The UC Davis women’s water polo did some early spring cleaning as they swept their opponents in the 33rd annual Aggie Shootout. The 14th-ranked Aggies beat Concordia, Santa Clara and Colorado State as they improved their record to 10-7 on the season.
The weekend heroes were seniors Carmen Eggert and Jessica Dunn, who scored a combined 17 goals in the tripleheader. The duo also had a hand in most of the other Aggie goals, as Eggert had two assists and Dunn had seven assists total.
In the first game on Saturday, Concordia struck first, scoring with an early goal to surge ahead by one. However, from there the Aggies took control. Eggert scored five of her nine goals against the Eagles. Her high-scoring performance paved the way for an easy UC Davis victory by the score of 14-9.
Dunn’s four goals in the Aggies’ second game against Santa Clara proved to be vital in the closest match of the day. She started off firing as she added two goals in the first quarter, to lead UC Davis to a 3-1 lead. She sealed of her scoring performance with a 6-on-5 goal and a natural goal, which helped seal the game.
Another key performer against the Broncos was senior Riane Woods. Her 14 saves against the Broncos, which included a penalty save, was critical in shutting down the Broncos’ offense. The clutch scoring of Dunn and the automatic defense of Woods helped the Aggies win the game by the score of 8-4.
In the final game of the night, UC Davis maintained their momentum and finished off their weekend by beating Colorado State, 13-6. The Aggies were led in scoring by Eggert and sophomore Keelia Houston, who scored four and three goals, respectively. The Aggies cruised through this game and were never behind at any point.
This dominant performance over the weekend should help UC Davis as they head into Big West competition. The Aggies open up conference play against Cal State Northridge on March 8 and UC Santa Barbara on March 9.
— Kenneth Ling
