UCLA, senior Tiffany Pham and junior Alex Huie won their doubles match with a score of 6-4.
After two losses, the Aggies defeated Cal Poly 4-0 in an away game. UC Davis won every completed match for the day, though by the end there were four that were unfinished.
The UC Davis women’s tennis team returns home on Saturday, Feb. 20 to play Cal State Fullerton at 11 a.m.
Women’s Water Polo
Triton Invitational at UC San Diego
UC Davis vs. Cal State University, Northridge (W, 10-5)
UC Davis vs. UC Irvine (W, 12-6)
UC Davis vs. UCLA (L, 5-1)
UC Davis vs. Arizona State University (W, 10-9)
Traveling south to UC San Diego, the UC Davis women’s water polo team returned from their trip largely victorious. The team took down CSU Northridge and UC Irvine 10-5 and 12-6, doubling their opponents scores both times. Against UCLA, the Aggies were not able to find an edge, and lost 5-1, but they quickly rebounded in a close game against Arizona State University, where they came away with a slim win, 10-9.
The UC Davis women’s water polo team returns home to host the Aggie Shootout on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 20 and 21.
Women’s Indoor Track
UC Davis at New Mexico
At the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, freshman Mikaela Adolphus ranked 27th for the 400, coming in with a time of 55.85 seconds, and sophomore Emma Redick placed 38th with a time of 24.88 seconds for the 200. Junior Holly Tokar and senior Ariel Maroon tied for 10th on the pole vault, while junior Rianna Goins took seventh in the 600, and senior Katie Fry came in at ninth in the 800.
Women’s Golf
UC Davis vs. Stanford
13th of 13 (18 of 36 holes)
Peg. Barnard Invitational
Senior Andrea Wong contributed 11 pars and posted three birdies, while freshman Daniela Anastasi and sophomore Alexandra Zeng both shot 81. Senior Betty Chen shot 87 for the day, and junior Paige Lee came in with a 94.
Sunday February 14th, 13th of 13 (Final)
With an incredible performance by Wong, the Aggies were able to finish 13th at Peg Barnard Invitational. Wong tied for 11th at the opener, and Anastasi shot an 82, Zeng hit 83 and Lee had 84.
The Aggies will travel to New Orleans, Louisiana for the All-State Sugar Bowl, Feb. 21 to 23.
Written by Iman Farahani – sports@theaggie.org
