Sports

After last year’s dismal seventh-place finish,the Aggies were ready to show the Big West Conference what they could do. They did. UC Davis finished with136.5points as the runner-up to a dominant squad from Cal State Northridge (176.5) and just ahead of rival Cal Poly (121.5).

The Aggies have arrived. A year after itsseventh-place finish atits first Big West Conference Championships,UC Davis took fifth in a very closely contested meet. The Aggies scored94points,leaving them less than10points out of third place.

Teams:UC Davis at No.1UC Irvine Records:Aggies,10-36 (3-15); Anteaters31-11 (17-1) Where:Anteater Ballpark – Irvine,Calif. When:Friday at6p.m.; Saturday and Sunday at1p.m. Who to watch? Infielder Justin Schafer has been on a tear as of late. The Los Gatos,Calif.native has eight hits in his past four games,pushing his average to a team-leading.345.He also leads the club with a.415on base percentage.

Three years ago,the UC Davis tennis club featured25people who enjoyed playing tennis,a select few of which had a chance to compete in national tournaments. Today,things are different. The program is now250members strong,with players‘ skill sets ranging from beginners to former intercollegiate athletes. “We encourage players of all skill levels to join and participate in our club,from the complete beginner to the [United States Tennis Association] veteran,” club president Justin Baker said. The club was recently named the USTA Tennis Club of the Year.The On Campus Club of the Year Award is to honor a club for significant improvements to its program.How it commits its time and resources to benefit the community are also major factors.

Event:NCAA West Region Championships Where:Lake Merced Golf Club – Daly City,Calif. When:Today through Saturday; all day Who to watch:Austin Graham has had about a good a year as anyone could have. Graham has won three tournaments – including the Big West Conference Championships – and was named first-team All-Big West.The sophomore leads the team with a72.0scoring average. Most recently,Graham qualified for the U.S.Open Sections by shootinga5-under67at Yolo Fliers Club in Woodland. “He’s playing amazing golf right now and deserves to advance,” coach Cy Williams said. The San Clemente,Calif.native’s next goal,though,will be to lead UC Davis past the regional round of the NCAA Championships.

Event:Big West Conference Championships Where:Anteater Stadium – Irvine,Calif. When:Friday andSaturday; all day Who to watch:To say that junior Alex Wilright has been tearing up the track this season would be an understatement. He has broken his own school record in the400m hurdles,a27-year-old record in the open400m and ran a leg on the record-setting4x400m relay team.That relay is ranked No.2in the conference.He’s ranked No.1in both the400m and the400m hurdles. “I want to win conference in the400m hurdles,” said Wilright. “As a team,I want us to go in and put in the best effort that we can.Hopefully,it will just happen to be enough to win conference.“

After watching his team struggle to a5-7finish last season and lose a handful of close games,coach Bob Biggs knew he wanted to make changes on defense. Not long into the off-season,he found his man. New defensive coordinator Mark Johnson comes to the Aggies after spending four years in the same position at Utah State.While he has strong ties to UC Davis (Johnson played linebacker for the Aggies from1985-1989,and spent eight years on the UC Davis coaching staff between1990-2004),Biggs said he hired Johnson for the defensive package he employs.

Event:Pacific Coast Rowing Association Championships; Pacific-10Conference Championships Where:Lake Natomas – Folsom,Calif. When:Saturday and Sunday; all day Did you know? The Aggies‘ varsity8 finished fourth at the Pac-10Championships last year.

Event:Big WestConferenceChampionships Where:Anteater Stadium – Irvine,Calif. When:Friday andSaturday; all day Who to watch:Junior Chid Onyewuenyi has been dominating the throws all season,and the Big West has taken note. Onyewuenyi – who has qualified for regionals in both the hammer throw and the shot put – is ranked No.2in the Big West for the hammer and No.4in the shot.While those rankings are nice,she knows they won’t matter once the athletes enter the ring. “You may have the best mark coming into this weekend,” said Onyewuenyi, “but it all comes down to who has the furthest mark the day we compete.“

It was a weekend of firsts for the UC Davis baseball team. The Aggies claimed their first series-opening victory on Friday in a14-8win over UC Riverside.It was their first win in their past nine games. On Saturday,UC Davis came back with another win over the Highlanders to claim its first series victory,winning back-to-back games for the first time all season. UC Riverside salvaged the series with a win on Sunday,but UC Davis still walks away from its weekend of firsts with momentum.It’ll be looking for more of the same when it travels to face Santa Clara today at6p.m.

Bob Biggs wears the reminder around his wrist. The UC Davis football coach and his team have been sporting blue wristbands reading “start fast and finish strong” during their six-week spring practice session.

In the midst of an11-game losing streak – its longest of the season – the UC Davis softball team went into its final Big West Conference series this weekend looking to finish the season on a positive note. The Aggies snapped their skid in Friday’s first game,but dropped their final two contests to give Cal State Northridge the series win.