Davis, Calif. - A select UC Davis group as well as club and open swimmers from around the area descended on Schaal Aquatic Center on Saturday morning as the Aggies opened 2020 on a cool and overcast morning.
The Aggie Open serves as the final "live" tune up for the Aggies as well as a chance for local swimmers to compete at Schaal. It's also an opportunity for UC Davis athletes to swim events outside their normal program before the dual meet portion of the schedule begins.
As such, the day saw entries such as top Aggie sprinter
Jamie Pincin and top distance swimmer
Olivia Smith in the 100 Breast, for example. There were still familiar faces in many events though with top IMer
Kyla Leacox winning the 100 IM and distance standout
Kathryn Bockman the 500 Free ahead of teammate
Maggie Malloy. Smith also stepped down from her usual distance swims to win the 200 Free.
Swimming her first 1000 Free of the season,
Anna Lee took a nine-second win over teammate
Allison Hodge in the final event of the day.
The loudest cheers of the day came nearly three quarters of the way through the meet when the pool deck erupted to cheer on members of the UC Davis Strength and Conditioning staff in the 50 Free.
The Aggies will now jump headlong into dual meets with two conference opponents on deck before the regular season concludes. The team will travel to San Jose State on Jan. 17 and return to Schaal on Jan. 18 to face UC Santa Barbara.
Full results from the Aggie Open can be found be clicking
here or following the link on the UC Davis Swimming and Diving schedule page at ucdavisaggies.com.
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
MARYA WELCH INITIATIVE
Named after the former physical education instructor, coach and Dean of Women who founded women's sports on the campus 25 years before the passage of Title IX, the Marya Welch Initiative for Women's Athletics provides comprehensive support for UC Davis' 16 athletics programs.
Through the support of the Marya Welch Initiative and its group members, student-athletes are provided the best possible opportunity to succeed inside the classroom, and in competition, through special project gifts and by increasing visibility and participation at women's events throughout the year.
All gifts to the Marya Welch Initiative are matched 1:1, doubling the impact on our women's programs.
To learn more about projects the Marya Welch Initiative is currently funding, like the Marya Welch Initiative on Facebook. Join this groundbreaking program by clicking here, contacting Assistant AD for Leadership Giving and Alumni Engagement Liz Martin at (530) 752-7326 or emartin@ucdavis.edu.
