Sports

A date with conference-leading Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field this weekend gave UC Davis a chance to make a good impression against the four-time national champions.

The Aggies (26-15,7-5) played threeclosely-decided contests with the15th-ranked Titans (26-15,11-4) and managed to take oneof three in the weekend set.

"We knew going in thatwe could compete with them," saidhead coach Rex Peters. "We would've loved to win a series on the road against a quality program likeFullerton, [but] we did get one.We felt like we had to at least do that."

Head coachBill Mazefelt it,too.

Sophomore Herzyl Legaspi told assistant coach Sara Morenc she felt like she had just wonafterthe UC Davis women's tennis teamlostFridayin the first round of the Big West Conference Championships.

"It's funny because it kind of felt that way," Maze said. "It was such a great experience,to be legit,to play such a gutsy match in the conference tournament.The result wasn't that important,believe it or not.It was almost like the experience was bigger than the score.I know it may sound a little cheesy,but it did kind of feel that way.

The Lions are no longer the king of the jungle.

In what hasarguably becomethe biggest rivalry incollegiatewater polo,UC Davis and LoyolaMarymount have met in the Western Water Polo Association championship game the last four years,with the Lions winning two out of threecoming into Sunday afternoon's contest.

The Lions had won seven of the last nine WWPA titles.Factoring in having homepool advantage and the challenge the Aggies hadwith their first two tournament opponents,it waslooking like LMU might repeat.

If baseball is a game of inches, track and field is one of seconds.

Sacramento State sneaked past the UC Davis men's team at the Causeway Classic Duals by less than a second in the 4x400-meter relay that wrapped up Friday night's event at Woody Wilson Track.

The Aggie men trailed through their first 11 events, but rallied to tie the score at 81-81 with wins in the triple jump, high jump, 3,000 and discus. When the final relay event came, the score was still tied 92-92.

Sac State went on to win the race and men's competition with a time of 3:12.24 to UC Davis' 3:13.22.

Austin Graham doesn't remember life before golf. Chelsea Stelzmiller can't imagine life without it.

The two freshmen share a rare love for the game, and this season they shared it for the first time with UC Davis.

Graham and Stelzmiller paced the Aggie men's and women's golf teams this season, helping to lead them to second-place finishes last week at the Big West Conference Championships. Graham earned second-team All-Big West honors while Stelzmiller captured Big West Player of the Year, freshman of the year and first-team all-conference recognition.

Maybe a third time would have been the charm.

The UC Davis men's tennis team was tossed from the Big West Conference Tournament after losing to Cal Poly in the quarterfinals. It was the second time the Aggies fell to the Mustangs in as many chances this season.

"We came up short," said senior Justin Garcia. "It was a disappointing end, but I am proud of what we accomplished this season."

The Mustangs, who first defeated the Aggies on Apr. 5, blanked UC Davis to advance to the semifinal round of play, 4-0.

Amid the constant dugout ditties, chanting player names - "Meesh-ka! Meesh-ka!" - and the melodious renditions of "Rocky" and "Marco Polo," the UC Davis softball team showed that it ismore than just a group of sweet voices.

For thethird straight weekend, the Aggies won a Big West Conference series, this time taking two of three from the Gauchos. Their record improved to 22-31 (7-8) while UCSB's fell to 26-22 (9-6) for the season.

For the second straight year, the UC Davis women's rowing team owned the Sacramento waters.

The Aggies' varsity eight reclaimed the Jean Runyon Cup on Saturday by rowing to a time of 6 minutes, 44.68 seconds at the Port of Sacramento to defeat Sacramento State (6:55.57).

"Our goal was to have a strong start," said head coach Carissa Adams. "We got a good start and maintained it. Although I felt we'd do well, I was nervous because it was important for us to keep the Cup."

Teams:UC Davis vs.No.15CalStateFullerton

Records:Aggies,25-13 (6-3); Titans,24-14 (9-3)

Where:Goodwin Field - Fullerton,Calif.

When:Today at7p.m.; Saturday at6p.m.; Sunday at1p.m.

Who to watch:Senior right-hander Eddie Gamboa's second complete game of the season last Friday earned him Easton Big WestConferenceCo-Pitcher of the Week honors.The Aggies will look to their ace for another qualityperformance to get an early leg-up in the crucial weekend series.

Event:Big West Conference Championships

Teams:UC Davis vs.Cal Poly

Records:Aggies,10-12 (1-4); Mustangs,12-11(3-2)

Where:IndianWellsTennisGarden- Indian Wells,Calif.

When:Today at3p.m.

Who towatch:Last week against UC San Diego,senior No.5singles player Daniel Elefantended his home career inpicture-perfect fashion.

Teams:UC Davis vs.UCSanta Barbara

Records:Aggies20-30 (5-7); Gauchos25-20 (8-4)

Where:La Rue Field

When:Saturday atnoon and2p.m.; Sunday at2p.m.

Who towatch:Coming off a sophomore season33-for-158 (.209) with23runs and13RBI,Julie Stauderhas made a complete180in2008.

Event:Causeway Classic Dual

Teams:UC Davis vs.SacramentoState

Where:Woody Wilson Track at Toomey Field

When:Today at3p.m.

Who to watch:Could it be three? Junior Sirena Williams broke the school record in the100-meter hurdles for the second-straight week at the Woody Wilson Classic on Picnic Day,and maynot be done tearing up therecord books.TheFresno,Calif.native became the first female Aggie to post a sub14-second mark in the event,clocking in at13.96.

Event:Big West Conference Championships

Teams:UC Davisvs.CalState Northridge; TBA; TBA

Records:Aggies,11-11 (3-5); Matadors,13-7 (6-2)

Where:IndianWellsTennisGarden - Indian Wells,Calif.

When:Today at3p.m.; TBA; TBA

Who to watch:JuniorRandi Schuler will see a familiar face when she steps onto the court this afternoon.

Western Water Polo Association Championships

Teams:No.10UC Davis vs.TBA; TBA; TBA

Records:Aggies,23-8 (12-1)

Where:BurnsCenter- Los Angeles

When:Today at5:15p.m.,SaturdayTBA,SundayTBA

Who to watch:Only twocurrentAggies have received All-WWPA team recognitions three years in a row.This year,for the first time in both their careers,seniors Jessica Soza and Christi Raycraftwere selected to the All-WWPA first team.

Heading into the final round of the Big West Conference Championships Tuesday,theUC Davis men's golf team was tied with top-ranked UC Irvine at5-under.

The rest of the season hung on this last round of golf.

AndAggies junior Nate Pistacchio wasn't ready to go home.

TheFresno native shot a68in his final round,en route to a third-placeindividualfinish with a final score of5-under-211.Pistacchio would later be named First Team All-Conference for the first time in his collegiate career.

"Nate has always been the hardest worker on the team and he deserves it," head coach Cy Williamssaid. "He had a great tournament.