Saturday’s Stanford Invitational gave the UC Davis men’s and women’s cross country team its first chance to see how it stacked up against Big West Conference foes.

The Aggies liked what they saw.

Senior Kim Conley paced the women’s team to a second-place showing in the 33-team field. The Montgomery High School graduate finished third in the women’s 6k with a time of 21:12.

“It’s a big step for the women’s team,” head coach Drew Wartenburg said. “This is the result we wanted, but it’s coming together a lot faster than we thought.… We’re just running consistently on a weekly basis now.“

Conley has finished in the top five in each of her three meets this season. Senior Kaitlin Gregg was the No. 2 Aggie finisher, as her time of 21:44 was good for 13th place.

Freshmen Abbey Gallaher and Krista Drechsler also placed in the top 25, finishing 20th (22:01) and 24th (22:08), respectively.

UC Davis also had success on the men’s side, finishing in seventh place against a strong field of competitors.

“We took positive steps on the men’s side as well,” Wartenburg said. “We just lost to some really good teams.… On both sides, we take away a lot of stuff that was positive that we can go back and build some confidence about as the season progresses.“

Seniors Patrick Parsel and K.C. Cody led the way for the Aggies, posting 8k times of 25:38 and 26:45 to finish in 38th and 42nd place, respectively.

Sophomore Calvin Thigpen also broke into the top 50, as his time of 25:49 was good for 48th.

“We had our top five guys stumble in the first 100 yards of the race and that makes things tough,” Wartenburg said. “We were able to come back and finish well.“

The Aggies come home to host the Doc Adams Invitational at the Putah Creek Cross Country Course on Saturday at 9 a.m.

Wartenburg said everyone who raced at Stanford would be rested, giving UC Davis the opportunity to further test its youth and depth.

“That gives us a chance on the women’s side to use a really young group, primarily frosh,” he said. “On the men’s side, where we definitely have a little more depth, it gives some guys who didn’t get a chance to race [at Stanford] to step up and improve themselves.“

Wartenburg added that the improvement he hopes to see would be tested shortly.

“The next really big test for us,” he said, “will be in three weeks when we go out to Indiana to run the Pre-Nationals.“

ADAM LOBERSTEIN can be reached at sports@californiaaggie.com.

The second-largest crowd ever to watch a UC Davis women’s volleyball match came to the Pavilion on Saturday in the hope that they may leave having witnessed history.

The Aggies jumped out to a 2-0 advantage against No. 22 Long Beach State, moving within one set of claiming their first-ever home Big West Conference win.

Then history repeated itself.

The 49ers rallied to take the final three sets, defeating UC Davis 27-29, 22-25, 25-15, 25-14 and 15-13 in front of an announced crowd of 2,012.

“Honestly, I feel very proud of our team,” said head coach Jamie Holmes. “We’re doing some things a lot better then we were doing before. I think it shows a lot of character and a lot of strength for our team to come back every day and work on the things that we need to work on.“

Senior outside hitter Renee Ibekwe led the Aggies with 20 kills and 22 digs. Junior libero Avreeta Singh tallied 16 digs and recorded four aces.

UC Davis falls to 8-7 with the loss, while Long Beach improves to 11-3. The Aggies are 0-2 in Big West play, while Long Beach moves to 1-1.

The Aggies wasted little time in making a first-set statement, jumping out to a 5-0 advantage. UC Davis pushed its lead as far as 13-6 before Long Beach came back to tie things up 16-16.

Ibekwe’s ace put the Aggies up 28-27 before freshman Katie Denny finished things off for UC Davis.

One- and two-point advantages were traded for most of the second set. With things tied at 18 points apiece, the Aggies then scored four consecutive points en route to eventually winning the set. Junior Carson Lowden’s block clinched to set and a 2-0 lead.

Then it was the 49ers‘ turn.

After a pair of back-and-forth sets, Long Beach won the next two by a combined 21 points to tie things at 2-2.

“I’m disappointed on how we let up a little bit in the middle of the game,” Holmes said. “But that’s something that’s a work in progress. We’ll identify that issue and we’ll definitely work on it in practice.“

UC Davis got off to a 7-4 start in the fifth set, but then Long Beach scored seven of the next eight points to build an 11-8 lead.

The Aggies fought back, scoring five of the set’s final nine points, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the 49ers.

“The most important thing to us is that we’re playing to our potential, playing up to our abilities,” Holmes said. “I think in terms of X’s and O’s in volleyball, and the skills that are being executed, I think they’re doing a great job.… I’m definitely proud of the way they came back.“

The Aggies will face Cal Poly in hopes of their first Big West win of the season on Friday in San Luis Obispo, Calif. They will then travel to UC Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos on Saturday.

ADAM LOBERSTEIN can be reached at sports@californiaaggie.com.

Senior midfielder Ahmad Hatifie scores his first goal of the season from 15 yards out to the top left corner.

The Aggie faithful go wild. Hatifie leaps the brick barrier separating the fans from the field and jumps into the crowd.

And then he does it again. Not even five minutes later, Hatifie hits from the exact same spot – almost like an instant replay.

“The ball bounced our way – well my way,” Hatifie said. “The past couple of years, every time I would get that shot it would hit the cross bar. I am known for hitting the cross bar, but today it bounced my way.”

Hatifie’s heroics were more than enough to send the capacity crowd at Aggie Soccer Stadium home happy with a 4-1 win over Air Force.

“This is a good win for us because it keeps us confident,” senior forward Quincy Amarikwa said. “This is something that we can carry into the next game. We really wanted to work on our effort this game because we came out a little lax against Sac State. We let a team that we should have buried hang in the game when we shouldn’t have.

“This was the game to prove to ourselves that we can switch it on when we need to get going so this is good for us.“

Amarikwa started off the Aggie scoring brigade. Assisted by senior midfielder Sule Anibaba, Amarikwa squeezed past two Air Force defenders, juked out the Falcon goalie, and gently tapped the ball into the back of the net.

“Their defense was sitting high and we just needed to take advantage of that ball,” Amarikwa said. “Sule found me on that one. I told him to get it to me and I would do the rest, and it worked out.“

Anibaba also assisted on one of Hatifie’s two scores to collect his first two assists of the season.

The Aggies not only outscored the Falcons, but outplayed them in almost every major statistical category – including a 16-3 advantage in shots.

“That has sort of been a reoccurring theme for us in the majority of our games this year,” head coach Dwayne Shaffer said. “I always try to encourage my team to just go, go, go at the goal because it’s college soccer and I like putting pressure on the other team by doing that.“

And the Aggies went, went, went, but not without the help of the proverbial 12th man – the Aggie Pack – whose members stayed until the final whistle.

“To play in front of a big crowd like that – it’s awesome,” Shaffer said. “It makes the student-athletes play that much better. I really appreciate the Aggie Pack.“

“It is nice playing in front of a big crowd,” Amarikwa said. “Our fans here want to support us now and come out and see a good game.“

But now UC Davis will go Aggie Pack-less when it plays its first conference game Wednesday at No. 23 UC Irvine.

“They are going to be ready,” Hatifie said. “We just have to go in, do what we’ve got to do.“

“I know the Big West is probably the most dominant conference on the West Coast now,” Shaffer said. “There are just so many good teams in our conference.… It is just a battle. Every single conference game is an absolute battle. I am expecting Irvine to be another great game … but if we are clicking on all cylinders, we can make it difficult on our opponents.“

As the Aggies‘ schedule increases in difficulty, Amarikwa guarantees that nothing in their game plan will change.

He says that the team will view conference opponents like every other team, and that the team will not change its level of play based on whom it is playing.

Amarikwa and Shaffer are on the same page, as Shaffer has the team grounded and assures the best has yet to come with this group of fine young soccer studs.

“I don’t think we have hit our peak yet,” Shaffer said. “I don’t feel like we have had one game where every player on the team has played to the best of his ability. Once that happens I think we can be really, really good.“

MAX ROSENBLUM can be reached at sports@californiaaggie.com.

UC Davis saved its worst game for a rainy day.

In wet weather at Parsons Field, the Aggies turned the ball over six times and saw their early lead slip away as Northeastern scored 27 points unanswered in a 27-10 loss Saturday in Brookline, Mass.

“We had a whole host of negative things happen: five holding calls, dropped balls, interceptions,” head coach Bob Biggs said. “It just wasn’t very clean.“

Or dry.

The heavy rain had a clear effect on the passing game for both teams. Northeastern’s Anthony Orio completed only five of 16 passes with an interception. Greg Denham was 30-for-51 for 288 yards, but he threw four interceptions and lost two fumbles. All six of his turnovers occurred after the first quarter as the weather worsened.

“It wasn’t like Greg was forcing balls in there,” Biggs said. “He just couldn’t grip the ball. He’d say, ‘Coach, the ball completely slipped out of my hands. I just couldn’t control it.‘”

UC Davis (1-4) did control the game early on. It opened the contest with a seven-play, 60-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 15-yard run by Brandon Tucker, who started in place of Joe Trombetta.

Trombetta, recovering from an ankle injury, had practiced all week and was expected to start but was a late scratch.

“It’s always nice to have Joe healthy, but we have complete trust in Brandon,” Biggs said. “He’s a very good runner.“

The Aggies tacked on a field goal early in the second quarter to build their advantage to 10-0, but then the tides turned.

The Northeastern offense took possession and moved the ball downfield with ease. Alex Broomfield had a 48-yard run and Orio had two completions for 19 yards, the last of which found tight end Conor Gilmartin-Donohue in the end zone from three yards out.

The Huskies (1-3) would score two more touchdowns in the quarter and another in the fourth – all off Aggie turnovers. The final score came on a 92-yard interception return by Nate Thellen, his third pick of the game.

Broomfield finished with 152 rushing yards and a touchdown. He also threw a 21-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter off a shotgun draw. Tucker led all players with 175 total yards (118 rushing).

The loss kept UC Davis winless on the road. The team now returns to Aggie Stadium for a five-game homestand, beginning Saturday at 6 p.m. against Northern Colorado.

“Obviously, we’re looking forward to it,” Biggs said. “We’ve been on the road four of the first five games, four different time zones. We’re anxious to get home and put this thing together.“

MICHAEL GEHLKEN can be reached at sports@californiaaggie.com. 

I’ve already peaked. At age 19.

In mid-July, I was covering an event of sorts in New York – namely, the Bronx – that you’ve probably heard of: Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week at Yankee Stadium in the storied ballpark’s final year of existence.

Honestly, it doesn’t get better than that. I’ll be spending the rest of my so-called career trying to beat that experience.

It’s hard to put what it was like into words – downright impossible. But hey, I’ll try anyway:

History hits you everywhere you walk. As you go up the stairs out of the Yankee dugout onto the field, you can’t help but imagine the likes of Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio doing the same before you. Once you’re on the field, you’re thinking about Yogi Berra behind the plate, maybe Mickey Mantle roaming center field.

Then you find yourself waiting outside the Yankee clubhouse to talk to the players after the game – and you’re waiting with Hall of Famers like Goose Gossage, because they want to go in, too.

Now, I’m here, sitting at my desk at the California Aggie in 25 Lower Freeborn. And given the summer I had, there were some serious doubts in my head that I’d be returning to fill up the left side of this page like I’m doing right now.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ve enjoyed writing for our college paper. I’ve loved the chance to be so close to UC Davis athletics for so long – that’s been the best part.

But when you’ve spent time at two of the country’s larger papers – the Sacramento Bee (which I continue to write for) and the San Diego Union-Tribune – and have an all-star berth under your belt, you can’t help but think that maybe it’s time to venture off to the real world for good.

Then days like Saturday happen, reminding you exactly why you wanted to come back. Days where you say, “Hey, the real world will be waiting for us later. This won’t be.“

Aggie Soccer Stadium has a capacity of 1,250, so when a crowd of nearly 2,000 came out to see No. 21 UC Davis smash Air Force, you knew things were going to be special.

The Aggie Pack went bananas, doing its English Premiere League best in cheering on UC Davis (8-1) – cheers that had an impact on the game itself.

“To play in front of a big crowd like that – it’s awesome,” head coach Dwayne Shaffer said. “It makes the student-athletes play that much better.“

Senior midfielder Ahmad Hatifie found the back of the net twice for the Aggies. He also found the Aggie Pack, leaving the field of play and hopping into the stands to celebrate his first goal.

“It was incredible. I had all kinds of emotions going,” Hatifie said. “I was just thinking, ‘I’ve just got to thank these guys for all their appreciation.‘”

Just hours removed from the game’s conclusion, the Aggie Pack was out in full force once again, as 2,102 fans watched the women’s volleyball team take No. 22 Long Beach State to five sets at the Pavilion.

“That was so special,” head coach Jamie Holmes said. “That meant a lot to me as a coach, and I know it meant the world to them as players.… It kind of brought tears to my eyes, actually.“

UC Davis fans set the bar high on Saturday. Very high.

Now, the Aggie faithful needs to prove it can do it again – only differently.

In the past, Aggie fans have gravitated toward Aggie Pack events – both of Saturday’s games were. They come complete with free T-shirts, tube socks and all the blue and gold bead madness you could ever want (and then some).

They then go into hiding, never to be seen again – well, until the next time there’s free stuff.

That’s the number 1 reason why I came back: in hopes that I’d see the day where UC Davis‘ great teams were the prevailing force in loading up the student section. From here on out, fans need to show there’s more to Aggie Pride than tube socks. I know you can.

And having experienced Saturday’s festivities with you, I have a feeling you will.

ADAM LOBERSTEIN got royally sunburnt at the UC Davis-Air Force game on Saturday – almost as bad as the Aggies burnt the Falcons, but not quite. E-mail him names of sunscreens that actually work at sports@californiaaggie.com.

Women’s Tennis

The UC Davis doubles team of senior Randi Schuler and junior Desiree Stone was the lone Aggie duo to advance to quarterfinal play on Saturday at the 14-team Cal Nike Invitational in Berkeley, Calif.

Schuler and Stone fell 8-6 to the pair of Laila Abdala and Ali Van Horne from Arizona State. Abdala and Van Horne jumped out to a 4-0 lead before letting the Aggies crawl to within one set, 7-6, but put Schuler and Stone away in the next set for the victory.

Schuler and Stone had advanced to the quarterfinal round with an 8-4 victory on Friday over Luba Schifris and Milaca Zivanovic of Sacramento State.

The Aggies next compete at the St. Mary’s Invitational in Moraga, Calif. The four-day tournament begins Oct. 10.

– Max Rosenblum