UC Davis athletics from Jan. 19 to Jan. 24
Men’s Basketball
UC Davis vs UC Riverside (W, 58-55)
UC Davis at Hawai’i (L, 78-62)
Coming off the previous week’s thrilling last second win over California State University, Northridge, the Ags secured another victory in the final moments of the game Thursday evening against UC Riverside. Junior guard Darius Graham sunk a three pointer with 50 seconds remaining, stealing the game for UC Davis. Graham finished the game with a career best of 21 points. Senior forward Josh Fox added an additional 20 points and junior center Neal Monson collected nine boards. The Aggies remain strong at home, extending their home conference winning streak to 10 games, reaching back to last year’s Big West regular season championship run.
UC Davis embarked on their furthest trip of the year last Saturday night, traveling to the Aloha State to face the undefeated Big West powerhouse, the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors. Fox followed his big game Thursday night with a career-best 25 points on 10 of 15 shots, helping the Aggies tie the score three separate times in the second half. But, two second half scoring runs by the first place Rainbow Warriors secured the victory for the home team. Junior guard Brynton Lemar added 12 points, 10 coming into the second half, putting the Ags within striking distance before Hawai’i closed it out.
UC Davis returns to the continental U.S. to face Cal State Fullerton at home on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
UC Davis at UC Santa Barbara (L, 66-59)
UC Davis at Cal Poly (W, 75-57)
The Aggies snapped their four game winning streak on Thursday night, dropping their first conference game to UC rival, Santa Barbara. After trailing behind by two at the break, the Ags fell victim to an onslaught of Gaucho shooting, as Santa Barbara connected on 59 percent of its shots from the field in the second half. Sophomore forward Pele Gianotti finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, collecting her first career double-double. Senior forwards Celia Marfone and Alyson Doherty each scored nine and grabbed eight boards. Despite these strong individual performances, UC Davis fell 66-59 in The Thunderdome.
The Ags bounced back on Saturday afternoon, resuming their Big West dominance with a 75-57 beatdown of conference rival Cal Poly. Doherty led the Aggies to victory with 12 points and 10 rebounds, securing her fifth double-double of the season. Freshman guard Kourtney Eaton collected 10 points and three assists in only 12 minutes of action.
UC Davis returns home to face Long Beach State on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m., and then looks for revenge against UC Santa Barbara on Jan 30. at 3 p.m.
Women’s Gymnastics
UC Davis at BYU (3rd, 194.750)
UC Davis finished with a season-best team score of 194.750 but were edged out by Boise State and host BYU at the collegiate women’s triangular meet at Smith Fieldhouse Friday night. Senior Stephanie Stamates led the beam rotation with a score of 9.850. Meanwhile junior Katy Nogaki propelled the Ags to a second place finish in the balance beam event. UC Davis finished in a six-way tie for third place in the floor exercise but failed to break the top three finishers for the vault and uneven bars.
The Ags head up the causeway this week when they return to action against Sacramento State on Jan. 29.
Men’s Tennis
UC Davis at Stanford (L, 4-0)
UC Davis at USC (L, 7-0)
UC Davis at Pepperdine (W, 4-3)
The Aggies opened the 2016 season with a loss to Stanford on Wednesday afternoon in Palo Alto. The Cardinal took an early lead with a doubles victory before winning three straight-set singles matches to secure the victory.
After falling to the Cardinal, the Ags headed south for a matchup with top ranked USC. USC claimed the doubles point followed by victories in five of six singles contests, delivering a 7-0 sweep Friday afternoon at the David X. Marks Tennis Center in Los Angeles.
The men’s tennis team closed out the weekend with a thrilling upset victory over Pepperdine, claiming their first victory of the season and improving to 1-2 overall. A straight-set win at the hands of junior Bryce McKelvie tied the match, setting up sophomore Tommy Lam to finish off the dramatic upset win. After giving up the set opener, Lam avoided elimination with a 7-6 win before winning the final set 6-2 to secure the win for UC Davis in its first-ever meeting with Pepperdine.
Women’s Tennis
UC Davis at University of Pacific (W, 4-3)
The city with the eighth highest crime rate in the United States is also home to poor weather, causing the spring opener scheduled for Saturday to be pushed to Sunday Jan. 24. UOP claimed the doubles point but wins from Lani-Rae Green, Jesse Lee, Frederique Sleiffer and Kamila Kecki in the singles competition helped UC Davis edge out the narrow victory. The Aggies return home for matches against Portland State and Santa Clara on Friday and Saturday of next week.
Swimming and Diving
UC Davis vs UC Santa Barbara (W, 154-140)
Junior Hilvy Cheung collected 27 points, including victories in the 100- and 200-yard Butterfly and 200-yard individual medley, en route to a UC Davis victory over visiting UC Santa Barbara. The Ags rallied back from a 23 point deficit with crucial wins from senior distance freestyler Lexy Troup and Kristen Brand in the 500-yard haul. The Gauchos failed to field divers in several diving events, allowing the Ags to take a 32-point swing.
UC Davis is now 4-2 in dual meets with the final meet of the season scheduled to take place at University of Pacific on Jan. 30.
Written by: George McConnell – sports@theaggie.org
