Interim athletics director sets up department for success over past 14 months

The decision has been made about who the next athletics director will be at UC Davis, but while all flock to aid in welcoming Kevin Blue to the Aggie family, the media fails to mention the department saying goodbye to interim AD Teresa Gould.

Gould, the wife of head football coach Ron Gould, has been in the athletics director position for 14 months after the immediate resignation of previous three year AD Terry Tumey. Appointed as acting AD by former Chancellor Linda P. B. Katehi, the very experienced sports enthusiast had hopes of revamping the athletics department before the end of her time at Davis, and she feels that that is exactly what she accomplished.

“My story is actually quite interesting because prior to coming to UC Davis, I had only worked in intercollegiate athletics,” Gould said. “I got out of athletics, literally for maybe only seven months and worked over at the Cal Aggie Alumni Association and it was a breath of fresh air. It was different, it was something new, it was a different pace, it was a great introduction to the campus for me so to work at the Cal Aggie Alumni Association […] it helped acclimate me to UC Davis and the culture and the people, but then it was just ironic. I walked away from this thirty year career in athletics, it lasted seven months, and then I got right back into it as the interim athletics director and I’ve loved it.”

While the search for a permanent AD has gone on, Gould has remained gracious and patient in the position, knowing immediately that she would not be here for more than a full academic year and the department was due for consistency.

“It has absolutely been a tremendous experience for me,” Gould said. “It has been personally rewarding, professionally rewarding, and I’m really grateful and honored that I had an opportunity to come in and help for 14 months. […] I knew right from the beginning that I would be here for a full academic year, we planned on that. I think part of that was because we have had so much transition in this position, and we have in the past six to seven years, we knew that we had to get it right and we knew that we had to be thoughtful and very deliberate about getting it right. Chancellor Katehi was very comfortable, given my experience, having me in this role for a full academic year, so I wasn’t completely surprised by the timeline.”

But why wouldn’t Gould want to stay in intercollegiate sports?

“Because of my marriage to Coach Gould and some of the inherent conflicts that that creates,” Gould said. “That’s absolutely the reason that I made it one hundred percent crystal clear at the beginning that I wasn’t going to be a candidate.”

The conflicts however, are not enough to stop Gould from effectively performing her duties for all 23 teams, including football.

“I am ultimately the decision maker and leader for the whole department,” Gould said. “But I think we have such a strong leadership team here and we have a high level of teamwork and cohesion that whenever it came to decisions around football — whether it was financial decisions or philosophical decisions or what have you, I would always weigh in on what my philosophy is or what my position is on that issue. We want to have consistency and equity across the department too, so you don’t want football decisions being made in a silo or a vacuum, so I would always lend my perspective and then ultimately Josh [Flushman, associate A.D./sports enhancement and development] would consult with the other appropriate people.”

But it is this conflict that ultimately is what makes the job an unreasonable goal for Gould.

“Football is one of the most visible in our departments,” Gould said. “It’s a program that this community and our alumni care a great deal about, so for the athletic director to have to seperate themselves, to create distance in administering and monitoring that program, it just isn’t good for the program. We have been able to make it work, and I think [this is] the reason we made it work on a short term basis.”

Knowing she would soon be replaced, this woman in athletics made the changes she felt were crucial to the success of the department and her successor.

“I think being an interim is tough because you never quite know how much to make it yours,” Gould said. “Like, how much do I change and how much do I hold back and let the permanent AD make all the transformational changes. I tried to balance that because I felt like it was my obligation that at the end of my tenure that I wanted it to be a better place than it was before and I think I accomplished that. […] I inherited a department that was just starving for energy, inspiration, leadership and engagement. This athletics department was ready to take that next step.”

Gould’s subtly aggressive changes to the culture of the athletics department enabled her to continue managing through Chancellor Katehi’s leave and the appointment of acting Chancellor Ralph Hexter without disruptions.

“We still have such strong support and her other cabinet members are hugely supportive and very helpful and the deans and her staff,” Gould said. “It really, other than me personally missing working with her, hasn’t affected my day to day work or what I am doing in terms of the role. Hexter has been more than supportive and engaged and very interested in athletics and what is going on.”

The ongoing support continued to alleviate Gould’s financial pressures.

“There is really what I consider to be three buckets,” Gould said. “There is student fees, then there is institutional support — money that comes from the campus that is not student fee based, so money that comes from central funds — and then the third one is what I call self generated income — income that we generate on our own, so it’s fundraising, ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, concessions, selling merchandise, money that comes from the conference or the NCAA. So those are really the three buckets that go to make the athletic department budget. The biggest challenge we have, as far as our funding model is, like everybody else on campus, expense growth at times is more excessive than the income growth. The employee benefits costs increase, the minimum wage increase, staff get mandatory merit increases, there are costs that go up every year that are out of our control, but the income side doesn’t necessarily go up at the same rate as the cost side so that’s kind of the ongoing challenge and the ongoing balance that we need to play and we can’t necessarily expect that the campus is going to fund that. That is where that self generated income and us fundraising and having people coming out to the games and selling tickets comes in. That’s why that piece of our business is so crucial because that is where we want to have growth.”

Gould’s enhancements to the athletics department made it easy for her to step back and aid the committee on what characteristics belong to a permanent athletics director.

“Early on when the committee was appointed, Chancellor Katehi asked me to be like an advisor or an ex officio non voting member,” Gould said. “But that was surrounding advising the committee on what the commands of the job are, what do I think the most critical skillsets are that this job requires and what kind of experiences and background would set somebody up for success in transition. I helped with the job description, things like that. I certainly was a resource for candidates. I mean I know a lot of people in this industry and they would call and say tell me about the job, tell me about UC Davis, but I wasn’t a voting member of the committee. When the committee actually got to the point of reviewing resumes, interviewing candidates, discussing the merit of candidates, I wasn’t involved in any of that.”

Gould agrees that Blue will blend in quite well with the Aggies blue and gold spirit.

“I met with ASUCD and introduced Kevin Blue to the ASUCD senate, and they have been very complimentary and very engaged in improving the relationship between athletics and the student body,” Gould said. “We have been more proactive with our communication with the community. I think our coaches feel more empowered and that their voices are more heard in this department, so I think we have tremendous progress in a short period of time and I think Kevin will benefit from coming in and making it his with his own style and his own philosophy.”

Blue however, is inheriting a strong team and student support that Gould finds to be one of her capstone accomplishments in the role as athletics director.

“I think the two things I am most proud of are re-energizing the moral in the department,” Gould said. “I think people are enjoying coming to work here a lot more than they were a year ago. I think the second things is making progress in our relationship with the student body.”

There is nothing more now that Gould can do for the athletics department at UC Davis except reflect and observe.

“I know I was thrust into a very difficult circumstance and it has really been just a tremendous honor and privilege to be able to lead this department,” Gould said. “I think our 600 student athletes are some of the brightest and the best in the country, I believe they really embody the appropriate balance between student and athlete and they’re young people that give back to the community at a high level and it has been super rewarding for me to be able to lead this department and I look forward now to just leaving a fan.”

In wishing the athletics department the best of luck, she has agreed to stay within the Aggie family in other ways.

“I’ve agreed to stay on to help Kevin with the transition through Aug. 31 so I’ll be here in July and August just kind of helping him get up to speed, hire his own team, [and] we have some coaching positions to fill,” Gould said. “I’ll help him with the transition and then by Sept. 1, I’ll then transition to some campus role. We’re still discussing what exactly that might be, but it will definitely be outside of athletics.”

As the 2016 academic year comes to an end, Gould will complete her role as interim athletics director and the department, she hopes, will continue to generate the energy she put in.

Written by: Veronica Vargo — sports@theaggie.org

UC Davis athlete will compete in the 2016 Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. in the 100-meter Backstroke, the 200-meter Backstroke and the 400-meter IM.

With the 2016 Olympic Games coming up this summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Olympic Trials are taking place in order to see who will represent the United States in a variety of sports. UC Davis freshman swimmer Solie Laughlin has earned her position to compete in these Olympic Trials at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb. on June 26 to July 3 in the 100-meter Backstroke, 200-meter Backstroke and the 400-meter IM. So who is this freshman swimmer from Ventura, Calif.?

Laughlin is a first-year undeclared-humanities major and a standout swimmer whose backstroke gave her the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Trials. She finished ninth overall and won the consolation final (2:14.87) in the 200-meter Backstroke at the Los Angeles Invitational on July 10, 2015. She later succeeded in the USA Swimming Junior Nationals Aug. 2, 2015 with a time of 1:02.98 in order to receive her chance to compete in the trials in the 100-meter Back. Laughlin recently qualified for the 400-meter IM trials (4:53.02), adding to her already impressive qualifications in the trials for the 100-meter and 200-meter Backstroke.

Last month, Laughlin was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Freshman of the Year, after helping the UC Davis women’s swimming and diving team to its fourth conference title in six seasons. She became the third Aggie swimmer to earn top rookie honors from the MPSF, and became the second Aggie to win three individual events at the MPSF Championships. A school-record time of 1:56.64 was posted by Laughlin in the finals of the 100-meter Backstroke.

Throughout the season, Laughlin posted a total of six NCAA “B” standards in the three events she qualified for, and she holds the second fastest time at UC Davis in the 400-meter IM (4:14.80), the third fastest time in the 100-meter Backstroke and the eighth-fastest time in the 200-meter IM.

The California Aggie had the chance to sit down with Laughlin to discuss her upcoming Olympic trials, as well as her upbringing in swimming and why UC Davis was the school she chose to compete at.

What got you into swimming?

I was put in swimming for water safety when I was little with my mom and we did the Mommy and Me classes. I went up the ladder and ended up joining the YMCA swim team. After that, I moved to my swim club around age 13. I was kind of old for people who usually start club swimming but I surprisingly had a lot of success in that.

Why did you choose to come to UC Davis? Was it specifically the swim program?

I didn’t know I was on UC Davis’ radar. I hadn’t contacted UC Davis myself so when I got the call I was pretty surprised. I was very shy on my recruit trip, but I really enjoyed the team and the coaches. They could see success was in the future if I followed through with the program.  

What was it like first coming to UC Davis to compete and what was the feeling contributing to the fourth conference win in six seasons?

We do a lot of team bonding when we come the first two weeks before school starts to train. I didn’t know anyone up here but I got to know the team a lot more and became more comfortable.

Did finding out you qualified for these trials change your way of thinking or change the way you were treated by the team as a freshman swimmer?

When I first saw my trials I was really excited because I progressed relatively fast in the sport, so it was really exciting when I found out. It changes how I train in the water in the sense that I have a goal I am aiming for. I always think of that goal when I am having a hard practice or something like that.

What is the overall feeling being a first year and setting all these season records, along with six NCAA “B” standards, and narrowly beating some of UC Davis’ overall records?

It’s pretty cool seeing those articles. It’s fun because my parents are always really excited to see them.

How do you manage to focus on everything in your school and social life knowing the trials are such a big opportunity?

I treat it as, you are a student and you are an athlete, so you have to get your studying done. It’s a lot of time management. You get a taste of it in high school, which helps when you come to college.

Mentally how do you approach and prepare going to these trials and having such a big challenge to face? Is it nerve racking or are you feeling calm about it?

Now that they are next month, I am excited but also nervous. I want to do well. I am going to use this as an opportunity to race, get the experience, and try to aim to get best times. I am nervous because it is such a big venue, but I am excited because it is a new experience.

What happens if you place in the Olympic Trials?

For trials since there are so many people, there is a preliminary swim, where everyone competes, and then the semifinals and the finals. I would love to make it back to the semifinals. I don’t know if I can see myself making it to the finals this year, but maybe in the possible future. This year, I am focused on doing the best I can.

No matter what happens at the Olympic Trials in June, The California Aggie wishes Laughlin well in her performance at the trials, and hopes she can accomplish whatever she sets her mind too.

Written by: Ryan Bugsch – sports@theaggie.org

Women’s water polo exceeds expectations, doesn’t let end result bring them down

The California Aggie sat down with members of the women’s water polo team to discuss what made this the season they won’t forget, and why they are The Aggie’s choice for women’s team of the quarter.

“Even though it didn’t necessarily end as we had envisioned it, we don’t want the end result to overshadow all the things we did this season,” said senior center Allyson Hansen. “Like beating Cal for the first time in program history, top three finish at UC San Diego tournament, top six finish at UC Irvine — which we haven’t done for a long time — and getting our program’s 400th win.”

Hansen, a fifth year who was nervous about coming into the season without the players she initially came into the program with, started the Aggies this season in Big West Conference weekly honors with a Player of the Week award — the first of five UC Davis athletes this season. Despite having a 2-3 conference record, the Aggies did manage an overall record of 17-13, with some heartbreaking losses that followed tremendous wins.

“With every struggle comes growth,” said head coach Jamey Wright. “We had some character developing moments this year […] this is all part of the process, we’ve got to go through this.”

Wright refers to the defeat over Cal Berkeley and the comeback against Irvine.

“You learn more from your losses than your wins,” Wright said. “For having had some early disappointing conference losses, we finished well.”

Hansen knows that the losses did not affect the team’s bond.

“The experience and wisdom of the older players helped cultivate a whole cohesive team… we have team chemistry,” Hansen said. “This year, instead of being on the losing side of one-goal games, we have been on the winning side, which I think in the past hasn’t really happened […] When it boils down to it, the chemistry is what got us those wins.”

“This year, we had a lot of strong players so we were able to use all of the weapons we had versus relying on one or two players,” said junior center Carla Tocchini. “[That] is what a lot of teams normally do, to give everybody a chance to kind of shine.”

But what really makes the Aggies a strong team?

“One of the biggest things that we possess is a solid defense,” Tocchini said. “Our goalies were fantastic at anchoring us in the cage, all of our offense and everything we created came out of our tough defense and our defenders really fronting well. Everyone was doing their job on defence essentially, so I think, if we can carry that into next season, we will do very well for ourselves.”

Next season, the Aggies will be facing a lot of turnover as they say goodbye to seven seniors and welcome nine freshmen to the program. This will make the 2016-17 team predominantly underclassmen.

“I’d like to think of it as a really positive opportunity,” Tocchini said.  “Yes, it is a big group of girls that are going to have to learn a ton of new stuff coming into the program, but it also gives our team a whole new look.”

Wright also notices the toll this change will take on the team, but like Tocchini, does not fear it.

“It’s not always easy, especially when you have a big turnover, losing that leadership,” Wright said. “It puts a lot of pressure on the returning juniors this year.”

While the shift in players does not affect Hansen directly, she definitely connects with the idea of stepping up.

“That’s going to be a huge shift,” Hansen said. “I think for next year, they are really going to have to bond the freshmen in. The upperclassmen are going to have to step up; people besides the captains are going to have to step up.”

In attempt to pass down some of her knowledge, Hansen said, “If I learned anything these years, it’s to trust the process. You’ve got to be patient, [and] it all will come together at some point.”

The team was ranked fifth nationally this spring season and managed to maintain a 3.15 overall GPA. Coaching staff as well as the players agree that next season they will be working to integrate the recruits to continue and enhance this season’s success.

“I could think of a bunch of words [to describe the season], but I think the first word that comes to mind is ‘epic,’” Hansen said. “That’s kind of how it was. I never in a million years would’ve thought we would have beat Cal or beaten ASU or been in the top five […]  it’s stuff that I thought was unreachable or unobtainable. It’s pretty epic that we were able to pull together and do it.”

Honorable Mention: Women’s Lacrosse

If one thing is certain, it is that UC Davis women’s lacrosse has made amazing progress this season. Under first-year coach Tee Ladouceur, the Aggies’ 5-4 conference record is the first winning record produced by women’s lacrosse since 2000, and their appearance in the MPSF Championship tournament this season was their first appearance in six years. While this was a season for improvement, women’s lacrosse has shown tremendous strides to become a conference winning team in the future under Ladouceur.

Written by: Veronica Vargo and Ryan Bugsch — sports@theaggie.org