UC Davis-Pepperdine Game Cancelled

Aggies will face UC Santa Cruz on Sunday

Oct. 23, 2007

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THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 26 - PEPPERDINE, CANCELLED (see below)
Sunday, Oct. 28 - UC SANTA CRUZ, Noon

LAST WEEK
Friday, Oct. 19 - at UC San Diego (W[ot], 9-8)
Saturday, Oct. 20 - at Loyola Marymount (W, 7-5)
Sunday, Oct. 21 - at Long Beach State (W, 9-8)

NOTES
THIS WEEK: UC Davis was originally scheduled to face Pepperdine on Friday night as part of the campus's Homecoming Festivities... However, the Waves had their Sunday Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game with California postponed due to the recent fires in Malibu... As a result, Friday's UC Davis-Pepperdine game has been cancelled so that the Waves may fulfill their conference obligations with the Golden Bears.

The Aggies now only have a single game slated for the upcoming weekend, a Sunday afternoon matchup with UC Santa Cruz... The Banana Slugs, No. 6 in the national Division III poll, holds a 7-14 overall record and a 5-5 ledger in Western Water Polo Association play... They were last in action in a 12-8 loss at Santa Clara on October 14.

LAST WEEK: The Aggies enjoyed what is arguably their best weekend of the year, posting two more Western Water Polo Association wins plus a 9-8 upset over No. 6 Long Beach State... UC Davis has won four straight and 14 of the last 15... The lone loss in that stretch was against Cal, the defending NCAA champions... The wins over No. 7 Loyola Marymount and No. 6 Long Beach State could push the Aggies to their highest national ranking of the year... UC Davis was eighth in the Sept. 6 and Sept 13 polls.

MAKING HISTORY, PART ONE: After the most recent weekend, the Aggies have improved to 17-5 for the season... They need just three victories to become the first UC Davis team to post a 20-win season... The previous best of 19 was set in 2002 (19-12 in Steve Doten's second year) and in 1970 (19-9 for Jerry Hinsdale)... The Aggies have five regular-season games left on the 2007 slate, plus the WWPA Championships at Air Force.

MAKING HISTORY II: With a 12-0 record against WWPA members and two remaining conference games before the WWPA tournament, the Aggies have essentially clinched the best-ever conference record in Doten's seven-year tenure at the helm... The dozen league wins match that of the 2004 team (12-5)... The 2002 squad won more WWPA games (15) put had a lower winning percentage (15-5, .750)... The final conference games before the WWPA tourney is Sunday's tilt with UC Santa Cruz and a Nov. 4 appointment at Santa Clara.

HEAD COACH STEVE DOTEN:

"The difference with this team is the connection that these guys have with each other. There is something that they are willing to do for each other and for the team. For example, Adam Lindsay would like to be the starting hole set and play the whole game. But we have a three-headed monster of Adam, [Paul] Wilson and [Aaron] Salit. This weekend we started [Walter] Eggert and Salit. So Joe Smith, a fifth-year senior didn't start. No problem. You have to swallow some pride, but they've all grasped that concept and are okay with it. Whatever is best for the team, they are willing to do it."

"Our best stat in the national stats is our defense. I teach the team that a water polo score isn't supposed to be 15-14. You're supposed to be able to stop teams from scoring. Having worked with some of these guys for three or four years, they start to see those trends and theories. They really buy into certain aspects, especially the five-man defense. Keeping the other teams 6-on-5 down has been huge."

"Water polo is supposed to be close. At San Diego, we went to overtime. At Long Beach State, it was tied in the first quarter and a one-goal game at halftime. That's water polo. We were down by one goal against San Diego before Arrigo tied it and sent it to overtime. They just don't stop. They keep fighting and keep attacking. This team really sees and understands that that's the way this game is supposed to be played. We have very mature, experienced guys. I'm very proud of them and very impressed."