Tournament Central

DAVIS, Calif. - Both the UC Davis men's and women's basketball teams will look to extend their seasons into some "March Madness" when they open play in the Big West Tournament this week in Southern California.

The Aggie women (13-15, 8-8), who enter as the fifth seed, will play a first-round game against eighth-seeded UC Irvine on Tuesday evening at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Gym at 6 p.m. A victory will send UC Davis into a quarterfinal matchup - also at Titan Gym - on Thursday against fourth-seeded Long Beach State at 8:30 p.m. The semifinals and championship will be held at Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday and Saturday.

The UC Davis men (24-5, 14-2) are enjoying their finest season at the NCAA Div. I level and will enter the Big West Tournament as the top seed for the first time. They'll open in the quarterfinals against eighth-seeded Cal State Northridge on Thursday at noon. Like the women's bracket, the semis are scheduled for Friday at Honda Center with the championship, which will broadcast on ESPNU, is Saturday evening.

The Aggies captured the Big West regular-season title last Thursday with a come-from-behind 61-59 win over UC Riverside and then capped a perfect 14-0 home season with a resounding 80-61 win over UC Irvine on Saturday. By winning the regular-season championship, the UC Davis men are guaranteed a berth in the NIT if they do not advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Both Aggie teams' successes were recognized on Monday with the announcement of the Big West postseason awards. The men were led by standout senior Corey Hawkins who was named the league's MVP as well as to the All-Big West first team while senior Josh Ritchart was selected to the second team. Newcomer Josh Fox was named honorable mention while also earning the conference's Best Sixth Player award.

Fourth-year head coach Jim Les added another honor by being named the Big West Coach of the Year.

Senior Sydnee Fipps led the All-Big West honors for the UC Davis women, earning first-team accolades. Junior Alyson Doherty was a second-team pick and freshman Dani Nafekh was voted to the All-Freshman team.

UC Davis' official athletics website, www.ucdavisaggies.com, will have complete coverage of all the Aggies' action at the Big West Tournament. The Aggie women's games will be broadcast on KDVS (90.3 FM) while the men's will be aired on KSAC (105.5 FM).