Two Aggies attend the Regionals

Junior Paige Lee and senior Andrea Wong of the UC Davis women’s golf team traveled to play in the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Stanford Regional on May 5, where they played as individuals with hopes of making it to the NCAA Finals held in Eugene, Oregon from May 20 to 25.

Day 1

The day marked Wong’s fourth appearance and Lee’s third at the NCAA regionals. Wong started on the first hole of the course and was able to birdie on the par-5 hole. A bogey on the 18th put her at 1-over 72. Lee started on the 10th hole and was able to get birdies on both the 11th and 12th holes that helped to be two shots under par. She ended up going 4-over which lead to a score of 73 for her first round.

Day 2

On the second round, Wong was able to post another score of 1-over-72 thanks in part to three birdies. She birdied on the par-3 third hole. Three pars and two bogeys brought her a 72 for the day. Lee birdied on the par-5 first hole and on the par-3 eighth hole. After playing 6 over, she ended the round with a score of 79. Wong was two over and tied for 11th while Lee was 10 over and tied for 56th.

Day 3

Wong was able to shoot a 6-under 65 for the last round which led to a tie for first, sending her to the NCAA Finals. Lee shot a 77 and tied for 62nd, and Wong was able to shoot eight birdies in her final round of the Regionals. Wong’s birdies came on the fourth, sixth, eighth, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th, and 17th holes, and she had two bogeys on the 14th and 16th. Lee picked up two birdies as well on the 11th and 16th holes.

Wong’s round of 6-under 65 is the lowest in the NCAA DI Women’s Golf Stanford Regional history and is her career best, breaking the school record of 66.

This will be Wong’s third time going to the NCAA Finals, but only her first as an individual — she is UC Davis’ first medalist since 2011.

The NCAA Finals will be held in Eugene, Oregon from May 20 to 25 at the Eugene Country Club. With Wong advancing, this will be UC Davis’ fifth appearance in the NCAA Finals.

Written by: Lindsay Yim — sports@theaggie.org

Everybody get up it’s time to slam now
We got a real jam goin’ down
Welcome to the Space Jam
Here’s your chance, do your dance at the Space Jam
Alright

I hope you sang those lyrics in your head in the same way the Quad City DJ’s dished them out back in 1996. Yes, we’re talking Space Jam. The iconic film starring none other than His Airness, Michael Jordan. If you love basketball, this was probably a staple of your childhood.

The ’90s were a beautiful decade in the NBA. Jordan, Pippen, Barkley, Shaq, Payton, Stockton, Malone, Robinson, Drexler, Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon. These guys made the decade one of the best in the history of basketball. I may have been too young to watch them in prime form, but the culture surrounding the ’90s continues to defeat father time and its presence is still undeniable to this day. Can you even make it through Spring Quarter without seeing someone wear a throwback jersey from one of the legends on the ’92 Dream Team?

The ’90s are praised as an era of toughness. Hand-checking made defenses fun to watch, the art of the flop had yet to infect the league, and the rivalries were genuinely intense. The game had grit; it was the ideal time to be a fan. Despite the fierce environment, the NBA still couldn’t escape the tackiness of the decade. This manifested itself not only in the form of cartoonish jerseys which we all still love, but it also permeated throughout the film industry. Space Jam is the result of a perfect storm between a golden age in the NBA and the cheesy pop culture that ruled the decade.

Why do I bring this up? Well, according to the Hollywood Reporter, some trio by the names of Justin Lin, Andrew Dodge and Alfred Botello just signed on to write, direct and produce the sequel with LeBron James as the star. My initial nostalgic sentiments are coupled with downright fear. Please don’t mess this up guys. I’m begging you. We all know what happened with Sandlot 2. Oh, you don’t? Exactly.

The odds are stacked against this sequel. The success of the first installment hinges upon the nostalgia that the film provided to ’90s kids everywhere. Every year or so, we stumble upon this film while surfing through the cable guide and we watch the whole film all the way through. It reminds us of our childhood. We remember the love affair between Bugs and Lola. We remember the grand entrance of Bill Murray. We remember MJ doing his best Mr. Fantastic impression and capping off the astronomical comeback against the Monstars with an emphatic dunk to win the game for the Tune Squad.

Unless the writers draw brilliant allusions to the original, we are probably going to leave the theatre or living room (it could go straight to DVD) disappointed. It’s going to be tough for the writers to match the sentimentality associated with the first film, but, hopefully, they can evoke that emotion for a newer generation. Maybe in 2026, some college student will stumble upon ABC Family and find the second installment and view it in the same way we do right now. Maybe it’ll remind them of the current era and all its glory, and that enough is reason to watch LeBron & friends kick some intergalactic butt.

Whether it disappoints or amazes remains to be seen, but I’m definitely signed up for the ride and you should be too.

Written by Michael Wexler – sports@theaggie.org

The women’s tennis team finishes off post-season play at Indian Wells.

The UC Davis women’s tennis team travelled to Indian Wells last Thursday to compete in the 2016 Big West Women’s Tennis Championships. Seeded No. 7 in the tournament, the Aggies drew No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara as their opponent. The two teams have played against each other in the Big West quarterfinals the past three seasons, and competed once this past season in February, during which the Aggies fell to the Gauchos 4-0.

Following the format of regular season play, the competition started with doubles matches. Junior Alex Huie and senior Tiffany Pham recorded a 6-1 loss at the number one doubles spot, and juniors Kamila Kecki and Frederique Sleiffer lost 6-0 in the number three doubles spot. With two out of three wins, the Gauchos secured the doubles point and by default the third doubles match ended as well.

The Aggies lost the first three singles matches, with sophomore Kristy Jorgensen falling 6-0, 6-1, Pham recording a 6-3, 6-1 loss and Kecki with 6-1, 6-0.The three other matches, including those of sophomores Jessie Lee and Lani-Rae Green, ended once the Gauchos received their berth. The Aggies finished the season with an overall record of 10-12 and six wins out of the past ten matches under their belt.  

“I think we finished playing the way we wanted to play, so regardless of the outcome we ended on a good note,” Green said.

Looking forward, the Aggies will be welcoming two new players the coming season. With this year’s number one, two and three singles players also returning, head coach Bill Maze expects there to be a change in the lineup.

“Lani-Rae did a great job at one, which is a tough spot to win and she won her share for sure,” Maze said. “Jessie Lee has had a phenomenal year, and Kristy played one last year so they will all be vying for that top spot along with the others.”

To round off the season, two Aggie doubles teams and one singles player earned All-Big West accolades. Teams Jorgensen-Green and Huie-Pham were given honorable mention for their doubles play and Green was awarded an honorable mention for her performance as a singles player. Green, Huie and Pham are first time recipients of the Big-West awards, while Jorgensen was All-Big West Conference singles second team and doubles second team last year.

Written by Julia Wu – sports@theaggie.org

Grab your brooms, UC Davis baseball sweep Pacific

This past weekend, the UC Davis baseball team took on the University of Pacific Tigers in an unusual weekend series in which Friday’s and Sunday’s games were played at home and Saturday’s game was on the road.

Friday’s game started at 2:30 p.m. at home and redshirt freshman pitcher Robert Garcia took the mound. Garcia had a good performance, pitching six innings and giving up four earned runs on eight hits.

The Ags’ offense came alive in the first game of the series and set the tone for the weekend. The team struck first with a run in the bottom of the first. In the bottom of the third, the Aggies added four more runs on five hits to lead 5-0 after three innings.

Pacific tried to make a comeback in the middle of the ball game, tagging Garcia for three runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.

The Aggies were able to have a big inning in the bottom of the seventh with another four run inning. After seven innings, the home team led 9-4, which would be the final score.

Designated hitter Cameron Olson knocked in three RBIs on two hits, including a double which brought home two runs. Senior outfielder Tanner Bily had a nice game at the plate as well, going 3-for-4 and driving in two runs of his own. And Garcia picked up his third win of the season.

“Garcia’s done a great job on Fridays [game],” said head coach Matt Vaughn.

UC Davis and Pacific faced off again on Saturday, but the game took place in Stockton.

The Aggies had senior left hander Spencer Henderson who pitched well, although the Tigers were able to get to him early, scoring two runs in the first two innings, one in each inning.

The team scored their first run in the top of the fourth, and Pacific answered right back. With a score of 4-1, the Aggies’ offense showed back up to score two runs in the top of the fifth.

Down by one, Henderson did a nice job of quieting the Tigers as he was able to go seven and two-thirds innings and struck out seven batters. Henderson gave up eight hits, two of which were home runs.

The top of the seventh pushed the Aggies ahead of Pacific with two runs on three hits. Pacific committed four errors in the game and a couple of those defense mishaps gave the Aggies an advantage.

Henderson could not get through the eighth inning, but junior pitcher Justin Mullins came in to close the door. Mullins finished the game and was perfect in the 1.1 innings he pitched. Mullins struck out three batters and gave up no hits for his first season on the year. Henderson grabbed his first win on the season.

“We have gotten Henderson back in the two spot and that’s created some confidence in the team,” Vaughn said. “[We can say], ‘Hey, we’re going to have three strong efforts every weekend on the mound.’”

Olson was once again an offensive highlight with three hits in four at bats. Olson was a double shy of the cycle, hitting a triple and a home run while driving in five runs.

“I would say I’m swinging at better pitches. I’m getting some good pitches to hit, I’m putting some good swings on it,” Olson said. “I’m just feeling pretty good right now.”

Bily also played a good game with two hits in five at bats and scoring two of the team’s runs.

The Aggies won 7-4 and clinched their first series win on the season.

On Sunday, the teams headed back to Dobbins Stadium where the Aggies could have gotten complacent with their series victory.

The Ags continued their offensive excellence after senior Nat Hamby allowed a run in the first inning. The home team struck back with three runs of their own to go up 3-1 after just one inning of play.

Freshman catcher Logan Denholm was huge in the inning with a triple that knocked in two runs.

Denholm had a big game at the plate and did a tremendous job behind it. The Aggies added a run in both the third and fourth innings.

Hamby gave up three runs in five and two thirds innings as Pacific tried to make its way back in the ball game. The Tigers put up two runs in the top of the sixth to cut the lead down, 5-3.

The Ags answered right back as freshman outfielder Alex Roeser hit a two out bases loaded double that cleared the bases. Roeser made up for a baserunning mistake he committed in the prior inning to go up 8-3.

“I think one of the big things today is, Roeser makes a huge base running mistake not keeping his head up. And to be honest with you, I’ve never seen that before. 24 years of playing the game [and I’ve never seen that],” Vaughn said. “He took a big slide into third with another guy standing there. But then he comes up later in the game and he gets the hit that for us separates the game.”

After that, the Aggies seemed to have the game all but wrapped up. UC Davis added another run in the seventh to lead 9-3. Pacific added two runs in the top of the ninth after a two run homer.

Freshman pitcher Chris Brown got the save after throwing three and a third innings and striking out three. Brown pitched well, and the only hit he gave up in his outing was the homer.

UC Davis won 9-5, Hamby picked up win number two on the year and the Aggies continued to swing the bats very well. The team finished with 17 hits, just two short of their season high from their meeting with UC Riverside on April 3. The team hit in double digits for the fifteenth time this season.

“Our thing has been to come out and play hard every day and expect to win every day,” Vaughn said. “Hopefully this gives them a little confidence going into the rest of the year.”

Denholm was a home run short of the cycle, three hits for three RBIs. Roeser finished with two hits for three RBIs in the team’s hit parade.

“My swing wasn’t feeling great going into the game and we made a little tweak during bp [batting practice],” Denholm said. “It’s great to have the opportunity [to play as a freshman].”

Olson continued to swing the bat well after a monster weekend and is now hitting .326 on the season with a team high 22 RBIs. The team played Sunday’s game without junior outfielder Mark Cardinalli with a bruised foot sustained in Saturday’s game.

“We’re just grinding it out. It’s been kind of a tough season but the one thing about this team is we never quit,” Olson said.  “We show up every day expecting to win. It’s finally starting to pay off for us. Balls are starting to drop, we’re putting good swings on [the ball], pitching is doing great. I think it’s going to be like this the rest of the season.”

The Aggies faced off against rival Sacramento State on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Dobbins Stadium, where they defeated the Hornets 8-2. The team hopes for some more great pitching as they enter the next series on May 6 against UC Santa Barbara.

Written by Michael Martinez — sports@theaggie.org

The UC Davis men’s golf team traveled to Simi Valley to play in the Big West Championship at the Wood Ranch Golf Club, beginning on May 2. It was a close tournament, with many of the teams being within one stroke of the other over the three-day long event. UC Davis tied for fourth with Long Beach State at 9-over.

Day 1

UC Davis entered the tournament with the top seed. The Aggies started rough but had a solid performance on the last nine holes to move into second place after the first round. UC Davis suffered from six bogeys, three double bogeys and two triple bogeys.

The Aggies came out strong on the last nine holes and were able to score 10 birdies, allowing their overall score to drop to four under par. UC Davis finished with a 4-over 292 and were only five shots away from UC Santa Barbara, who was in the lead.

Day 2

Junior Ben Corfee had three birdies in the second round to shoot a 4-under 68 and held a three way tie for first place. UC Davis was tied for fifth with a score of 8-over 584. The Aggies were 10 strokes behind UC Riverside, the new leader, and four strokes behind Cal Poly.

Freshman Ryan Knop shot a 73 in the second round and was tied for sixth while senior Patrick Soli was tied for 24th place and shot a 75. Knop had a round that included two birdies and 13 pars. Soli had a birdie on the fourteenth to keep him at only one over throughout the rest of the round.

Day 3

The Aggies scored a 1-over 289, which turned out to be their best round of the tournament and allowed them to go nine over par by the end of the competition. Sophomore Jesse Bratz, Corfee and Knop all tied for 12th place individually with a score of two over par while Soli tied for 22nd at five over and senior Luke Vivolo tied for 34th place at 12 over. Corfee finished with a 77, Knop had a 74, Bratz finished with a 68 and Soli ended with a 72. The 4-under 68 is Bratz’s career best.  

UC Davis tied for fourth place with Long Beach State in the Big West Championships at the Wood Ranch Golf Club, and UC Riverside took home the championship, finishing two under. With that, the UC Davis men’s golf team ends its season, and NCAA Regionals will begin May 12.

Written by Lindsay Yim – sports@theaggie.org