March 1, 2006

DAVIS, Calif. -- The UC Davis softball team will take on some of the top programs in the nation this weekend when it takes part in the Worth Invitational, hosted by Cal State Fullerton. The Aggies are one of 11 teams competing in the three-day tournament, which features five of the top 16 teams in the nation. UC Davis, which will play three of those teams, begins play Friday morning when it faces Tennessee at 9 a.m. The Lady Vols are ranked no. 3 in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 poll and no. 2 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top-25 poll.

UC Davis enters the tournament with a 4-9 record. The team is in the midst of a seven-week stretch of playing all of its games on the road. In addition to Tennessee, the Aggies take on Texas Tech, Georgia (no. 12 NFCA/no. 11 USA Softball), Loyola-Chicago and Oregon State (9/9).

Freshman infielder Julie Stauder leads the Aggies with a .538 batting average. Senior outfielder Megan De La Hoya is second on the team with a .410 average. De La Hoya has started all 13 games and is 16-for-39 from the plate. She also needs just one stolen base to tie the UC Davis career mark of 38 set by Megan Turman from 2002-05. Roxanne Hannan (.370) and Nikki Sheldon (.344) are also batting over .300 on the year. Sheldon leads the team with seven RBIs.

Junior Lindsay Tognetti leads the Aggies in the circle with a 3-1 record and a 1.85 ERA. She has struck out 34 batters and walked only 10 in 34 innings this season.

UC Davis plays two games on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. Friday's opponents include Tennessee and Texas Tech. Tennessee enters the weekend 10-0 while Texas Tech is 5-12. On Saturday, the Aggies face Georgia and Loyola (Chi.). Georgia is 11-4 entering a Wednesday doubleheader with Eastern Michigan, and Loyola is 1-3. Sunday's lone opponent is Oregon State, which enters the tournament with a 13-2 record.