Aggies Sweep Saturday open of the Davis Shootout, winning over CSUB and Brown.
UC Davis hosted five teams over the weekend for the 36th annual Davis Shootout in women’s water polo. This was the first time the Aggies did not have to travel this season, and home court advantage paid off. Coming off a win on Super Bowl Sunday, the Aggies were ready for this weekend.
“For this week it was all about keeping that same momentum going that we created last weekend, keep playing a good defense, funnel the shots into the lowest angle,” said head coach Jamey Wright. “That’s kind of our thing.”
The Aggies certainly were firing from low angles as they opened Saturday’s competition, putting away six goals to CSU Bakersfield’s one and showing the crowd exactly how they wanted to play the game. Junior utility Bryn Lutz led the Aggies from the front with four goals. Junior center Carla Tocchini and senior center Allyson Hansen trailed just behind Lutz with two goals apiece.
A major aspect of the Aggie offense has been their counter-attack and how well they do in transition.
“We’re in our fast-break mode [which] makes it very easy for us to score off of that fast-break, or to get into our front court,” Wright said. “It makes their offense always tentative because if they make a mistake or turn-over, we’re gone.”
A press defense was also key to this victory, as it limited CSU Bakersfield’s opportunities on the offensive. Some substitutions by UC Davis allowed many players a chance at rest, and the Roadrunners were never within five goals of catching the Aggies.
UC Davis defeated CSU Bakersfield 13-7.
History was destined to repeat itself when the Aggies faced off against Brown that same evening.
UC Davis scored five straight goals before Brown could get on the board, even managing to shut out Brown into the third quarter.
Junior utility Hannah Harvey and Tocchini spearheaded the Aggie offense together, each earning themselves a hat trick. The
Aggies managed to hold a 10-1 lead three minutes into the fourth quarter, before ending the game 13-2 in favor of the Aggies.
“There is no better way to judge [progression] than by against the top five teams, and if you continue to improve upon those things, you too can become a top five team,” Wright said. “That’s where we are now.”
The Aggies advance to 10-4 for the year and are ranked at No. 5 in NCAA for Division I women’s water polo, the highest regular-season ranking in UC Davis program history.
The Aggies continued the Davis Shootout with a game against No. 4 Stanford on Sunday, Feb 21.
Written by: Aaron Sellers – sports@theaggie.org
