March 1, 2008

DAVIS, Calif. - Thanks to the UC Davis men's basketball team's 83-77 win over Sacramento State on Saturday night at The Pavilion, the Aggie athletics program clinched the fourth annual Causeway Cup all-sports competition between the local rivals for the 2007-08 year.

The Causeway Cup awards points to the winner of the head-to-head meetings between the Aggies and Hornets in 18 common sports. Each sport is worth either five or 10 points. If teams meet just once, then the winner receives all the points. If there are multiple meetings, then the points are divided between each matchup.

There are 105 points up for grabs in 2007-08 and, by virtue of 10 points earned with Saturday's win, now have 54.17 points, more than half the available total. UC Davis won the inaugural Causeway Cup in 2004-05 but the Hornets won the next two before the Aggies reclaimed the cup this year.

Wins in the fall by the football (10 pts) men's soccer (5 pts), women's soccer (5 pts), men's cross country (5 pts) and women's cross country (5 pts) teams helped UC Davis take a 30-10 lead heading into the winter season.

The Aggie women's basketball team added 10 more points with its early-season victory over the Hornets while the softball team picked up 2.5 more with its twinbill split on Wednesday. The women's golf team earned 1.67 points by finishing higher than Sacramento State at the Kitahara Fresno State Invitational early last week, the first of three meetings between the teams this spring.

UC Davis currently leads 54.17 to 22.50 with gymnastics, baseball, track and field and rowing still to be contested.