Sports

The Aggies’ mindset this season has been to spread the wealth. UC Davis did exactly that Tuesday night in its home opener against San Francisco, using a balanced offensive attack to beat the Dons at the Pavilion, 56-49.

It took a2,200-mile road trip and a strong dose of inclement weather,but the book has been closed on the UC Davis men’s soccer team’s historic season. Three days after winning its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament game in a4-0drubbing of Denver at Aggie Soccer Stadium,UC Davis was knocked out of tournament contention by No.12Michigan on Tuesday,2-1.

The gun sounded at9:08a.m.Monday morning. It signaled the start of the NCAA National Cross Country Championships in Terra Haute,Ind.and marked the first time that an Aggie duo – seniors Kim Conley and Kaitlin Gregg – had ever competed in the biggest meet in the country.

Through five games this season,the UC Davis men’s basketball team has proven that it can play winning basketball. The only task left is to prove it for40minutes. The Aggies dropped to1-4after a pair of single-digit losses,falling on the road to Arkansas before losing to Portland in its home opener.

Teams:No.17UC Davis at No.13Michigan Records:Aggies,13-4-4; Wolverines,12-5-3 Where:U-M Soccer Complex – Ann Arbor,Mich. When:Today at11a.m.

Teams:UC Davis at Southern Utah Records:Aggies,1-1; Dons,1-2 Where:The Pavilion When:Today at7p.m.

There are some things you never forget. The Aggies will always remember their perfect regular season in2007that ended with a loss to Loyola Marymount in the Western Water PoloAssociation championship game. UC Davis was looking to avenge that loss this year,but came one goal short of getting there.

Former Aggie Derek Moore gave UC Davis national attention two years ago by becoming national champion of his weight class. Now,the Aggies are doing it as a team.

Dwayne Shaffer couldn’t help himself.In the final minutes of Saturday’s contest at Aggie Soccer Stadium,the UC Davis men’s soccer coach walked toward the student section,hopped on top of the closest chair he could find,grabbed a towel and waived it repeatedly to pump up an already rowdy crowd.

UC Davis had a fittingconclusion to aseason filled withfrustration. In a game that saw the Aggies defense make a goal line stand and Greg Denham have a career day,mistakes and missed opportunitiesproved to be insurmountable in a28-20loss to San Diego on Saturday at Toreros Stadium. “It was a case of where we were our own worst enemy,“ head coach Bob Biggssaid. “We had way too many penalties at critical times,a fumble in the red zone,an interception in the red zone.We just couldn’t overcome our mistakes.“

Senior forward Quincy Amarikwa predicted it and Denver head coach Bobby Muss affirmed it. Before UC Davis‘ opening round game of the NCAA Tournament against Denver,Amarikwa said he expected his team to dominate the Pioneers offensively,and to impose its will on them. The Aggies did that and then some,knocking off Denver inacommanding4-0fashion before an overflow crowd of1,344at Aggie Soccer Stadium.

For the second straight week,the UC Davis women’s basketball team had to fly across a time zone to play a Friday night game. This time,the outcome wasn’t as favorable. A week after defeating Southern Utah,UC Davis fell victim to a15-1scoring run by Denver over the final three and ahalf minutes of play to give the Pioneers their first victory of the season,64-50.