May 10, 2011

DAVIS, Calif. - Aggie wide receiver Dwight Smith captured the victory in the Individual or Duo category, while the trio of Nolan Frazier, Igor Seriba and Alex Wilright halted their own UC Davis track and field team from winning a fourth consecutive Group Performance title, highlighting the fourth installment of Aggie Idol, the student-athlete charity variety show held at Freeborn Hall Tuesday night. All proceeds from the event supported Team Davis, a local nonprofit organization which helps enrich the lives of children and adults with developmental, cognitive and/or physical disabilities.

The 2011 version of Aggie Idol was developed and coordinated by UC Davis Student-Athlete Advisory Committee officers Julie Peri (swimming & diving), Lauren Radke (track & field), Laura Sunday (lacrosse) and Jonathan Peterson (cross country/track & field). Sunday and Peterson served as show emcees, while Radke and Sunday ran the show production along with other members of SAAC.

The judging panel consisted of Jamey Wright, head women's water polo coach; Cindy Spiro, senior associate athletics director; and Drew Wartenburg, head cross country coach. The show organizes also applauded the efforts of Michelle Roppeau, the Aggies' director of athletic academic advising, who serves as the SAAC advisor.

Smith won top honors for his solo performance of the John Cale version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." Finishing second in the individual/duo category was swimmer and violinist Bridget Bugbee, who presented the Carl Bohm's Sarabande in G minor. Daniel Turvey, a pole vaulter for the Aggie track & field team, teamed up with Jordan Wilheim for an acoustic bluegrass duet of "Wagon Wheel."

Frazier, Seriba and Wilright combined hip hop and R&B in an original composition called "It's So Hard," taking down first-place honors among the group numbers. All three took part in the second-place performance, a large dance sketch entitled "In The Mind Of A Track Star," performed by members of both the men's and women's track & field squads. Placing third among the group acts was the UC Davis field hockey team, which assembled a multi-faceted dance act called "Tuesday Night Live."

A large group of Team Davis members not only attended the event, but provided a performance of its own and stayed on hand to congratulate the winners. For Peterson and Sunday, who work most closely with that group, the show's emphasis was on Team Davis.

"For Team Davis or anybody that's involved with them, the most important part are the smiles and the happiness you see out of them," said Sunday. "All of the hard work that we put into this was worthwhile to see one smile from them. And I think they really enjoyed performing and being on stage."

"The key thing is that this night was about them," added Peterson. "The student-athletes were able to showcase their other talents as well, but overall, this was all for Team Davis."

Previous versions of Aggie Idol raised more than $3,800 for Heifer International (2007), Special Olympics Northern California (2008) and Invisible Children (2009). The SAAC is a leadership group comprising representatives from all 23 of UC Davis' intercollegiate teams.

For more information on Team Davis, visit http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/go/olympics/