Sports

Entering the2009season,the UC Davis women‘s water polo team had lost five of six starters from the year before and was looking for a leader to come out of thewoodwork. Luckily,senior Lindsay Kiyama stepped up to the plate,or into the pool,that is.

The UC Davis women‘s water poloteam started the2009season with a very talentedfreshmenclass,but no one knew how they would perform. Freshman defender Kaylee Miller proved any doubts were erroneous as she led the talentedfirst years on way totheBig West ConferenceFreshman of theYear honors.

Qualifying for the Regional Championships is often a career-capping achievement,one for which athletes may spend years waiting. Ostrom didn’t have to wait. Thanks to his5.05m vault at the Cal-Nevada Championships onMar.29th,Ostrom earned the honor of competing against the best vaulters in the West.He was one of only threefreshmento do so.

Polly Gnepa was expected to do big things entering this season.After all,he had run the110m hurdles in14.01seconds – thefastestever as an Aggie – and placed third at the Big West Conference Championships in2008. Gnepa did more than anyone could imagine.

Sophomore sensation Austin Graham had about as good of a year as one can have. His72.0scoring average was tops on a team that skyrocketed to as high as No.24in the country and that captured a Big West Conference title.

In2004and2005,the UC Davismen’ssoccer team welcomed the likes of Sule Anibaba,Jordan Vanderpoorten,Jake Mogelson,Dylan Curtis,Ian Conklin and Ahmad Hatifie – not to mention MLS draft pickQuincy Amarikwa of the San Jose Earthquakes. In2008,this group became seniors and put together the best season that the men’s soccer program has ever seen,andarguably the best in thetwo years of Division I athletics atUC Davis across the board.

Event:NCAA Division I Track and Field National Championships Where:John McDonnell Field – Fayetteville,Ark. When:Wednesday through Saturday; all day Watch:Online:CBS College Sports Network,Friday4p.m.; TV:CBS Saturday10a.m.

On Saturday,May30,Jazz Trice accomplished a feat never before achieved by an Aggie as he qualified for the NCAA Division I Track and Field National Championships. In virtue of his personal record run of13.57seconds in the110m hurdlers,Trice placed third in the West Regional. Trice doesn’t even think he ran his best race.

There are countless ways to describe Quincy Amarikwa. Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year,second-team All-American,first-team All-Far West Region,first Aggie to receive National Player of the Week honors,first UC Davis player to make the senior roster of a Major League Soccer club – the list goes on.

Senior Nate Pistacchio held nothing back in his final year at UC Davis as he helped the Aggies to their first Big West title in school history. He enjoyed his finest season as an Aggie,earning All-Big West Conference first-team honors as well as Big West Golfer of the Month honors for October.

Senior Ramie Sprinkling finished off his career at UC Davis with a bang as he led the Aggies to their first ever Big West Conferencechampionship in school history. He won two tournaments this year including the Fresno State Lexus Classic and was named to the all-Big West Conference first team.

Name: Alex Holmes Year: Sophomore Position: Pitcher/outfielder Hometown: San Juan Capistrano, Calif.   While the UC Davis softball team had trouble clicking in all facets of the games at once this season, Alex Holmes did not. Holmes dominated opposing team’s offenses, leading the second-best pitching staff in the Big West Conference with a 1.83 earned […]