If there was a fantasy sport where you got points for being loyal, I think I’d be a key player. I’m not sure what makes me buy into the whole “‘till death do us part” with everything in my life. That being said, you already know Derek Jeter is staying as my starting shortstop on my fantasy team. Yes, he was my first-round draft pick. Yes, he may not come back until June. And yes, to answer the question you already know the answer to, I am in last place in my league. Either way, the new generation of baseball players is coming up and I am hopelessly behind in the baseball world. The realm of sports is changing so fast and so often that the only player whose stats I can reel off right now are Derek Jeter’s. Partly because he’s my favorite player, but mostly because he has stepped into the batters box this season as many times as Mulan’s father talked about his son Ping. I think... ...
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Softball Preview
Teams: UC Davis at UC Riverside Records: Aggies, 17-21 (4-7); Highlanders, 16-24 (0-9) Where: Amy S. Harrison Field — Riverside, Calif. When: Saturday, April 20 at 12 and 2 p.m.; Sunday, April 21 at 12 p.m. Who to Watch: Freshman Christa Castello has been a terror on the base paths this season. She is tied for sixth in the Big West for stolen bases, with 11 steals. This, along with her impressive .287 batting average and 11 runs batted in after the UC Santa Barbara series, will definitely cause UC Riverside’s less than stellar pitching staff some problems. With the Highlander pitching staff prone to giving up home runs, the addition of Castello on the bases gives the UC Riverside pitchers something else to think about. Thus, the Highlander pitchers may not be as focused on making the best pitch and could make a costly mistake leading to big hits for the Aggies. UC Davis needs to find consistent run production, and the series against UC Riverside seems like the... ...
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Baseball preview
Teams: UC Davis at Long Beach State Records: Aggies, 11-19; Dirtbags, 13-18 Where: Blair Field — Long Beach, Calif. When: Friday at 6 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. Who to watch: Sophomore John Williams has been the sure-handed outfielder that the Aggies have come to rely upon for more than his glove. Williams has played 25 games this year, starting 20 of them. After last weekend’s series against Fullerton, he is hitting .306 and has a team-high three triples. Williams’ .418 slugging percentage is good enough for third on the team. He is also tied for the lead in RBI as Williams has 19 so far this season. The UC Davis men’s baseball team has struggled to bring in runs and Williams’ hitting has been a bright spot in an otherwise weak batting order. In the last game of the recent three-game series against Cal State Northridge, he went 2-4, with a double and an RBI. Though the Aggies eventually lost the game 5-2, Williams’ hits... ...
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Aggies earn mixed results against tough competition
The women’s lacrosse team (3-8, 0-4) went 1-2 over spring break, despite facing the toughest back-to-back combination of opponents thus far this season. After demolishing Howard by a final score of 23-6, the Aggies squared off against Navy and Drexel, which are ranked 16th and 12th, respectively. Senior Elizabeth Datino garnered MPSF Offensive Player of the Week honors, totaling 13 goals with four assists in the three games. In addition, she posted a career-high seven goals at Howard. She then went on to score hat tricks against both the Mids and Dragons. Against Navy, the Aggies rallied to within deficits of 5-3 and 8-5 early on before Navy pulled away in the middle-third of the contest. The Aggies held a 5-3 lead late in the first half before a Drexel goal with only eight seconds left in the half. This ignited what became a 6-2 Dragon finish. Sophomore Kai Murphy accomplished her best game thus far, tallying eight sixes throughout the course of the game. Senior Hannah Mirza scored a... ...
Read More →Women’s water polo preview
Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Monterey Bay; Pacific Records: Aggies 12-15, (0-6); Otters 8-19, (2-5), Tigers 16-11, (1-4) Where: The “Otter” Tank — Seaside, Calif.; Schaal Aquatics Center — Davis, Calif. When: Friday at 2 p.m.; Saturday at noon. Who to watch: Senior Kathryn Bailey recently returned to the Aggie lineup and she has wasted no time making a splash. During last week’s contest against first-ranked Hawai’i, Bailey tallied three goals for UC Davis. UC Davis ended up losing the 12-14 shootout against the Wahine, but it was a phenomenal effort from the eighth-ranked Aggies. Having Bailey back in the pool gives the Aggie offense another necessary threat. With UC Davis standing 0-6 in conference, the Aggies need to find a way to win quickly. Did you know? Seniors Carmen Eggert and Jessica Dunn have combined to score 32 of the Aggies’ 60 conference goals this year. They both also contributed hat tricks against Hawai’i last week. Preview: UC Davis seems to be constantly on the verge of winning.... ...
Read More →UC Davis golf teams optimistic for weekend games
Last week, the women’s golf team captured seventh place in the Hawai’i Tournament. Sophomore Beverly Vatananugulkit scored an eagle and three birdies to sustain a 1-under 771 lead. She finished the tournament tied for 12th place. The Aggies shot 13-over 301 on the first day and tied for ninth with No. 24 Denver, No. 39 Oregon and Colorado. Vatananugulkit began with a birdie on the sixth hole and picked up two more birdies the rest of the way, finishing the day with a 71. At the Spring Break Classic, sophomore Blair Lewis played her final 14 holes on Tuesday three shots under par, shooting a 1-under 71 to keep her in ninth place. With an impressive round, Lewis was able to jump 29 spots on the leaderboard, leading her into a tie for 33rd place at 5-over 149. Vatananugulkit shot 74 and tied for 11th at the end of the day, while fellow senior Amy Simanton is tied for 49th at 9-over after carding a 77. On the final day... ...
Read More →Aggies head to Sacramento for Mondo Invitational
In a sport where a tenth of a second matters, the UC Davis track team has blown through previous records by leaps and bounds. Just last weekend at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Ariz., the records for the 100-, 200- and 800-meter sprints were completely demolished. The Aggies did well in a wide array of events in Arizona. One of the standouts of the event was sophomore sprinter Ashley Marshall, as she broke two UC Davis records. She now owns the women’s 100-meter record by posting a blazing time of 11.55 seconds. Furthermore, she beat the 200-meter record which she previously set, by running a personal and school-best time of 23.54 seconds. Marshall was not the only one who did well in Arizona, as senior Lauren Wallace’s time of 2:04.89 beat the previous women’s 800-meter record of 2:07.91. Both Wallace and senior Shanie Landen broke the old record. In fact, Landen broke the record running 2:07.87 in an earlier race last Sunday, only to have her record broken by... ...
Read More →Tennis Preview
The Aggies have endured all sorts of tough weather this past week, from rain to shine to torrential winds, and will welcome the warm sun that is forecasted this week. The UC Davis tennis teams will continue their luxurious streak of home matches this week, both hosting several matches at the Marya Welch Tennis Center. On Friday, the women’s tennis team will continue its six-match home stand with its fourth straight home match. UC Davis will host Pacific at 1:30 p.m. at the same time as the men start their match against Cal Poly. On the women’s side of this doubleheader, the Aggies will have quite a matchup against the Tigers, who dominated UC Davis in the past until the past couple years. UC Davis, in 2011, beat Pacific for only the second time in head coach Bill Maze’s career at the helm of the Aggies’ program (16 years at the time). Another win last year added to this total, and the Aggies certainly don’t show any signs that these... ...
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Men’s basketball turnaround season ends in disappointment
When the Aggies headed down to Anaheim, Calif. to participate in the Big West Tournament Championship, they had every intention of winning. Despite being ranked sixth in conference, this team knew they had what it took to bring that championship banner home. While the UC Davis men’s basketball team was not able to capture the championship, it was not wrong about its talent. UC Davis is home to Corey Hawkins, now named Big West Newcomer of the Year and CBS Sports Big West MVP. The Aggies’ roster also boasts Ryan Sypkens, the second most productive three-point shooter in the nation. The team is also joined by big man J.T. Adenrele whose size allows him to be a presence on all sides of the court. This team was blitzing toward a Cinderella finish, but their tank ran a little dry after their historic game against Long Beach State on ESPN2. The Aggies suffered a heartbreaking loss that night, and they followed it up with another collapse against UC Irvine a few... ...
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Aggies struggle to find consistent play
There is a saying in basketball that if you live by the three, you die by the three. This adage holds true in the case of the Aggies. The UC Davis women’s basketball team was an interesting squad this past season as they were filled with players who could shoot the long ball. At any given time, all five players on the court could be liable to hit a three-pointer. The high-scoring Aggies gave other teams a lot of headaches, as they were third in the conference in shooting the three-pointer, posting an impressive 31 percent as a team. Their long-range prowess caused many mismatch problems as all five players on the court were threats from beyond the arc. However, the reliance on three-point shooting to account for a majority of the team’s scoring led to inconsistent results. The characterization of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reflects the nature of the team’s results. Some nights, the rim had a lid on it and the Aggies just could not buy a... ...
Read More →Strong women’s golf performances continue
Last week, the women’s golf team captured seventh place at the Anuenue Spring Break Classic tournament in Hawai’i. Sophomore Beverly Vatananugulkit scored an eagle and three birdies to sustain a one-under 771 lead. She tied for 12th place in the tournament. The Aggies shot 13-over 301 on the first day and tied for ninth with Colorado, No. 24 Denver, and No. 39 Oregon. Vatananugulkit began with a birdie on the par-5 sixth hole and picked up two more birdies the rest of the way, coming in with a 71. Sophomore Blair Lewis played her final 14 holes on Tuesday three shots under par, shooting a one-under to keep her in ninth place. With an impressive round, Lewis was able to jump 29 spots on the leaderboard, leading her into a tie for 33rd place at five-over 149. Vatananugulkit shot 74 and tied for 11th at the end of the day, while fellow senior Amy Simanton is tied for 49th at nine-over after carding a 77. On the final day of... ...
Read More →UC Davis women’s gymnastics on a roll
UC Davis women’s gymnastics has this winning thing down. They earned their fourth consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation overall team title, sweeping the top two all-around spots and three of the four individual championships. Head coach John Lavallee has produced impressive results in years past, but this season was unparalleled in success. The Aggies broke countless records throughout the course of the year, but they produced the big scores when they needed them most. UC Davis blitzed past the competition and finished the MPSF Championship with an overall team score of 194.950. Katie Yamamura continued to build upon her legacy of greatness as she swept the competition with an overall score of 39.050. Breaking the “39” barrier is incredibly difficult in collegiate gymnastics, but this was Yamamura’s fourth time this season. Yamamura earned a 9.800 on vault, a 9.725 on bars, a 9.700 on beam and a 9.825 on floor. Fellow Aggie Anna Schumaker placed second overall with a score of 39.025, making it the third consecutive week she was... ...
Read More →UC Davis tennis returns to action
As parts of the Marya Welch Tennis Center undergo some remodeling, the UC Davis tennis teams haven’t slowed practices one bit. The men’s tennis team will match up against Hawai’i on Friday, one of the better teams UC Davis will have faced so far this season. The Aggies are entering a tough couple of weeks here in the Big West competition. After playing the Rainbow Wahine, UC Davis will match up against 73rd-ranked Cal Poly and Big West powerhouse UC Santa Barbara. Looking at the contest with Hawai’i, though, UC Davis faces quite a challenge. The Aggies haven’t played a match in almost a month, as their last outing was March 10 against UT Arlington. UC Davis dropped that decision by a 5-2 score with wins from junior Parker Kelley and freshman Brett Bacharach. Both have eight wins on the season in dual matches, tied for second on the team behind junior Kyle Miller’s 10 singles victories. The Aggies’ matchup against Hawai’i will be their second Big West matchup of... ...
Read More →Aggies place third at Stanford over weekend
This past week, senior Tyler Raber scored five-under par, tying for the lowest individual round at the U.S. Intercollegiate golf tournament at Stanford University. His fourth-place overall finish led the UC Davis men’s golf team to place fifth. Host Stanford, ranked 10th, finished 23-under on its own course. Fortunately, the team saved their best performances for the final day, shooting a one-under 279, the third-best team score on Saturday. This helped them finish seven-over for the 54-hole tournament. With that, UC Davis finished in front of six teams ranked ahead of it. “Tyler Raber had an amazing tournament,” said Aggie coach Cy Williams. “It was a really strong, national field and he crushed it. We played with USC today head-to-head and they were head of us to start the day, and we outplayed them. That’s a really big accomplishment for our guys, to go toe-to-toe with those guys and be the better team.” USC led UC Davis by one stroke, but the Aggies made up three shots and finished two... ...
Read More →Baseball Preview
Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Fullerton Records: Aggies, 10-16; Titans, 25-4 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: The Aggies have struggled to bring in runs this season. However, one bright spot in UC Davis’ batting order has been senior Paul Politi. Politi leads the Aggies in home runs, runs batted in, runs and walks drawn. He has been UC Davis’ main offensive sparkplug and has done a little bit of everything. The Aggies’ reliance on small-ball offense to drive in runs is personified by Politi. Politi’s 10 walks shows his patience and willingness to wait for the right pitch. Once Politi finds that pitch, he knows what to do with it, evidenced by his two home runs, 19 RBI and seven doubles. UC Davis will need him to be patient and drive in clutch runs against a very talented Cal State Fullerton pitching staff. Politi’s hitting will be sorely needed if the Aggies... ...
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