DAVIS, Calif. – Sophomore center
Noelle Wijnbelt and sophomore utility
Alyssa Lengtat each performed hat tricks as No. 10 UC Davis split a Saturday women's water polo doubleheader with No. 8(t) UC San Diego at Schaal Aquatics Center. The Aggies lost the pivotal Big West Conference matchup by an 11-7 final, defeated the Tritons, 11-8, in a non-league pairing in the nightcap.
UC Davis moves to 11-8 for the season, and evens its Big West record to 2-2. UCSD is now 8-4 overall and remains unbeaten in Big West play at 3-0.
Lengtat finished with five goals for the day, netting a natural and power-play goal down the stretch of the noon opener, then pouring in three goals in the 4 p.m. contest. Wijnbelt had all three of her hat-trick goals in the first half of the conference tilt, then added a goal in the opening minutes of the late game.
UC Davis fell into a 7-2 hole during the first 12 minutes of Game 1, with Wijnbelt's third bringing the score to 7-3 at halftime. UCSD extended its lead to 9-3 after back-to-back Grace Pevehouse goals, first on a five-meter penalty then another on even strength. The Aggies had 10 6-on-5 chances in that contest, but converted only two: one by
Allyson Clague midway through the third, and the other by Lengtat in less than three minutes remaining. In contrast, the Tritons scored four of their 11 goals from the five-meter penalty stripe.
The Aggies never trailed in the nightcap, opening to a 2-0 lead on Lengtat and Wijnbelt goals before the Tritons equalized on goals by Annika Arroyo and Sydney Boland within a span of 31 seconds during the opening period.
The key frame for UC Davis in Game 2 was the third: Lengtat, Calgure,
Ashley Salem,
Allyson Clague and
Grace Pelkey each scored to help pull a 5-4 halftime edge to a commanding 10-5 lead entering the fourth. Goalkeeper
Nellie McAdams also totaled four of her eight saves in the third quarter.
Saturday's UC Davis-UCSD matchup was a rescheduling of a game originally slated for eight days earlier. The Tritons moved around their home schedule to make the trip to Davis, and bolstered their conference championship – a tournament announced earlier in the week to be held at their own Canyonview Aquatic Center for April 30-May 2.
The Aggies take a break from Big West play to host Fresno State for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 17; then will resume conference action with games at Hawai'i the following weekend.
The Tritons now hold first place in the Big West standings, with the Aggies in a virtual tie with Hawai'i (1-1), UC Irvine (1-1) and UC Santa Barbara (1-1). UCSB further muddled the playoff picture by canceling the remainder of its season, while UC Davis scored a key conference win over UC Irvine earlier this year.
ABOUT UC DAVIS:
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country.
Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO system helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.
