BERKELEY, Calif. – Head Coach Kandace Waldthaler earned her first win at the helm of UC Davis women's water polo with the Aggies' 12-8 victory over No. 14 San Jose State. After a brilliant come-from-behind performance, UC Davis picked up its first win of the 2023 season.

In the second match of the day, No. 4 Cal delivered a solid showing as the hosts of the tournament, downing UC Davis 14-7 to conclude the Cal Cup.

Grace Pelkey shined with four total goals on the day, scoring twice in each match. Tess Fundter was instrumental to the team's win over San Jose State with a couple clutch goals down the stretch as part of her hat trick.

Alyssa Lengtat racked up three goals and an assist while goalkeeper Sophia Noble was strong between the posts with 12 saves in each match.

UC Davis 12, San Jose State 8
Lengtat scored on the power play to open the scoring before finding the back of the cage less than a minute later to put the Aggies out in front. San Jose State immediately replied with three consecutive goals to take its first lead, but UC Davis answered back with four straight scores from Kelly Hungerford, Noëlle Wijnbelt, and Pelkey (2).

The Aggies held a one-goal advantage at the break and kept the momentum alive in the second half by notching three unanswered goals, including a double from Fundter, to open up a four-goal lead.

Wijnbelt scored early in the fourth quarter before goals from Fundter and Madison Sparre finally put the game to bed and UC Davis would record the 12-8 victory, its first of the year.

Cal 14, UC Davis 7
Cal proved to be strong inside its home facility and quickly raced to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter.

Ally Clague ended the scoring drought early in the second period and Pelkey followed with a power-play goal. Wijnbelt scored to make it a three-goal deficit, but the Golden Bears scored three-times in the period to retain their four-goal lead.

Cal out-scored UC Davis 4-1 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. The Aggies showed fight in the final period, with Pelkey and Lengtet scoring to conclude their excellent tournaments and Sarah Ellis-Keeler notching her first career goal, making it a day to remember for the freshman.

Up Next
UC Davis heads to San Diego, Calif. on Feb. 3 to compete in the Triton Invite. The Aggies' first match will take place at 4 p.m. against hosts UC San Diego