May 22, 2013

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Les is More

Les is More

Former Sacramento King leaving his mark in Davis

Written by CAELUM SHOVE
Aggie Sports Writer
Published on May 16, 2013
Filed under Sports

An NBA journeyman with a deadly accurate jumper and a throwback hairstyle, Jim Les had one shot at record-book immortality. The shot didn’t come in the NBA Finals, though, or even in an NBA game. Instead, it came in the 1992 Three-Point Shootout at the NBA’s All-Star weekend. Les, a backup point guard for the Sacramento Kings at the time, was up against two-time defending champion Craig Hodges in the final round of the contest. With the last seconds ticking away, Les was left with a corner-three for the win. Back iron and out. Les toppled over, the grin on his face clear for all to see. Now, 21 years later, Les is drawing on his years of experience as he resurrects a university basketball program that is just a few exits down the interstate from the Sacramento arena where he played most of his NBA career. In his second season as head coach at UC Davis, Les led the Aggies to their most wins as a Division I program,... ...

UC Davis softball sees its final pitch of 2013

UC Davis softball sees its final pitch of 2013

The faint echoes of cheering and discarded sunflower seeds are all that remain on the now empty La Rue Field, which hosted its last series of the 2013 season this past weekend against Cal Poly. In the world of UC Davis spring sports, softball has now come to a close. Although the team went through some ups and downs this year, they can be proud of finishing off strong, sweeping the Mustangs in three big wins. Coach Karen Yoder was confident prior to their last games of the year. “We’re excited to have the opportunity to have three more games this season,” coach Yoder said. “Any time you’re in competition, you want to strive to excel.” Exceeding her expectations, the team came out firing against Cal Poly in the double-header on Friday and the one game on Saturday. Clutch hitting, strong defense and solid pitching played heavily into the Aggies besting rival Cal Poly. Winning 5-2 in game one and 6-4 in game two on Friday, coupled with a final... ...

UC Davis continues their hot run

UC Davis continues their hot run

Teams: UC Davis at Hawai’i Records: UC Davis Aggies, 19-31 (5-16); Hawai’i Rainbows, 12-33 (7-14) Where: Les Murakami Baseball Stadium — Honolulu, Hawaii When: May 17 at 6:35 p.m.; May 18 at 6:35 p.m.; May 19 at 1:05 p.m. Who to Watch: As the baseball season comes to a close, the Aggies will hope to pull out conference road victories against Hawai’i. The Aggies started their seven-game road trip with a series victory over Pacific. The Aggies’ success against Pacific was due much in part to the consistent hitting and base performance by junior Steven Patterson. Named 2012 All-Big Eight first team in his final season with San Joaquin Delta College after posting a .380 batting average to go with six home runs, eleven doubles and 33 runs batted in, Patterson has proven that his game is no fluke. Patterson has prospered here at UC Davis. This shows in the results he is producing this year. Currently second on the team with a .351 batting average and a .405 on-base... ...

UC Davis makes a splash on the basketball recruiting trail

There is a saying in basketball: you cannot teach size. Some people are just born tall. While size is not everything in basketball, it is important. A tall player with long arms has the ability to contest jump shots, rebound the ball and shoot over defenders easily. This is the type of player that UC Davis is getting as they add Georgi Funtarov to the roster. Funtarov, who played high school basketball at Vermont Academy, is a 6-foot-8 guard/forward combo. He has the ability to help the Aggies in so many ways, including stabilizing some of UC Davis’ deficiencies. At 6-foot-8, he has the height and the wingspan to clear the boards, a need for the Aggies due to the loss of graduating senior Ryan Howley. Howley was UC Davis’ leading rebounder, averaging 7.5 rebounds a game this year. Funtarov has shown the ability to rebound during his high school career, highlighted by his seven rebounds per game average in his senior year. Hopefully, he will be able to pick... ...

Column: Why should sports matter?

Do sports matter? As an avid sports fan, my answer is yes. To me sports hold sentimental value as I remember all of the great events I have watched. However, beyond this, the glimpses of the resiliency and determination to succeed which sports provide are something which I believe is of worth to society. Societal changes are usually long and slow processes which require many brave people to take stands. Sports has long been one of the important platforms for people to push for social change. For example, the great Jackie Robinson was a man who pushed for racial equality more than two decades before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Robinson was the first African American to play in the Major Leagues. Breaking the color barrier and blazing a trail for other African Americans to follow, Robinson represents one of the greatest advocates for social change sports has ever had. Robinson’s ground-breaking decision to play in the majors was not without resistance from society. Yet the courage and... ...

Women’s golf to compete in NCAA Division I National Round

The UC Davis women’s golf team entered the NCAA Central Regional round at the University of Oklahoma as the sixth highest-ranked team in the field. The Aggies played to their seed, placing sixth at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club. Seeing that the top eight teams advance to the NCAA Finals, UC Davis grabbed a berth to the NCAA Division I Championship round that will be held in Athens, Ga. on May 21 to 24. The Aggies shot a 16-over 880 total as a team over the three rounds. Duke, the third-ranked team in the nation, dominated the competition with a 13-under 851 team score. Despite a small hiccup in the second round in which UC Davis shot a 300, the Aggies held tight and came back to fire a one-over 289 in the final round. Still, almost every team posted a higher score on the second round, keeping the Aggies in the top six. Freshman Betty Chen led the Aggies with her blistering 69 in the final round. Senior... ...

Women’s lacrosse team finishes the season strong

Women’s lacrosse team finishes the season strong

There’s an age-old saying in sports: it is not how you start, but how you finish. The UC Davis women’s lacrosse team, although finishing with a 6-9 record overall and going 3-5 in conference play, was able to finish the season out strong. Replacing former head coach Elaine Jones, first-year head coach Kate Henwood understood the expectations heading into the 2012 season. “This was a transition year for us with a new coaching staff. It was our job to try and find a way to harness the talent of our five seniors and use the energetic underclassmen into a system that could work for us,” Henwood said. “Elaine did a phenomenal job, turning lacrosse from a club program to a Division II program and then to a Division I program. I’m not here to be mediocre, but for us to be the best in the West.” Although the Aggies lost their season debut to the third-ranked team in the nation, Florida, they claimed their first win of the 2012-13 campaign... ...

Aggies looking for a strong finish

Track and field, which is considered by most as an individual sport, still has a championship that is in some ways defined by a team effort. While most distance runners, sprinters, throwers and jumpers participate in individual events, except for the relays, the success of the such individual events is also a success for the schools. One sprinter or thrower cannot win a Big West team title for the team. It takes a complete team effort of a stellar cast of athletes to claim that particular crown. The Aggies hope that they have the particular group of athletes needed to win both men’s and women’s Big West Championships. The women in particular have recently put on a fine showing at the Causeway Duel, where they tied with Sacramento State in overall team points 94-94. Sophomore Ashley Marshall raced her way to an incredible showing in the meet, as she ran to victory in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Marshall put up blazing times of 11.48 seconds in the 100 and... ...

Softball preview

Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal Poly Records: Aggies, 22-27 (8-13); Mustangs, 19-31-1 (8-13) Where: La Rue Field — Davis, CA When: Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.; Saturday at 12 p.m. Who to Watch: As the school year comes to a close, so does UC Davis’ high-action spring sports, including softball. Rolling into their final series against Cal Poly, many of the players, both starters and subs, can be proud of a solid season both individually and as a team. A huge midweek win against Stanford on May 1 at La Rue Field gave the team a lot of confidence going into their final away games against Long Beach on May 4 and 5. The spectacular sisterly duo of Cat and Christina Guidry contributed more than their fair share in the big victory against Stanford. Scoring one apiece, the sisters made up two of the five runs the Aggies needed to best Stanford in a well-played seven-inning match-up. Christina reached base with a leadoff single to start the seventh-inning... ...

Baseball preview

Teams: UC Davis vs. Pacific Records: Aggies, 16-30 (3-15); Tigers, 12-31 (4-14) Where: Klein Family Field — Stockton, Calif. When: Friday at 6 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to Watch: With the Aggies struggling again as of late, there is a scarce amount of players who have really shown that they are capable of being a consistent threat. However, sophomore Tino Lipton has been pretty consistent. The first statistic which jumps out when looking at Lipton’s stat line are his stolen bases. Lipton leads the team in stolen bases with seven steals in nine attempts. This is a pretty solid conversion rate and definitely helps the Aggies get more runners in scoring position. Lipton, who is also hitting a respectable .298 and has two triples on the season, has been able to get on base quite frequently. As a result, he boasts a solid .376 on-base percentage. Lipton’s ability to get on base has allowed him to be third on the team in runs scored,... ...

No. 16 women’s golf to compete at NCAA regionals in Oklahoma

While the UC Davis men’s golf team’s season came to an unfortunate end, the women’s team will continue its hot streak at the NCAA Central Regional at the University of Oklahoma. The men’s team placed third at the Big West Conference Championships behind Pacific and Cal State Fullerton in a close battle. The Tigers and the Titans went to a playoff round with identical 887 scores, which Pacific pulled out to take the league title. The Aggies closed up with a tidy 890 at the Country Club at Soboba Springs in San Jacinto, behind the two tied first-place teams. The Aggies were hoping to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA regional at Washington State, but were not selected. Thus closes the 2012-13 campaign for the UC Davis men’s team, finishing up at 69th in the rankings. “We were excited to be right in the hunt for consideration to be selected,” said head coach Cy Williams. “Even though we didn’t get selected, we have a great group of guys and... ...

Softball preview

Softball preview

Teams: UC Davis at Long Beach State Records: Aggies, 21-24 (8-10); 49ers, 32-20 (14-7) Where: 49ers Softball Complex — Long Beach, Calif. When: Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to Watch: With the second-to-last series and the last away games of the season just around the corner for the UC Davis softball team, several players can come into these final six games feeling very comfortable both at the plate and on the mound. Standout freshman shortstop Christa Castello enters this last road trip against the 49ers leading the Aggies with 38 hits and a solid overall average of .306. Not only has Castello established herself as a key hitter in the meat of the Aggie’s lineup, but she also has utilized her speed to add to the team’s success. A menace on the base paths, opposing catchers just cannot stop her as she continues to use her speed to lead UC Davis with 13 stolen bases. Another player that has helped to manufacture runs... ...

UC Davis tennis teams close play at Indian Wells

UC Davis tennis teams close play at Indian Wells

Just as the conditions, weather and the UC Davis tennis teams were reaching their peak, their seasons ended abruptly. The UC Davis men’s and women’s tennis teams competed in the Big West Conference Championships down at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden from April 25 to 26 after brutal winds riddled their past week of practice. The men’s team exited after their first-round loss to Pacific, the eventual finalists in the Big West tournament. The Aggies fought hard but were only able to muster up a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Tigers. UC Davis continued its strong play in doubles with wins at the first and third spots, both of which went to tiebreakers. Freshman Brett Bacharach and junior Parker Kelley took down their opponents 9-8 at the No. 3 doubles before senior Toki Sherbakov and freshman Adam Levie pulled out their 9-8 win in the top slot to give the Aggies the doubles point. Up 1-0 going into singles competition, UC Davis couldn’t carry over the victories to... ...

More than just teammates

It is said that a team is like a family. Players travel together, practice together and often eat together. Such consistent interaction between the players allow them to forge a bond which is similar to familial ties. However, with freshmen Cat Guidry and Christina Guidry, the bonds they share are more than the standard teammate camaraderie. The Guidrys, as their last name suggests, are sisters. Twins, to be exact. They also happen to both play softball for the UC Davis softball team. The Guidry sisters have been a package deal for quite awhile. They started playing softball and other sports together at a young age. Even when they decided to focus on softball, the twins stuck together. “We started tee ball when we were five or six,” Christina said. “From there we played rec-ball for a few years, then we started travel ball when we were 10 and then played ‘till we were 17.” Christina’s counterpart agreed that playing different sports was not an option, and that softball came naturally... ...

Baseball Preview

Baseball Preview

Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Northridge Records: Aggies, 16-26 (3-12) ; Matadors, 26-18 (11-4) Where: Dobbins Stadium — Davis, Calif. When: Friday at 2:30 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to Watch: Consistency is key, especially in a sport like baseball. This has been true for junior Nick Lynch. Lynch has been a regular player highlighting the Aggies’ performance this year. The reason is simple. Despite the inconsistent hitting by the majority of the UC Davis batting order, Lynch is a solid constant. Hitting an outstanding .359 as of the weekend series in Irvine, Lynch has been the most consistent hitter for the Aggies. He is currently third in the conference with his .359 batting average. Seemingly always on base, with a .455 on-base percentage, he is what the Aggies desperately need. Lynch also has some pop in his bat, having hit two home runs this year and driving in 23 RBI. With UC Davis on another losing streak, the Aggies will need to find... ...