COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The UC Davis men's water polo team easily dispatched both their opponents to complete day one of the Rare Air Invitational on Saturday.
The No. 5 Aggies defeated the University of Redlands 29-7 in the first game of the day and followed up the victory with a 22-9 result over 2022 Division III runner-up Cal Lutheran.
UC Davis got out to a hot start early in their first game and never looked back, taking a 8-0 lead into the second period, and finishing the half up 16-3.
Tyler Mrkaich and Aaron Voggenthaler lead the way for the Aggies in the opening game, combining for 8 goals and 3 assists. Will Stryker, Andrew Hitchcock and Leo Giessmann all chipped in hat tricks.
UC Davis and Cal Lutheran traded the first two goals of the game, but that was as close as things got. The Aggies quickly pulled away and entered halftime with a seven goal cushion.
Goalie Aaron Wilson finished the game with five saves and Logan Anderson, Aleix Aznar Beltran and Tyler Mrkaich all recorded hat tricks.
"It's exciting to start the season and play against someone other than ourselves," Coach Dan Leyson said after the game. "I think we performed well at times, but still have a lot of work to do."
The Aggies have two more games tomorrow, a 7:30 am tilt against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and a 1:30 showdown against tournament hosts, Air Force, before returning back to California.
