Defense wins championships. The Aggies’ high-powered offense simply could not overcome the team’s defensive woes, losing the first-round contest to the nationally ranked UC Irvine Anteaters, 8-5. UC Davis then suffered a heartbreaking 10-9 loss at the hands of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. The Aggies then wrapped up tournament play against Pacific on Sunday, thrashing the Tigers by the score of 10-4. Entering the first-round matchup with the second-seeded Anteaters, the Aggies knew that they were going to face a tough team. In the second regular season meeting between the two teams, UC Davis gave up a last-second score to give UC Irvine the 7-6 win. Thus, this game seemed to be one of the most exciting matchups of the Big West tournament. However, the matchup was never really that close. The Anteaters took an early lead and never looked back. With goals from freshman Kelsey Thornton and junior Hilary Estrada, UC Irvine jumped out to a 2-0 lead. The lead blossomed even more in the second quarter, as... ...

Event: Big West Conference Tournament Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Irvine Records: Aggies, 14-15 (1-6); Anteaters, 19-8 (6-1) Where: Anteater Aquatics Center — Irvine, Calif. When: Friday at 3:30 p.m. Who to Watch: Senior Carmen Eggert has been one of the main goal scorers for the Aggies this season. Eggert is having a fantastic senior year as she has scored 71 goals this season in only 29 games played. To put this in perspective, her 2.45 goals per game average is the third-highest average in Big West Conference history. Also, her total of 71 goals this season is the sixth-highest single-season scoring output ever in the conference. Such scoring production has certainly made the Aggies a dangerous team to play against. With an average of 9.3 goals per game, UC Davis is capable of scoring goals in a hurry. Eggert is certainly a major component in the offense. However, Eggert’s offense is not solely dependent on her ability to score. She also has the ability to distribute the ball and... ...

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.... ...

The UC Davis women’s water polo did some early spring cleaning as they swept their opponents in the 33rd annual Aggie Shootout. The 14th-ranked Aggies beat Concordia, Santa Clara and Colorado State as they improved their record to 10-7 on the season. The weekend heroes were seniors Carmen Eggert and Jessica Dunn, who scored a combined 17 goals in the tripleheader. The duo also had a hand in most of the other Aggie goals, as Eggert had two assists and Dunn had seven assists total. In the first game on Saturday, Concordia struck first, scoring with an early goal to surge ahead by one. However, from there the Aggies took control. Eggert scored five of her nine goals against the Eagles. Her high-scoring performance paved the way for an easy UC Davis victory by the score of 14-9. Dunn’s four goals in the Aggies’ second game against Santa Clara proved to be vital in the closest match of the day. She started off firing as she added two goals in... ...

At the UC Irvine Invitational women’s water polo tournament, which featured a field of entirely top-20 teams, the Aggie women placed 10th. On the first day of action, 14th-ranked UC Davis defeated 17th-ranked UC San Diego 13-12 and fell to the Anteaters. On the second day of action, the Aggies defeated the Gauchos, but lost to Loyola Marymount. With that, the Aggies even their record at 7-7. Senior Kathryn Bailey scored just 14 seconds into the match against UCSD, her third goal of the day, for her first career hat trick. Junior center Hannah Curran netted a career-high six goals in the thriller against the Triton. She scored two of the Aggies’ five goals in the first quarter, as well as two more in the fourth quarter. UC Davis pulled away to an 8-5 lead midway into the second quarter before the Tritons fired two goals to tie the game. Melissa Bartow briefly gave UCSD a 9-8 lead in the final regulation period before Curran came back to tie the... ...

Event: Davis Challenge Teams: UC Davis (1-5) vs. Cal Lutheran; vs. CSU Bakersfield; vs. Pacific; vs. Sonoma State Where: Schaal Aquatics Center — Davis, Calif. When: Saturday through Sunday Who to watch: Senior Jessica Dunn ought to be thrilling to watch, as she put on a phenomenal performance against top-ranked and two-time defending NCAA champion Stanford. Dunn scored her 23rd career hat trick against the Cardinals, hitting a pair of 6-on-5 goals in addition to a 5-meter penalty shot. She was able to capitalize on the opportunity when junior teammate Hanna Curran was fouled. Dunn boasts an abundance of achievements, from ranking fourth in school history with 148 goals to becoming the second Aggie to hit the double-century mark. Expect a solid and impressive performance from the accomplished veteran. Did you know? Last year at the Aggie shootout, UC Davis came away with solid results. The Aggie women shut down eight teams consecutively, including the prestigious Harvard University. At one point, the team was on a nine-game winning streak before... ...

Every year, UC Davis Campus Recreation supports clubs to promote leadership skills in competitive and recreational intercollegiate athletics. For the women’s water polo club at UC Davis, the season was far more than just building character. This year, 16 of the best water polo clubs around the nation gathered at the Florida State University’s Morcom Aquatic Center for the National Collegiate Club Championship (NCCC), where the Aggies stunned heavy favorite Cal Poly 2-1 to claim the title. After finishing in second place in last year’s tournament to Cal Poly, the Aggies got their revenge this year when freshman Kaylin Claypool scored the game-winning goal to put the Aggies ahead for good with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. “It was awesome scoring the last goal because we worked so hard to get here,” Claypool said. UC Davis had been active in contention and they were finally able to accomplish their goal of winning a national championship. “Our coach Jonny [Gullone] really wanted to win and his desire really motivated... ...

Women’s water polo The UC Davis women’s water polo team finished second place in the NCAA Big West Conference Championship this weekend at Schaal Aquatic Center. The Aggies went into the tournament with a bye game on Friday to face the No. 3 seed UC Santa Barbara for the fourth time this season on Saturday, defeating the Gauchos 7-5 to advance to the championship match. The Aggies held the lead for the majority of the match, until the Gauchos tied the score at five in the fourth quarter, but UC Davis held on to pull of the victory in overtime. Following their victory on Saturday, the Aggies advanced to the Big West Championship Match, facing off against the No. 1-seeded UC Irvine Anteaters on Sunday. Despite UC Davis’ hard-fought victory over the Gauchos the previous day, the Anteaters proved to be too formidable an adversary for the Aggies, winning 10-5. The Anteaters scored four unanswered goals in the opening minutes of the match. Junior Jessica Dunn scored the first point... ...

Event: Big West Conference Championships Records: Aggies 17-12(4-1); TBD Where: Schaal Aquatics Center When: 4:15 p.m. Who to Watch: If defense wins games, then the Aggies can sleep soundly at night knowing they have two solid goalkeepers. Senior Rachel Tatsuko just earned the Big West Conference Player of the Week for her shut-down performances. Tatsuko, who splits time with regular starter junior Riane Woods, started against Cal State Northridge and San Jose State. Woods also got the same recognition about a month ago. Tatsuko helped the Aggies upset No. 8 San Jose State with two steals and 12 saves, that included three stops in 6-on-5 situations. Did you know? The UC Davis women’s water polo program is currently ranked 11th in the nation. Yet, they are not the top-ranked team in the conference. UC Irvine holds a perfect 5-0 record in conference and is ranked No. 6 in the country. The Anteaters defeated the Aggies 10-4 earlier this season in Irvine. Preview:  It would appear that things are going the... ...

Women’s water polo While most students were on their spring break, the UC Davis women’s water polo team was busy extending their winning streak to eight games. The Aggies locked up three more victories this past week, including their first Big West Conference win against the Pacific. The wins moved Uc Davis to 13-11 on the season. Sunday March 25 the Aggies traveled to Stockton to face Santa Clara and the host Pacific Tigers in a game that did not count in the conference standings. The Aggies got off to a quick 8-2 lead against Santa Clara and never looked back, winning by a score of 14-5. Freshmen Keelia Houston and Allyson Hansen both scored two goals to help UC Davis overcome Santa Clara. Later that day, Junior Jessica Dunn scored three goals to lead the Aggies offensive attack against the Tigers. Junior Carmen Eggert and Mohr aided Dunn with two goals of their own. The Aggies traveled to Stockton again on Saturday for a rematch against Pacific in their... ...

The No. 15 UC Davis women’s water polo team defeated No. 10 Maryland and later handled Fresno Pacific Saturday to extend their winning streak to five games, improving their record to 10-11. Saturday — UC Davis 8, Maryland 6 The Aggies entered their match-up with the Terrapins not sure what would be coming. “We haven’t really seen them in a while so we were a bit apprehensive as to what to expect,” said Coach Jamey Wright . UC Davis was able to settle in, however, led by the standout performance of junior goalkeeper Riane Woods who had a career high of 18 saves. “I thought [Woods] played a great game. All our goalies played well throughout but she was really solid throughout the game,” Wright said. The meet was very tight and low scoring throughout until the Aggies pulled away near the end. Freshmen Elsie Fullerton and junior Jessica Dunn had two goals each to help spur the UC Davis against their highly ranked opponent. The game was tight until... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Maryland; vs. Fresno Pacific Records: Aggies, 8-11; Terrapins, 10-3; Sunbirds, 4-15 Where: Schaal Aquatics Center When:  Saturday at 1 p.m.; at 2:30 p.m. Who to watch: Senior center Dakotah Mohr scored a hat trick last week against Sonoma State. Did you know? The Aggie defense has allowed just 60 goals in 169 6-on-5 opportunities for a conversion rate of .355. Preview: After dominating Santa Clara and Sonoma State by a combined score of 26-3 this past weekend, the UC Davis women’s water polo team is set to face off against two more opponents this upcoming weekend. The Aggies will first square off against some stiff competition in No. 11 Maryland. Maryland is currently riding a five-game winning streak and has claimed victories over tough competition this season, including No. 12 Indiana. “They are a pretty mobile, fast team,” said Coach Jamey Wright. “Usually an east coast team will come to the west and suffer due to the lack of competition in the east, but not anymore... ...

Women’s water polo UC Davis had a rough weekend at the Stanford Invitational Women’s Water Polo Tournament. The No. 14 Aggies were outmatched, facing four teams ranked higher nationally. The beginning of the season has been brutal; the Aggies have faced multiple top-five opponents each weekend. After going 0-4 over the weekend, UC Davis slipped to 2-8 overall this season. The Aggies were completely outclassed against the defending national champions, as they lost to No. 1 Stanford 18-6. The Cardinal scored seven unanswered to open the action and held an 11-1 lead at the break. UC Davis managed to stay competitive in the second half, with junior Jessica Dunn and freshman Keelia Houston each scoring twice and helping the Aggies tally five goals total after halftime. The afternoon game was far more entertaining, with UC Davis coming back from three goals down to make it a one-score game heading into the fourth quarter. San Jose State was able to hold off the Aggies for the third week in a row,... ...

Event: Stanford Invitational Teams: No. 15 UC Davis, No. 1 Stanford, No. 5 San Jose State, No. 3 USC Records: Aggies (2-4); Cardinal (2-0); Spartans (5-0); Trojans (0-0) Where: Palo Alto, California When:  Saturday 8:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.; Sunday 9:10 a.m.; TBA Who to watch: Senior attacker Ariel Feeney leads the team with six assists and her seven goals place her second on the team with 13 total points. Did you know? This weekend’s tournament in Stanford is comprised of the No. 1 (Stanford), No. 2 (California), No. 3, No. 4 (UCLA), No. 10 (Hawaii), No. 13 (Michigan) and No. 15 (UC Davis) ranked teams in the country. Preview: The tough early season schedule continues for the UC Davis women’s water polo team this weekend at the Stanford Invitational. The Aggies will begin with a rematch against the Cardinal and hope for a better showing than last weekend. UC Davis will also play the Spartans for the third time in as many weekends. “We have to make sure to... ...