The UC Davis women’s water polo team concluded its regular season with a weekend split.

A strong defensive showing carried the Aggies to an 8-3 win over Santa Clara on Friday. They couldn’t find a way to get the defensive domination to carry over to Saturday, though, as San Jose State posted a 14-5 win to spoil UC Davis‘ Senior Day.

The Aggies (22-9) will next be in action at the inaugural Big West Conference Women’s Water Polo Championships. Championships begin Friday in Stockton, Calif.

Friday – No. 10 UC Davis 8, Santa Clara 3

The Aggie defense was the story on Friday, as it held the Broncos to two scoreless quarters and posted a 23-minute scoreless streak to close out the victory.

Junior goalkeeper Casey Hines had 12 saves, including seven in the second half, helping UC Davis pull away after a 3-2 halftime lead.

Senior Lindsay Kiyama and freshman Kaylee Miller led the Aggies with two goals apiece. It was the second game in a row that the experienced Kiyama and the youthful Miller led UC Davis to victory. They combined for six goals against Pacific on Apr. 11.

Miller scored back-to-back goals to start the second half, igniting the Aggies runaway victory.

“It was really good to get this win,” Miller said, “but the whole team is really looking forward to next weekend’s tournament.“

Saturday – No. 6 San Jose State 14, No. 10 UC Davis 5

UC Davis couldn’t limit San Jose State’s offensive firepower on Saturday. Four Spartans had at least three goals, as they cruised to a 14-5 win at Schaal Aquatics Center.

The Picnic Day contest served as a home finale for UC Davis seniors Kiyama, Sofia Patronas, Sarah Odegard, Diana Pivacek, Emily Kitchens and Cari MacPhail.

The Spartans jumped out to a quick 4-0 start, and the Aggies did not have the offensive explosiveness necessary to get them back in the game.

UC Davis shot just 5-for-30. The nine-goal loss was its largest margin of defeat this season. Kiyama (two goals) led the Aggies in scoring for the fifth game in a row.

“There was just no way we could catch up shooting like that,” said sophomore Dakotah Mohr. “It sucks to have our last game at home end like that, but it’s all about the Big West Championships now.”

SAMMY BRASCH can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Highlighted by two new school records, the Aggies had a successful weekend as they split their squad between the Mt. SAC Relays and the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Saturday – Mt. SAC Relays

Junior Chid Onyewuenyi made short work of the school record in the hammer, as her throw of 56.84m surpassed her record throw from Mar. 21. Onyewuenyi narrowly won the collegiate section of the event by 0.15m.

“Honestly, I was not expecting another school record or the win,” Onyewuenyi said. “[Throws coach Tim] Fua had given us the previous week off from hammer, and we only had one day to practice it this week. It was a complete surprise that I was able to get a majority of the kinks out.“

Senior Sirena Williams also broke a school record, running 13.83 to win the collegiate section of the 100m hurdles.

“The race played out very well,” Williams said. “It’s actually the first race I got out of the blocks, so I was in the race from hurdle one instead of playing catch-up the entire race. I was literally shaking in ‘set‘ ready for the gun to fire.“

The Aggies also had a trio of 1,500m runners in seniors Kim Conley and Lorin Scott and junior Jenna Gailey. Competing in the Olympic Development section of the event, Conley clocked 4:22.63 to take third.

“Kimmy ran a really good race for the race she was in,” coach Deanne Vochatzer said. “It was a big hodgepodge, with 21 or so people in the race. No one wanted to take the lead, and she got stuck in lane three, but it was good for her to get that experience.“

Scott placed 10th in the collegiate section of the event in 4:28.34. Gailey was 53rd with a time of 4:42.33.

Saturday – Bryan Clay Invitational

The Aggies sent a large contingent of sprinters, hurdlers and field eventers to the new Bryan Clay Invitational, which is named after the 2008 Olympic champion in the decathlon.

Fittingly for a meet named after a multi-eventer, UC Davis heptathlete Anikia Jackson put forth a very strong showing. She competed in the 100m hurdles, long jump, javelin throw and 4x100m relay.

“I think a highlight of the meet was the long jump with Anikia jumping 5.60m,” assistant coach Byron Talley said. “And we had Stephanie Eckels right behind at 5.55m. Then Anikia threw 39.37m in the javelin, which was a good mark for her.“

That mark in the javelin placed her fifth in the meet and moved her to No. 9 all-time at UC Davis.

The one Aggie win of the meet came in the pole vault, where junior Tessa Fraser and freshman Lauren Radke took the top two spots.

A final highlight came with the return of oft-injured senior Seante Baker.

“Seante ran 56.97 in the 400m and 25.34 in the 200m,” Talley said. “This is her first traveling meet in quite a while, so that was quite an accomplishment for her, especially dropping the 56 in the 400m.“

ALEX WOLF-ROOT can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

The UC Davis women’s tennis team wasn’t out at the wiener dog races or the parade on Picnic Day.

Instead, the Aggies were on a bus driving up Interstate 5, having just lost the tennis match that brought their season to a close a day before.

No. 56 UC Irvine beat UC Davis 6-0 in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament on Friday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif.

Despite the score, coach Bill Maze saw the outcome under a different light.

“Overall, it was a very positive experience,” he said. “Irvine was just a better team. We had some close matches, but we just didn’t win any of them.“

The first point of the match was decided by a 2-0 loss in doubles play. The final point was omitted after the Anteaters sealed up the advantage.

The Aggies No. 3 and No. 4 singles matches ended quickly, giving the Anteaters a 3-0 lead.

With only one win needed for the overall victory in the final four singles matches, UC Irvine came out swinging.

The Aggies fought back, though. Desiree Stone at No. 2, Jessica Harris at No. 5 and Emma Shapiro at No. 6 all finished simultaneously. While all three fell, they each managed to keep their matches competitive.

“All three matches were all close,” Maze said. “Stone had a really great, tight match at No. 2. Harris and Shapiro each lost really close matches, too.“

The final player for the Aggies to check in was freshman Dahra Zamudio at the No. 1 singles position. She took on UC Irvine’s Courtney Byron.

Zamudio had the advantage going into the final set, but the match was called after UC Irvine clinched the win.

“She was playing some great tennis,” Maze said. “I was very impressed.“

The usual No. 1 for the Aggies, senior Randi Schuler, couldn’t go in singles play due to injury. The Woodland, Calif. native has been plagued by various injuries “all season long,” according to Maze.

Schuler was able to go in doubles play, though, as she teamed up with Stone as the No. 1 doubles tandem. The other four seniors for the Aggies – Harris, Shapiro, Jenna Kappel and Andrea Phillips – all saw action in Friday’s match.

With the loss, UC Davis finishes its season at 11-12. The Anteaters (16-7) went on to face Long Beach State (17-7) in the finals. The results weren’t made available by press time.

MATT MILLER can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

The UC Davis men’s track and field team traveled only 15 athletes to Southern California.

That’s all they would need to make an impact.

The Aggies impressed as they picked up some big-meet experience at the Mt. SAC Relays and Bryan Clay Invitational over the weekend.

Saturday – Mt. SAC Relays

Senior Polly Gnepa captured the 110m hurdles – edging school record holder Jazz Trice for a UC Davis one-two finish – to highlight the meet in Walnut, Calif. Gnepa clocked in at 13.99 to become only the second Aggie to break the 14-second barrier, a barrier that he has been threatening for the last two years.

“It was great,” Gnepa said. “It was like a sigh of relief that I finally did it. I have been at it for a long time now and I kept telling myself it would happen. All I needed was to have a good, clean race.“

Trice finished second in 14.10, continuing the Aggies‘ season-long success in the 100m hurdles.

“We have been finishing in really good places at the meets we’ve been in,” Gnepa said. “I think our success should carry on into conference and to regionals. We are both on the same team, so as long as the two top spots say UC Davis, then it’s fine.“

The 1,500m crew impressed as well, as Russ Pfaff dominated his heat in 3:48.08, the third-fastest time ever at UC Davis. Though starting out near the back and being forced to run wide, Pfaff had a great last lap, taking the lead with about 200m to go to win by over a second.

“I just ran away from everybody,” Pfaff said. “If I was in the faster heat, I would’ve run a lot faster – I was 0.28 off regionals. I feel really confident. Next week I’m racing the steeple. I’m definitely going to get [the regional mark] next week.“

In the same heat, sophomore Jonathan Peterson clocked a 3:52.84 to take 10th. In the next heat, junior Jon Sees came in at 3:51.09 to finish second.

Saturday – Bryan Clay Invitational

Five field eventers competed just a few miles away from the Mt. SAC Relays. Their performances were highlighted by sophomore Ross Tate’s 2.00m clearance in the high jump, which was good enough to tie for third.

Pole vaulters Ethan Ostrom and Jamie Feaster tied for fourth, though with a clearance of only 4.75m.

“I thought the crew that went to Bryan Clay had a good meet,” assistant coach Byron Talley said. “It was a hard meet to go to, considering that 4 miles away all the officials and all the crowds were at Mt. SAC.

“We were kind of the stepchild over at Azusa, but I think everyone did their job in competing well and getting that experience.“

ALEX WOLF-ROOT can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

It all came to an end for the UC Davis men’s tennis team on Friday.

UC Santa Barbara upended the Aggies in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, ending UC Davis‘ season with a 4-0 defeat.

“Santa Barbara was very tough and they played with a lot of discipline out there,” coach Daryl Lee said. “I give them all the credit. In fact, when I found out they upset [No. 1 seed] Pacific, I actually wasn’t surprised. They were very solid.“

The two teams took the court for doubles play to decide the pivotal first point.

The No. 1 doubles tandem of Hunter Lee and Nick Lopez for the Aggies was outlasted 8-6 by Josh Finkelstein and Alex Konigsfeldt for the Gauchos.

The same score was posted on the No. 2 team of Tyler Lee and Michael Reiser, giving UCSB the doubles point and a 1-0 lead.

The Gauchos then made quick work of the Aggies when singles play started up late in the afternoon. UCSB won the three necessary matches in straight sets.

Chris Aria was the first to finish, losing to Taylor Chavez Goggin 6-3, 6-0 at the No. 5 position. Next off the court was No. 4 Tyler Lee, who fell 6-4, 6-1 to Max Taylor.

The deciding point came by way of a 6-2, 6-3 decision in favor of Gaucho Scott Hohenstein over Hunter Lee at No. 3.

The No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 matches did not finish because UCSB had already clinched the first-round victory.

The Aggies‘ sole senior, Reiser was playing at No. 2 when his match was called. He was 6-6 and No. 2 this season.

UC Davis ends its season with a 3-16 record.

“Overall, I felt that our record was deceiving,” Lee said. “We were respectable in the top four singles positions. We just have to continue to improve in the other areas. I think we’ll be a lot more competitive next year.“

MATT MILLER can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Events: Big West Conference Championships

Where: San Luis Obispo Country Club – San Luis Obispo, Calif.

When: Today and Tuesday; all day

Who to watch: Senior Nate Pistacchio is following up his first-team All-Big West showing last season with another impressive campaign this season.

A native of Fresno, Calif., Pistacchio is currently ranked as the No. 87 player in the country according to Golfweek Magazine. He recently finished tied for the third at the Cowboy Classic, shooting a 4-under 206 to help guide the Aggies to their third straight win at the tournament in convincing style.

Pistacchio is looking for another strong performance at the Big West Championships this year. He finished tied for third last season to lead the Aggies to a second-place finish as a team.

Did you know? UC Davis beat out defending Big West champ UC Irvine for the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Aggies are looking for their first Big West title.

Preview: UC Davis has been playing some of its best golf of the year as of late. It had three players finish in the top 10 among individuals at the Cowboy Classic. Sophomore Austin Graham took home the tournament title.

The Aggies competed in the U.S. Intercollegiate this past weekend, taking on six top-25 teams, including No. 2 USC and host No. 5 Stanford. UC Davis posted a solid ninth-place finish against the tournament’s 17-team field.

UC Irvine edged out UC Davis by two strokes at the tournament, but that wasn’t enough to push the Anteaters past the Aggies for the top seed in the Big West Championships.

Coach Cy Williams is confident that his team will do what it needs to do to be on top of its game to win the conference title.

“Seeding doesn’t mean anything,” Williams said. “It’s just how you play. San Francisco won the West Coast Conference Tournament last week and they’re ranked in the 100s.“

The Aggies were nine holes away from winning the tournament last year, but weren’t able to pull it out. Williams sees letting things slip away as extra motivation for this year’s tournament.

“We let an opportunity go last year,” Williams said. “I think they’ll be ready to make up for that.“

– Kyle Hyland

There isn’t much Mike Watney hasn’t accomplished in his 30 years as coach of the Fresno State men’s golf team.

Watney has led his team to 13 conference championships. He’s coached 29 All-Americans. He’s tutored PGA Tour players, ranging from brothers Kevin and David Sutherland to his nephew, Nick. He was inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame in 2007.

His team hasn’t won a national championship, though.

A couple weeks ago, he saw a team that could.

After Watney watched UC Davis dominate his Bulldogs and the rest of the 20-team Cowboy Classic field in Scottsdale, Ariz. to the tune of a 16-shot win, he delivered a short but loaded compliment to Aggies coach Cy Williams.

“He told me flat out that we’re good enough to win it all,” Williams said. “He saw Cal and Pepperdine – they’ve both won it in the past 10 years. He said we’re a better team than either of them were when they won it.“

There’s a legitimate case to be made for UC Davis. It’s come up with eight top-five finishes in 10 tournaments, netting two team wins and five individual victories in the process.

“We’re greedy,” Williams said. “We’ve already accomplished a ton. “We’re going to go as far as we can. There aren’t any limits. We’re just going to stay greedy.“

Williams, though, doesn’t want to talk about the NCAA Championships in too much detail. Not yet, at least.

The 15th-year UC Davis coach has said time and time again that the Aggies only have one big tournament left on their schedule: their next one.

“We don’t look at it like we have three tournaments left,” Williams said. “Our next one is always the biggest one of the year.“

UC Davis starts its biggest tournament of the year – for the 11th time this season – today in San Luis Obispo, Calif. in the form of the Big West Conference Championships.

The Aggies enter the tournament as heavy favorites. They’ve been ranked among the nation’s best for the duration of their season. No other Big West team is in the top 50.

Don’t think that means the Aggies are easing into the Championships. They’re focused. They have redemption on their minds. They were nine holes from winning the Big West title last season before letting things slip away.

“We all have a bit of a bitter taste left in our mouths from last year,” Williams said. “We’re looking forward to getting a little redemption.… We never really compete against other people. We compete against ourselves, focusing on playing the golf course as best we can.“

Competing against itself provides some of the best competition UC Davis could hope to find.

The Aggies have three of the four best players in the Big West Conference. Sophomore Austin Graham and seniors Nate Pistacchio and Ramie Sprinkling are all legitimate first-team All-Big West – even Player of the Year – candidates, stacking the top of the UC Davis lineup so strong it’s almost unfair.

“Having those three makes you a good coach, that’s what it does,” Williams joked. “Seriously, it’s a ton of fun. From a competitive standpoint, to watch those three guys get ready – nobody works harder than them.

“It just reflects the strength of the team. We pretty much know we’re going to get a great performance somewhere. That’s something we’ve never had the luxury of before.“

The Aggies don’t shy away from expressing how good they think they are. If you had their talent, you wouldn’t, either.

“Believe me, I wouldn’t take any other team in the Big West over ours,” Williams said. “If I could pick any team to coach on Monday and Tuesday at conference, it’d be UC Davis hands down.“

UC Davis will be off to Daly City, Calif. for the West Regional (May 14 to 16) once the Big West Tournament comes to a close.

After that, it could have its chance to live up to Watney’s compliment at the NCAA Championships in Toledo, Ohio (May 26 to 30).

“They’re just really, really good,” Williams said. “I don’t know what else to say.“

The Aggies will say the rest on the golf course.

ADAM LOBERSTEIN thinks Williams‘ job would be a lot harder if he had to coach him (i.e. a former baseball player who tries to hit a golf ball like it’s a baseball) instead of Graham, Pistacchio, Sprinkling and Co. He can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

Women’s lacrosse

Junior Britt Farquharson and sophomore Christina Corsa each scored four goals while senior Patrice Clark added a hat trick, helping UC Davis hold onto an 11-5 halftime lead in a 16-13 victory over St. Mary’s in non-conference action on Thursday night.

The Aggies improve to 5-10 for the season while the Gaels fall to 3-11.

Corsa added two assists and Farquharson had four draw controls to pair with their respective scoring totals. Jacklyn Taylor, Gina Hoffmire, Molly Lapolla, Molly Peterson and Rachael Martinez also had one goal apiece for UC Davis.

UC Davis, which outshot its guests by a 21-9 margin in the first half, tended to score in two-goal bursts. Farquharson and Peterson hit goals in the 17th minute to put the Aggies up by a 5-3 margin, Farquharson and Clark scored in the 22nd minute to stretch the lead to 8-5.

Farquharson and Corsa then had goals in the 27th minute to send the Aggies into the break with an 11-5 lead. UC Davis further extended its advantage to 13-6 as Clark posted a goal and an assist within a span of 25 seconds during the 34th minute.

Amy Daniels‘ second-half offense helped St. Mary’s cut the lead to 16-12 with 13:17 left in the game. Freshman Brittany McMorris then reduced the Aggie lead to just three when she converted a pass from Maggie Schwab at the 54:54 mark. The Gaels managed to escape a three-minute short-handed span in the second half to stay in the game.

Freshman Vannessa Jamison, making her first collegiate start, had all of her three caused turnovers and two ground balls down the stretch to help UC Davis protect its diminishing lead.

Peterson enjoyed an all-around game as well, registering two steals, two ground balls and three draw controls to her offensive contributions of a goal and assist.

The Aggies return to action for the MPSF Tournament on Thursday. The event will be hosted by Stanford.

Aggie Digest is compiled by the California Aggie sports staff with briefs from the UC Davis athletics website, ucdavisaggies.com.