Who: UC Davis vs. Cal State Fullerton; Cal State Northridge; No. 65 UC Irvine

Records: Aggies, 4-4 (0-1); Titans, 0-3 (0-1); Matadors, 1-5 (1-1); Anteaters, 2-2 (0-0)

Where: Titan Courts – Fullerton, Calif.; Matador Tennis Complex – Northridge, Calif.; Anteater Tennis Stadium – Irvine, Calif.

When: Saturday at noon; Sunday at 11 a.m.; Monday at 11 a.m.

Who to watch: Freshman Dahra Zamudio posted an impressive victory in the No. 2 slot as the Aggies fell to UC Santa Barbara last weekend, 5-2.

Zamudio defeated Gaucho Jill Damion in two sets, 6-2, 7-6 (4), helping the New York native to seal her first victory at the No. 2 singles position. On the year, she has gone 5-4 in singles play and 5-5 in doubles.

Did you know? This is the second time the UC Davis women’s tennis team has been slated to play three matches on three consecutive days. There are two more three-peat weekends on the schedule this season (Mar. 6 to 8, Apr. 3 to 4).

Preview: Whenever there is a ranked team on the schedule, the Aggies will be especially ready to play, looking to knock the Anteaters off their game.

But don’t look too far down the road, because there are two games on the Aggies‘ schedule before they head down to Irvine.

On Saturday, UC Davis will travel to Fullerton to hit the court against the Titans, who are led by Leslie Bullock and Erin Wiesener – both of whom have seen action as the No. 1 singles player and are a combined 7-10 overall on the season.

The Titans are coming off a sweep by the Aggies‘ Sunday opponent: the Cal State Northridge Matadors.

The Matadors shutout the Titans 7-0 to earn their first win of the season. Their previous five matches resulted in five 7-0 losses.

Evgeniya Vertesheva is the Titans‘ standout player this season. The Perm, Russia native has played as the No. 1 singles player in all six matches this year for Fullerton.

After the Aggies get past Bullock, Wiesener and Vertesheva on the weekend, the match on President’s Day will prove to be the real test.

The Anteaters have only played in four matches this year, posting a 2-2 record – a record that is not indicative of the talent that this team possesses.

Just this past match, UC Irvine took on No. 51 Florida International, making quick work of the Golden Panthers, 5-2.

– Matt Miller 

Event: Roadrunner Invitational

Teams: No. 9 UC Davis vs. Concordia; Colorado State; No. 15 Cal State Bakersfield; Cal State East Bay

Records: Aggies, 5-3; Eagles, 1-2; Rams, 3-6; Roadrunners, 6-3; Pioneers, 1-2

Where: Hillman Aquatics Center – Bakersfield, Calif.

When: Saturday at 11 a.m., 3:40 p.m.; Sunday at 9:15 a.m., 2 p.m.

Who to watch: After missing the first two games with a broken nose, junior Ashley Chandler has been consistently producing on both ends of the pool.

The Newport Beach, Calif. native led the team with six goals on offense and eight steals on defense in last weekend‘s second-place finish at the Triton Invitational. She also had three field blocks on the weekend, including one that forced overtime in the UC San Diego victory.

“That block underscores how a game can be changed by one play,“ coach Jamey Wright said. “It was as important as any made goal.“

Did you know? Despite having scored 81 goals in eight games this season, the Aggies have yet to have any player score a total of 10 goals or have any player perform a hat-trick in a single game.

All 15 players who traveled last weekend to San Diego netted at least one goal, and 10 had three or more goals.

Preview: The young UC Davis team is coming off its best finish ever at the Triton Invitational, defeating three former Western Water Polo Association foes while playing a montage of players.

This weekend, the Aggies are looking to more of the same, matching up against three WWPA teams in Bakersfield.

“We had 15 players suited up for the games (last weekend), and all 15 played important minutes,“ Wright said. “They all made key contributions.“

Unlike last weekend, UC Davis only faces one ranked opponent in No. 15 Bakersfield. The Roadrunners, coming off a 10th-place finish at the Triton Invitational, are led by defending WWPA Player of the Year Amanda Ortiz.

The Aggies stand a good chance of winning if they can find a way to stop the Puerto Rican national team player who just scored her 300th career goal on Saturday.

UC Davis looks to build on its expansive lineups in their three other games against unranked opponents with losing records.

“This group is like a Rubik’s Cube – you turn this and it opens up that,“ Wright said. “I can put five different weapons out there.“

Hopefully UC Davis‘ weapons will give their opponents as much trouble as a Rubik‘s cube give most of us this weekend in Bakersfield.

– Sammy Brasch

Event: Husky Classic

Where: Dempsey Indoor – Seattle, Wash.

When: Saturday at 8 a.m.

Who to watch: After capping her Aggies cross country career at the National Championships this fall, senior co-captain Kim Conley took a well-deserved break from competition.

But come Saturday afternoon, the break is over.

“I’m just excited to see where I’m at,” Conley said, “especially after hearing about Lorin (Scott) and Kaitlin (Gregg) and Petey (Jonathan Peterson) and Jenna (Gaily) two weeks ago. Everyone is ahead of where we expected, so it’s exciting.“

Conley will make her season debut in the 3,000m – in which she holds the school record – and will be gunning for a national qualifier.

“The goal is to qualify for nats,” Conley said. “Hopefully I’ll get it done this meet. We left it to only one meet, but we’re hoping I can get it done.“

Did you know? While there are four throwing events outdoors, indoors there are only the shot put and the weight throw. Since the weight throw is only contested indoors and the Aggies have a very limited indoor season, there aren’t many chances to practice the event.

In last week’s first of two chances at the event, junior Chid Onyewuenyi inched closer to the school-record, hitting 17.11m to solidify her second place on the all-time list with sophomore Ashley Hearn moving to third with a 16.83m.

Preview: Now that the Aggies have had a chance to get back in the competitive atmosphere, they are heading back to Seattle seeking bigger and better things.

“Our quarter-mile crew led by Ugo (Eke) and Kiara (Reed) will obviously get out there,” coach Deanne Vochatzer said. “Last week we made some mistakes tactically, because indoors is very different. Hopefully this week they can go out there and not make the same mistakes.“

In addition to the veterans, a couple folks will be making their Aggie debut on Saturday.

“We got a frosh heptathlete, Johanne Boulat,” Vochatzer said. “She’s the real deal. She’s going to do the long jump, triple jump and hurdles. She’s a good little triple jumper. Then her fellow heptathlete, [junior college] transfer Anikia Jackson, is going to go up and hurdle and long jump. That’ll be fun.“

-Alex Wolf-Root 

Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal Poly

Records: Aggies, 7-6 (3-4); Mustangs, 3-10 (0-5)

Where: The Pavilion

When: Sunday at 7 p.m.

Who to watch: Senior Marcos Orozco is wrestling in his final home dual of his UC Davis career on Sunday.

The Vacaville, Calif. native is currently ranked No. 18 in the country at the 125-pound weight class. He is looking to make a strong showing in his last dual at the Pavilion, as he hopes to push for the top seed in his class for the Pacific-10 Tournament (Mar. 1 and 2).

Did you know? The Aggies will honor their seven senior wrestlers before their dual on Sunday.

Seniors Kyle Bank, Tyler Bernacchi, Jon Clark, Nexi Delgado, Dustin Noack, Orozco and Charles Hinriksson will all be wrestling at the Pavilion for the final time in their Davis careers.

Preview: The Aggies are coming off a rough loss against No. 11 Boise State in which they only managed one win against the Broncos out of 10 duals. Despite the loss, coach Lennie Zalesky remains optimistic.

“It’s a positive that we were able to get our full lineup in last weekend,” Zalesky said. “It’s never fun to get beat like that and hopefully we can improve a little before conference. It’s always good to see a quality team like Boise State and we’ll learn from that.“

UC Davis is looking to improve on its mistakes this Sunday against a Cal Poly team that is winless in conference play. The Aggies are hoping to get a win against the Mustangs to close out their regular season to push their conference dual record to 4-4 before the conference tournament.

Zalesky likes his team’s chances against the Mustangs.

“I think we match up really well with Cal Poly this weekend,” he said. “We’re looking to win the dual and get ready for conference.“

–Kyle Hyland

Teams: UC Davis at Oregon

Records: Aggies, 0-0 (0-0); Ducks, 0-1 (0-0)

Where: Pape’s Field – Eugene, Ore.

When: Saturday at 1 p.m.

Who to watch: Christina Corsa will have her first opportunity to build on her standout freshman campaign this Saturday.

The Danville, Calif. native is the team’s top returning scorer after tallying 23 goals and nine assists in 2008.

Did you know? UC Davis is the youngest team in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Its roster is made up of seven freshmen, nine sophomores, three juniors and two seniors. One of those juniors, Britt Farquharson, is in her first year with the program after transferring from Longwood.

Preview: A new year means a new look for the 2009 Aggies.

The most noticeable difference from last season’s team will be the absence of its two top scorers, Katie McMahon and Katie McGovern.

Now graduated, the duo combined to score 98 of the team’s 195 goals in 2008.

“It’s definitely tough to replace that type of senior leadership,” coach Elaine Jones said. “However, we do have a lot of younger players who are very talented who can fill in the scoring area.“

Jones said she expects her freshmen and sophomores to contribute right away, providing the offense with some balance.

As for who will replace graduated senior Hilary Harkins and start as goalkeeper on Saturday, that’s still up in the air.

“I think it will be a game-day decision,” Jones said of her choice between sophomores Kjersten Nordmeyer and Alyssa Cranska. “They’re excited to have the opportunity this year. They’ve both been working very hard, so we’ll see.“

Oregon is coming off a 17-5 home loss to Stanford. The Ducks got off to a fast 3-1 start before the Cardinal went on a 15-0 run to run away with the MPSF victory.

“Oregon is always tough,” Jones said. “They’re athletic and feisty, so we definitely anticipate a good battle on their turf.“

–Michael Gehlken

Teams: UC Davis at UC Irvine; Cal State Fullerton

Records: Aggies, 7-14 (3-7); Anteaters, 5-18 (2-8); Titans 6-15 (3-7)

Where: Bren Events Center – Irvine, Calif.; Titan Gym – Fullerton, Calif.

When: Today at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 5 p.m.

Who to watch: With senior Genevieve Costello expected to miss this weekend’s action, the Aggies are left with one true point guard: freshman Hana Asano.

Asano got 42 minutes of work and scored five points in a narrow overtime loss to UC Riverside on Saturday.

Coach Sandy Simpson praised her for her play, especially for the things that do not show up in the box score.

“Hana did a nice job tonight considering she was our only true point guard,” Simpson said. “She had a lot of poise as Riverside pressured her knowing she was the only one out there.“

Did you know? UC Davis has not lost to UC Irvine since Jan. 4, 2006 when it suffered a 79-72 loss at the Pavilion. The Aggies have since won six straight matchups against the Anteaters, with four of those wins coming by 10 points or more.

Preview: UC Davis is in the midst of a tough five-game losing streak, with four of those losses coming by four points or less.

The Aggies are hoping that Thursday’s matchup with the Anteaters will reverse the trend, as UC Irvine is also struggling having lost 16 of its last 18 games. UC Davis won its first matchup with UC Irvine this season, 68-56.

In that game, four Aggies scored in double figures. UC Davis went 11-for-24 from beyond the arc for a 46 percent three-point percentage.

Offensively, the Anteaters are led by junior Rebecca Maessen, who averages 12.5 points per game. She also contributes 4.2 rebounds per contest.

On Saturday, UC Davis plays Cal State Fullerton, a team that handed the Aggies a 71-59 home loss on Jan. 15. The Aggies‘ offense was anemic in the first half as it shot at a 30 percent clip, including 0-for-7 from downtown.

UC Davis made a frantic comeback in the second period of play to bring the game to within four with five minutes remaining but could not pull off the victory in the end.

The Titans are led offensively by senior Toni Thomas who averages 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The San Bernardino, Calif. native scored 15 points and had nine rebounds in the matchup earlier this season.

–Max Rosenblum

Event: Desert Classic

Teams: UC Davis vs. Brigham Young; Oregon State; Hawaii; Utah

Records: Aggies, 3-1; Cougars, 4-2; Beavers, 2-2; Warriors, 1-4; Utes, 3-2

Where: Las Vegas, Nev.

When: Saturday at 11:15 a.m., 6 p.m.; Sunday at 9 a.m., 11:15 a.m.

Who to watch: It is known that the Aggies have an array of stars in the pitching circle, but what people may not know is that they also have a group of outstanding hitters.

One of them is senior outfielder Belinda Paine who’s hitting .538 with a .615 slugging percentage through the first four games of the season.

The Lakewood, Calif. native has also scored three of UC Davis‘ 13 runs this season.

Did you know? UC Davis faced Utah twice last season, winning both matchups. As part of Diamond Devil Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., the Aggies defeated the Utes, 5-1 and 5-4 in March.

Preview: The Aggies are off to a hot start this season after going 3-1 at the Cathedral City Classic last weekend. This weekend, they’ll be playing a similar schedule.

The first of four games in a little over a 24-hour period pits UC Davis up against BYU.

The Cougars are led offensively by sophomore shortstop Jessica Purcell, who boasts a .368/.478./.947 vital line with three home runs and 11 RBI in five games.

UC Davis will then face Oregon State in the nightcap. The Beavers split four games last weekend in the Cathedral City Classic.

On Sunday, UC Davis has two morning games, the first against Hawaii. The Warriors are off to a slow start with a 1-4 record, including a 6-5 loss to Louisiana State in nine innings.

UC Davis will conclude the weekend with Utah, who averages over eight runs per game through five games this season.

Junior Kara Foster powers the Utes‘ offense as she brings a .500/.556/1.125 vital line to the table with three dingers and seven RBI this season.

Regardless of whom the opponents throw in the batter’s box this weekend, it will be tough to hit off of a UC Davis pitching staff that has a 0.78 ERA after the first four games of play.

Senior Jessica Hancock and sophomore Alex Holmes lead the Aggies pitching staff in most pitching categories. Hancock has thrown a pair of complete games, while Holmes hasn’t allowed a run this season.

–Max Rosenblum

Event: Husky Classic

Where: Dempsey Indoor – Seattle, Wash.

When: Saturday at 8 a.m.

Who to watch: Records generally elicit a lot of pride and excitement, but for sophomore Jonathan Peterson, setting the school record for the indoor 3,000m is just another step in the right direction.

“I went out there and tried to run fast,” Peterson said, “and I guess that’s what you get when you accomplish what you intend to do. It’s nice to know that you’ve got it, I guess.“

This time out, he’s shooting for a time close to 8:00 flat, which is right around what it will take to qualify for the national championships.

“It’s going to be about a sub-64 for each 400m,” Peterson said, “and with the right race, hopefully I can hang on and go out there and do what I intend to do.“

Did you know? Though originally a jumper, sophomore Ray Green is starting to impress on the track.

“You should see him roll,” coach Jon Vochatzer said. “He’s just learning how to run the 200. He will probably go mid-21 and mid-to-low-48. I think right now his forte is the triple jump, but with the talent he has he can be a very, very good sprinter.“

Preview: Two weeks ago the Aggies brought four 400m runners to Seattle, but they ended up not running the 4x400m relay. But this time the quartet of Green, Nolan Frazier, Micah Grant and Thomas Philips are going to put together what could be one of UC Davis‘ finest long relays to date.

“They are so anxious to run the 4×4,” Vochatzer said. “My hope is 3:13 or better. I think if they have good exchanges where they are really rolling they are going to have a good meet.”

Though UC Davis is only in its second year of Division I indoor track and field – and isn’t even in an indoor conference – coaches around the country are beginning to notice the Aggies.

“What’s kind of fun is watching the other coaches going, ‘Man, you got a great team this year. They look good, they look tough, you’re going to have a great year this year,‘” Vochatzer said. “It’s nice seeing that, you know?”

-Alex Wolf-Root

090212_sp_mtennisprev.c

Who: UC Davis vs. No. 60 UC Santa Barbara

Records: Aggies, 1-3 (0-1); Gauchos, 1-4 (0-0)

Where: Marya Welch Tennis Stadium

When: Saturday at 1 p.m.

Who to watch: The only Aggie to score last weekend in the UC Davis‘ 6-1 loss to Pacific was junior Hunter Lee.

Lee came from a set down to push his match to three, ultimately defeating Vegerd Veskimagi 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Did you know? There are only 11 players on the UC Davis men’s tennis roster, two of which are twin brothers. Lee’s brother, Tyler, also starts for the Aggies.

Combined, the siblings from Bermuda Dunes have gone 6-10 in singles play and 1-9 in doubles. They have yet to team up with each other in doubles play.

Preview: The Aggies will have their hands full yet again with the big dog of the Big West Conference, UC Santa Barbara.

“For the last few years at least, they have won the conference championship,” coach Daryl Lee said. “They’re the team to beat and it will be another tough challenge for us.“

The Gauchos have won three conference championships in a row, five in thelast seven years and six all-time – good for second-most in Big West history.

Last week, the Gauchos were knocked down a few spots in the national rankings, as they were swept by No. 41 New Mexico. Hopefully, the Aggies can knock them down a few more.

“Our players have a fighting spirit,” Lee said. “In last weekend’s match, even though we lost 6-1 on paper, I felt like we won. They played hard and I was really impressed with their heart.

“I think this match will be similar. Anywhere we can find positives will be great.“

– Matt Miller

Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Irvine; Cal State Fullerton

Records: Aggies, 10-13 (5-5); Anteaters, 8-15 (5-5); Titans, 12-11 (6-5)

Where: The Pavilion

When: Today at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 7 p.m.

Who to watch: Vince Oliver has all the stats.

The Loyola High graduate is second in the Big West Conference with 19.5 points per league game, shooting a blistering 51.9 percent from the floor.

He’s the fifth highest all-time scorer in school history with 1,385 career points, and he’ll likely overtake fourth-place John Buchwald (1,405) this week.

But right now, stats matter little to the senior guard.

“It’s something I won‘t really think about until the season is over,” Oliver said. “I‘m just focusing on the season right now and trying to get to the [NCAA] Tournament.“

Did you know? For the first time in a month, UC Davis is not leading the nation in free throw percentage.

A 12-for-19 night at the line last Saturday against UC Riverside dropped the Aggies (79.6 percent) to second place in favor of Southern Utah (79.9).

Preview: UC Davis‘ upcoming homestand has the power to make or break where it stands in the Big West.

Currently in a four-way tie for fourth place, the Aggies could be tied for first if they sweep Irvine and Fullerton. With two losses, however, they could be in a tie for last.

The team has to feel confident it can pull off the home sweep after defeating the Anteaters and Titans earlier this season on the road.

On Jan. 17, UC Davis staved off a late Irvine rally by converting 19 of 21 second-half free throws to earn an 88-85 win at the Bren Events Center.

Oliver registered his first career double-double with 24 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Joe Harden followed with 16 points and six boards. Dominic Calegari added 10 points.

The victory capped a weekend that began at Titan Gym. UC Davis put together a complete effort on both ends, outshooting Fullerton 55.9 to 36.5 percent in an 85-74 win.

Josh Akognon, the conference’s top scorer at 21.1 points per game, went 7-of-23 from the floor, including 2-of-15 from beyond the arc, and finished with 20 points and a career-worst seven turnovers.

Picking up the slack was Jacques Streeter, a freshman guard out of Las Vegas, Nev. Like Akognon, Streeter had 20 points, but his came at an efficient 8-for-15 rate.

If UC Davis can stop Akognon again, Streeter will be forced to break out of a four-game funk. He’s missed 30 of 36 shots over that stretch, averaging only 6.5 points per contest.

Oliver scored 27 points, then a season high, to lead UC Davis. Mark Payne followed with 20 points on perfect 8-for-8 shooting, and Harden had 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.

–Michael Gehlken

Teams: UC Davis at No. 10 Oregon State; No. 4 Stanford

Where: Maples Pavilion – Stanford, Calif.

When: Sunday at 2 p.m.

Who to watch: At this time last year, then-freshman Michelle Hurlock had only competed in exhibition, but she was ready for more. Her lineup debut at Stanford proved she belonged, as she posted a 9.850 on beam, the highest of any Aggie all season.

At Stanford on Sunday, Hurlock had similar fortunes, posting a season-high 9.800 to tie for third, just like last year.

“I’m feeling pretty confident now that I know I can do it,” Hurlock said. “I’m feeling more calm and feeling better about hitting my routines. I just have to keep doing what I did Sunday.“

Did you know? According to the rankings, this meet should be by far the hardest on the Aggies‘ schedule all season. Stanford just moved to the No. 4 spot in the national rankings, and Oregon State sits at No. 10. In the West Region, they are No. 2 and 3 respectively, with UC Davis sitting at No. 9.

Preview: The Aggies aren’t letting the rankings scare them. Instead, they’re using them for added excitement.

“We’re actually really looking forward to going back down [to Stanford],” coach John Lavallee said. “It’s a good opportunity to go back in the gym and raise our level up a bit to meet these teams at their level.“

Despite being tired from last weekend’s doubleheader, the Aggies posted some good marks at Stanford on Sunday, and are expecting even more this week.

“We’re definitely at a higher place than we were in the past,” said senior co-captain Andi Dolinksy. “We really want to step it up this weekend. We have a ton of potential, and at this point in the season it’s about putting it all together for the meet.“

– Alex Wolf-Root