Sports

Women's basketball in the Big West Conference had become monotonous.

In the 2005-2006 season, UC Riverside finished first, and UC Santa Barbara took second. In 2006-2007, UC Riverside finished first and UCSB took second. Entering this season, the media and coaches predicted that UC Riverside would finish first and UCSB would take second.

Women's basketball in the Big West Conference had become monotonous, but it is no longer.

He was the first person in his family to attend college, the first Aggie to wrestle an undefeated season, the first Aggie to earn Pacific-10 Wrestler of the Year. He won UC Davis' first Division I national title and was the first Californian wrestler to win a national title at the 141-pound weight class.

And if things go the way he plans it, he'll be the first Aggie wrestler to compete at the Olympic level.

One year ago, on Mar. 17, No. 2 Derek Moore of UC Davis dominated No. 1 Ryan Lang of Northwestern by a 17-2 technical decision in the most decisive match of the 2007 NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships.

When the final buzzer sounded on Saturday's loss to UC Santa Barbara in the conference championship, the Aggies run in Big West Conference play had come to a close.

UC Davis' season - unlike seven of the conference's nine teams - is far from over.

With their second-place showing in the tournament, the Aggies have locked up a berth in the Women's National Invitational Tournament. The bracket for the 48-team tournament will be announced today by 9 p.m., according to the WNIT's official website.

Coming off an upsetting overtime loss to conference rival Loyola Marymount, the No. 10 UC Davis women's water polo team traveled to No. 9 San Jose State hoping to uproot its extra-play exhaustion.

Instead, UC Davis' overtime woes would only continue.

Deep into the fourth period of overtime, Spartans' senior hole set Beth Harbert found the back of the cage, and for the second game in a row the Aggies found themselves on the losing side of an extra frame contest, 10-9.

Who to watch: After tallying 12 goals, eight ground balls, seven caused turnovers, six draw controls and five assists in consecutive Aggie wins against Holy Cross and Quinnipiac, senior midfielder Katie McMahon cooled off Thursday against Temple.

The Pleasanton, Calif. native had only one goal and two assists with seven turnovers in a 12-9 loss. On the season, she leads the team in goals (22), assists (7), ground balls (19) and caused turnovers (12).

Who to watch: Before UC Davis' 18-8 pounding of Nevada on Wednesday, junior outfielder Ryan Scoma had been hitting the cover off the ball, batting .429 in 13 games.

But even for the red-hot Scoma, Wednesday was remarkable.

Shane Hanson has left the UC Davis men's basketball team due to personal reasons, head coach Gary Stewart said Thursday.

It's a situation where there were some things going on that Shane wanted to address and focus on 100 percent, Stewart said. After meeting with him, it was obvious that it was in his best interests to leave the team and deal with those issues.

Who to watch: Sophomore sprinter Ugo Eke opened the outdoor season Mar. 1 with authority, winning the 200- and 400- meter dashes at the All-Cal Challenge Cup in Irvine. She also ran a leg in each of the Aggies' winning 4x400 and 4x1600 relay teams.

For her efforts, the Gold River native earned Big West Conference Women's Track Athlete of the Week honors.

Event: Big West Conference Tournament

Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Riverside

Records: Aggies, 18-10 (12-4); Highlanders, 13-15 (10-6)

Who to watch: UC Davis is coming off a season-best 48.550 team score in uneven bars, and as usual, the event begins with sophomore Lida Gehlen.

The Sun City, Calif. tied for second place with 9.800 and leads the team this season with seven wins on bars.

Who to Watch: It's been said that Los Angeles changes you.

Redshirt freshman Rachelle Smith's performance at the LMU Invitational last weekend is living proof.

The Valley Center, Calif. native had a breakout weekend, doubling her season goal total with five goals, while adding four assists and three steals in just 58 minutes.

Teams: UC Davis vs. Temple

Records: Aggies, 2-4; Owls, 2-2

Where: Aggie Stadium

When: Today at 3 p.m.

Who to watch: After making key contributions late in the second half of UC Davis' last two home games, senior midfielder Katie McGovern seems to be back in top form.

Teams: UC Davis vs. Nevada

Records: Aggies (15-13); Wolf Pack (16-8)

Where: La Rue Field

When: Today at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.

Who to watch: Junior center fielder Trish Paine has hit safely in each of the last nine games, batting .393 with four runs and four stolen bases in the process.

Teams: UC Davis vs. Nevada

Records: Aggies, 7-7

Where: Peccole Park - Reno, Nev.

When: Today at 2 p.m.

Who to watch: Senior outfielder Kevin James has been red-hot with the bat and will get another five games to keep it that way this week.

If once is good, twice is better.

For the second straight game, the UC Davis women's lacrosse team (2-4) rode incredible performances from senior co-captain midfielders Katie McMahon and Katie McGovern to victory.

After posting 11 goals and four assists in a 14-13 win over Holy Cross, the Katies combined for 10 goals and four assists in UC Davis' 16-14 victory over Quinnipiac (2-1) on Monday.