The California Aggie sits down with UC Davis men’s basketball star

Height: 6’6”

Year: Junior

Position: Forward

Major: Communication

Hometown: Canberra, Australia

High School: Lake Ginninderra College

Community College: Northeast Community

History: Played for Northeast Community, where he averaged 17 points per game, and for Lake Ginninderra College, where he averaged 16 points per game his senior year

Accolades: Named Big West Player of the Week for Jan. 2, was first team all-region honors both seasons at Northeast Community, named MVP Team Player at the Australian Schoolboys Championships

Junior forward Chima Moneke is the star of the UC Davis men’s basketball team this season. If fans do not know him for his jaw-dropping basketball skills, they know him for his sports goggles. The California Aggie had the chance to sit down with Chima Moneke to discuss his basketball career so far and his aspirations as both an Aggie and as a basketball player in general.

How long have you been playing basketball? What got you into the sport?

I’ve been playing basketball for eight years now and I just started playing because my friends suggested we play. I had just gone back to Australia for high school and I was playing soccer at the time and wanted to try something new.

Your hometown is in Australia. You went to Northeast Community in Nebraska, and now you’re here. How did you end up at UC Davis?

When I got to Nebraska, I was playing pretty well. After my freshman year, I played at a showcase in St. Louis, Missouri and Coach [Jim] Les saw me play and he was the first one to offer me [a spot on the team]. We just kept in touch the whole time and that was the year [the UC Davis men’s basketball team] ended up winning the [conference] championship. That really left a mark on me and I was like, “Oh, okay, I want to come here.” I took my visit on Picnic Day and that sealed the deal.

Last year you were the Big West Conference’s representative at the 2016 NCAA Leadership Forum.

That was pretty big time and I didn’t understand how big a time it was until I actually went there. When I heard I got nominated, I was like, “Oh, that’s pretty cool.” I didn’t really get it, I was just like, “Okay, four days in Arizona, that’s going to be nice,” but when I got there it was amazing. It was a great experience that I’ll never forget.

How did it feel to be awarded Player of the Week earlier in the season?

It was cool. It was cool to get recognized by the Big West, but honestly, I just want to win, and if I get [Big West Conference Men’s Basketball] Player of the Year, that’s when I’m going to celebrate.

In the game against Hawai’i on Saturday, Jan. 21, you had a career-high 26 points and 13 rebounds — one shy of a career high —  and you recorded your fourth 20-and-10 game and program-record eighth double-double of the season.

Hawai’i was a great game for me. The crowd was pretty intense and they were very loud and there was a lot of people there. I like playing in those kinds of environments and it definitely brought out the best in me. I feel like I played well defensively and I was energetic on that end and that’s what led to me playing pretty well offensively as well.

What is the ultimate goal for you to achieve athletically at UC Davis during your next couple years?

I definitely want to go to the NCAA Tournament both years and win the conference tournament and just put [UC] Davis on the map and make [UC] Davis relevant athletically for the years to come.

How do you feel the team is doing right now?

Right now we’re playing our best basketball and we’re playing really well defensively. I feel like we’re sharing the ball offensively and we’re clicking at the right time. I feel like it’s scary for other teams to want to play us, especially coming here seeing as we’re undefeated here [at home].

How does the team react to your performance this season and the records you have been breaking and the accolades you have received? What is the level of support from them?

They’re very supportive, but at the end of the day, I’m one of them. I wouldn’t be able to break any of those records without them, so they treat me the same way. I’m still the same goofy guy. It’s nothing different, which is what I love. I don’t want them to treat me any differently.

What are your plans for after you graduate?

When I graduate, I want to play in the NBA. If I don’t play in the NBA, I want to play in Europe — I want to play professionally somewhere. I want to be able to take care of my family and just be able to see them because I haven’t seen them in so long.
Written by: Liz Jacobson — sports@theaggie.org

The Aggies swept Stanislaus, Sonoma, in weekend doubleheader

Under testy weather conditions, the UC Davis women’s tennis team came into Sunday’s match looking to gain momentum before its second road trip. Riding a two-game winning streak, the Aggies readied themselves for their first and only doubleheader of the season. Despite a good effort from both of their opponents, the Aggies swept Stanislaus and Sonoma State 4-0 and 7-0, respectively, improving to 5-1 on the year.

To start the morning, the Aggies faced the CSU Stanislaus Warriors.

Stanislaus did not field a sixth singles player or third doubles team. Due to this, the doubles team of freshman Nikita Pradeep and senior Samantha Martino was forced to watch from afar. With sophomore Kelsie Bryant and junior Kristy Jorgensen winning their doubles matchup, 6-1, the Aggies took the doubles point and the 1-0 lead.

From there, it was all UC Davis. Stanislaus was missing a singles player as well, so senior Kamila Kecki won her match by default to give the Ags the 2-0 lead. Martino then dominated her match in a two-match 6-0 sweep followed by Pradeep posting a 6-0, 6-1 win to solidify the Aggies’ first victory of the day.

In the second match against Sonoma State, the Aggies relished the opportunity to utilize the players who had sat out. UC Davis took all six of the singles matchups and all three of the doubles matches to sweep the day.

   In light of the doubleheader, head coach Bill Maze indicated that although his players’ preparation for the two games doesn’t drastically change, mental toughness is key.
“Mentally as a player you just have to be prepared to play two [matches],” Maze said.

Pradeep continued to play strong by posting scores of 6-0 and 6-1 against Stanislaus State and 6-0, 6-0 against Sonoma State. The freshman has had a scintillating start to the season as she continued to build upon her wins at Sacramento State and San Francisco from the previous weekend.

Maze referenced performances such as Pradeep’s when discussing his excitement for the team’s future.

“It’s going to be a good year because [this team] is talented and strong,” Maze said.

Looking forward to his team’s upcoming road trip, Maze felt that the two wins prepared his team.

“Whenever you win a couple matches in a day it just helps,” Maze said. “By winning a couple matches I just think [the team’s] going to be a little more confident going into Hawai’i.”

The Aggies will look to utilize their continued momentum and confidence as they head to Honolulu, Hawai’i for matches against Chaminade and University of Hawai’i.
Written by: Nicolette Sarmiento and Rowan O’Connell-Gates —  sports@theaggie.org

Seven of team’s outgoing seniors close out regular season with one last win

When the University of the Pacific came to town on Saturday, Feb. 4 under a gray, cloudy sky, it was the last time that many members of UC Davis swimming and diving would compete in front of their home crowd.

The duel, which was the final regular season match of the season, marked an emotional goodbye for all seven of the team’s outgoing seniors — Kirsten Brand, Marissa Brown, Hilvy Cheung, Marrisa LaFreniere, Kaitlin Leung, Elise Roberts and Serena Yee. All the seniors were honored at the first break for their contributions to the program during their time with the swim team.

“It’s just a very talented group of young women who are just starting off now,” said head coach Barbara Jahn. “We’re sorry to see them go. We’re always sorry to see seniors leave.”

For outgoing redshirt senior Marissa Brown, it will be a time that she looks back upon fondly.

“I’ve made a lot of really good friends,” Brown said. “People who have been gone for a few years that I still keep in touch with. The coaches are amazing, and I think I’ve grown a lot as a person here.”

However, with all of the festivities and extracurricular activities surrounding the event, there was still a competition to be played, and the team showed up en route to its convincing 182-118 victory.

To non-seniors, such as sophomore Eva Chung, it was important to send her teammates off on a positive note.

“It definitely helps with the atmosphere,” Chung said. “A bunch of us came here early to help with the seniors, and we got really excited.”

Though Pacific held an early lead, the Aggies soon took control and built upon the lead as the competition moved along, placing first in 10 of 15 possible heats, including two first place finishes by diver Serena Yee, one of which was a school record of 301.05 in the 3-meter.

Brown (500 freestyle, 5:04.14, and 1,000 freestyle, 10:21.38), Chung (200 butterfly, 2:06.24, and 200 individual medley, 2:06.37) and sophomore Kristin Schumann (200 breaststroke, 2:19.11, and 100 breastroke, 1:05.08) all showed up strong on the day, each bringing their team two first-place finishes. Iris Brand (200 backstroke, 2:05.29), and Solie Laughlin (100 backstroke, 57.31) also brought in first place finishes.

For Chung’s first-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley, in which she inched out her opponent by a mere .07 seconds, Chung knew that she was going to have to finish strong to beat Pacific’s Whitney Jorgensen. In close races like that, she looks back on her training.

“It’s almost there,” Chung said. “I just race to the finish. I know we all worked really hard. We push each other every day, and it’s not any different than pushing each other in practice. Someone’s still next to me.”

Jahn was proud of her team, which now has its eyes set on Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title. The championships will be held from Feb. 15 to 18 in Pasadena, Calif, but she knows that repeating last year’s title run will not be an easy task.

“We’re not a shoo-in, even though we are the defending champions,” Jahn said. “There are three other teams that have just as much chance to take the title from us.”
Written by Bradley Geiser — sports@theaggie.org

Patriots take the win in first overtime of Super Bowl history

Tom Brady, how do you do what you do? How did you just pull off the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history? I sat through the first three and a half quarters of this game thinking to myself “this game is going to be so forgetful.”

The Atlanta Falcons were up 28-3. The game was over. The Patriots are an amazing team, but their offensive style really isn’t built for a comeback of this magnitude. They kill other teams by chipping away at their defense slowly with short routes, but those routes take a lot of time off the clock. A comeback didn’t seem like it was in the cards as the clock was dwindling down, but unfortunately for the Atlanta Falcons, the “McConnell Curse” kicked in at the wrong time and the tides turned the other way.

Atlanta was incredibly impressive out of the gate. They seemed entirely unfazed by the moment as Matt Ryan, aka “Matty Ice,” and the offense just kept piling it on the New England defense. On the other side of the ball, Atlanta’s defense was even more impressive. Tom Brady looked like a deer in the headlights for most of the game. He was taking brutal hits left and right, and when you’re 39 years of age, getting cracked like that as frequently as he was can take a toll. Brady’s game usually looks effortless, but you could see he was sweating profusely this time around and he was visibly shaken.

When Robert Alford took a Tom Brady interception to the crib with 2:21 left in the second quarter, the game looked like it was going to be a repeat of the NFC Championship game two weeks earlier. At that point I thought to myself, “if this holds up, Atlanta could be in the process of completing the most dominant playoff run I’ve ever witnessed.” It seemed as if they were bound to win their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

Suddenly, a Matt Ryan fumble in the fourth quarter drastically shifted the momentum. On 3rd & 1 on their own 36 yard line, the Patriots were showing blitz, yet Ryan still made the mistake of not getting rid of the ball quickly. He dropped back deep in the pocket and fumbled at the hands of Dont’a Hightower to set up a Patriots touchdown with a successful two-point conversion to follow. This momentum shift provided the casual fan with the exhilaration that the Super Bowl is supposed to provide. In this very moment, the narrative of Super Bowl LI went from unexciting blowout to prospective classic due to one bad turnover in a mere moment.

The Falcons looked like they were going to fight off a comeback in a big way on the ensuing drive. Starting at their own 10-yard line, Devonta Freeman had a big play for 39 yards to get the Falcons to mid-field, and a few plays later a man called Julio Jones happened. Jones made a miraculous catch for 27 yards to put Atlanta on New England’s 22, and this should’ve effectively ended the game. This put Atlanta in field goal territory with under five minutes to go, which would’ve made an eight-point game an 11-point game, and that probably would’ve been all she wrote, but instead it’s where Atlanta really choked. Trey Flowers sacked Matt Ryan for a 12-yard loss, and then a penalty to follow forced Atlanta to punt instead of tagging on those three crucial points. Matt Ryan absolutely needed to get rid of the ball there once again, but he held on to cost the Falcons greatly. Once the Falcons punted on that possession, you knew Tom Brady was smelling blood; a comeback felt inevitable.

With a few minutes left, Brady drove the ball downfield in the exact fashion you’d expect the G.O.A.T. to do it, and with a little extra help from an impossible catch by Julian Edelman, the Patriots completed the impossible comeback to tie the game at 28. When overtime came around and the Patriots were awarded the football on the opening drive, you just knew that Atlanta would never get the ball back. It took Brady and the boys eight plays to score a touchdown to end the game, and boom, it was over. What seemed like an initial rout turned into a ridiculous, improbable comeback. Brady took home MVP honors and that beautiful moment I foreshadowed last week came to fruition. Roger Goodell had to bite his tongue and give the Patriots the recognition as the crowd relentlessly booed.

First it was the Golden State Warriors who blew a 3-1 lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and then the Cleveland Indians did the same at the hands of the Chicago Cubs in the MLB postseason. To complete the trifecta, the Atlanta Falcons blew a 25 point lead to give Tom Brady his fifth Super Bowl and fourth Super Bowl MVP.

Congratulations to the Patriots, and thank you to both teams for giving us an instant Super Bowl classic that surely made up for unusually weak playoffs.
Written by: Michael Wexler — sports@theaggie.org