Sports

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.

In the last match of their season,the Aggies didn’t have much of an answer for Pacific. The Tigers packed quite a punch on Friday night as Gibson and Anderson slammed down12kills each en route to a three-set victory. But at the end of the match,there was an obvious air of excitement and promise that seemed to fill the Pavilion.

Event:NCAA Division I National Championships Where:LaVern Gibson Course – Terre Haute,Ind. When:Mondayat9:08a.m.

Sitting at home in Auburn, Calif., Greg Denham was a 17-year-old with dreams. He dreamt of glorifying God on the football field. He dreamt of leading his team to championships. He dreamt of playing in the NFL. There was just one problem: Denham was sitting at home. In a non-contact offseason drill leading up to his all-important junior year, the Placer High quarterback suffered a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Teams: UC Davis at San Diego Records: Aggies, 5-6; Toreros, 8-2 Where: Toreros Stadium – San Diego When: Saturday at 6 p.m. Radio: KHTK 1140 AM

Teams: UC Davis vs. Portland Records: Aggies, 1-3; Pilots, 1-1 Where: The Pavilion When: Sunday at 2 p.m. Radio: KHTK 1140 AM

Teams: No. 17 UC Davis vs. Denver Records: Aggies, 12-4-4; Pioneers, 10-6-6 Where: Aggie Soccer Stadium When: Saturday at 1 p.m.