Sports

Maybe it was the dumping rain all weekend.

Maybe it was the fact that for the second time in the past three weeks the Aggies played two top-five teams back-to-back.

Whatever it was that forecasted the gloomy report, the Aggies first fell to No. 2 Stanford before losing to No. 5 Loyola Marymount to drop to 9-13 - the first time No. 11 UC Davis has been four games under. Five hundred in six years.

A year after finishing sixth at the Big West Conference Championships as an unknown team, the Aggies proved that they belonged on Saturday.

UC Davis posted an impressive second-place finish behind six-time conference champion Cal Poly.

Whenever Queen's "We Are the Champions" is heard at home after a win, fans know it was a big one.

When the last bulb on the scoreboard was lit, the Aggie faithful had seen just that: a four-set victory over the first-place Cal Poly Mustangs.

"I told the girls before the match that we had nothing to lose," head coach Jamie Holmes said. "We're playing the top team in the conference and we need to take a lot of risks - and I think we did exactly that."

The win moves UC Davis to 11-13 overall and 3-8 in Big West Conference play, while the Mustangs fall to 13-9, 8-3. It was the second of two games this weekend for Aggies, who lost to UC Santa Barbara (10-12, 6-5) on Friday.

The Aggies first off-race could have come at a better time.

Expected to contend for the Big West Conference title, UC Davis left UC Riverside's Agricultural Operations Course with a taste of disappointment.

Men's basketball

The UC Davis men's basketball team is picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches' poll and seventh in the media poll. Cal State Northridge is the preseason favorite in both polls.

Teams: No. 8 UC Davis at Cal Poly

Records: Aggies, 12-2-3 (4-1-3); Mustangs, 8-4-4 (3-2-2)

Where: Alex G. Spanos Stadium - San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Teams: No. 11 UC Davis vs. No. 6 Loyola Marymount

Records: Aggies, 7-10 (6-2); Lions 13-8 (4-0)

When: Saturday at noon

Event: Big West Conference Championships

Where: UCR Agricultural Operations Course - Riverside, Calif

When: Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

Teams: UC Davis at Pacific

Records: Aggies, 7-6-3 (2-4-1); Tigers, 9-7-1 (3-3-1)

Where: Stagg Memorial Stadium - Stockton

Teams: UC Davis at Nevada; Washington State

Where: Lombardi Pool - Reno, Calif.

When: Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Santa Barbara; Cal Poly

Records: Aggies, 10-12 (2-7); Gauchos, 9-11 (5-4); Mustangs 13-7 (8-1)

Where: The Pavilion

Event: Big West Conference Championships

Where: UCR Agricultural Operations Course - Riverside, Calif.

When: Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

Teams: No. 11 UC Davis vs. No. 2 Stanford

Records: Aggies, 9-11; Cardinal, 17-2

When: Today at 6 p.m.

Although the Aggies ended the weekend on a sour note, winning two of three against ranked opponents is solid for any squad.

No. 11 UC Davis started off the weekend with two wins over No. 16 Pacific and No. 20 Air Force, but could not finish the weekend sweep, losing a close one to No. 10 Long Beach State in Sunday's nightcap.

The 90-minute game clock expired at Aggie Soccer Stadium, and with that, it was over.

The five seniors on the UC Davis women's soccer team had played their final home game, a 1-0 Big West Conference win over Cal Poly that was followed by a bittersweet, surreal feeling on the sideline.