Sports briefs: Kobayakawa is the lone Aggie to get a victory at Stanford

STANFORD — For the second time this season, junior Melissa Kobayakawa picked up a win in an UC Davis women’s tennis match against a ranked team, but the Aggies dropped a 6-1 decision on Thursday at No. 5 Stanford.

UCD (1-4) faced its third straight nationally ranked opponent.

At No. 6 singles, Kobayakawa took on Cardinal senior Natalie Dillon and rallied from a 6-4 loss in the first set to claim the next two. She edged out Dillon on a tiebreaker in the second set, winning 7-6 (2), before claiming the third set 1-0 (8).

Stanford took a 1-0 lead, clinching the doubles point when Kristie Ahn and Nicole Gibbs beat Aggies Megan Heneghan and Layla Sanders, 8-6, in the No. 1 position.

Heneghan then faced Gibbs, the reigning NCAA singles and doubles champion, at No. 1 singles, and dropped a 6-3, 6-3 decision.

UCD hosts Santa Clara on Sunday at 11 a.m. in its home opener at the Marya Welch Tennis Center.

UCD swimming

For the third time this season, Aggie junior Samantha Shellem has been named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Athlete of the Week.

The award comes after Shellem’s performance in UCD’s double dual in Fresno on Jan. 26 helped the Aggies defeat host Fresno State, 195-105, and MPSF rival UC Santa Barbara, 180-120.

The victory over the Gauchos was the first for UCD (8-2) since 2006.

Shellem, a La Verne native, dominated the 500 freestyle with a winning time of 5:00.91, then went 1:51.62 in the 200 free, good for second overall and earning first-place points for the Aggies against Fresno State.

She added a second-place finish in the 200 back and also swam the opening leg on the first-place UCD’s 400 free relay team.

UCD football

When the Big Sky Conference announced its 2012 Fall All-Academic teams, seven Aggie football players were among the honorees.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must have participated in at least half of the team’s competitions, achieved a 3.2 cumulative grade point average in the most recent term and have completed at least one academic term at his or her institution.

The UCD players honored included senior OL Sean Davies (a political science/history major), junior DT Anthony Kaspar (food science), sophomore RB Dalton Turay (managerial economics) and sophomore TE Mark Martindale. Also on the academic squad were junior Colin Kelly, sophomore Jabari Howard and freshmen Kyle DeVaughn.

UCD softball

The Big West coaches picked No. 23 Hawaii to take first and the Aggies to finish fifth as the conference released its preseason  poll this week.

The Rainbow Wahine are returning to the Big West after spending the past 16 seasons in the WAC. They are followed the preseason rankings by defending champion Long Beach State, Pacific, UC Santa Barbara and UCD.

The Aggies went 14-7 in conference play last year and finished in third place after entering the final weekend in a four-way tie for first. UCD opens the 2013 campaign on Friday, Feb. 8 against Southern Miss at the Fresno State Kick-off.

Art of Athletes

Aggie athletes will show off their creative side at the fourth annual Art of Athletes exhibit, which runs Friday through Monday, in the Basement Gallery of the Art Building on Cushing Way.

Gallery hours are 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday. The artists will be on hand from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday.

Admission is free.

Youth soccer

The Davis Alliance Soccer Academy — which offers both competitive and recreational level teams — is holding tryouts for its fall season next month at the Woodland Senior & Community Center, 2001 East St.

Just three years old and growing fast, the Davis Alliance program has practices and games in both Davis and Woodland.

All of the tryouts will take place on Saturday and Sunday and players should try out for the age group they will be next fall, though playing up is an option. For tryout times by age group, visit www.davisalliance.org.

Registration cost is $125 per player, which includes practice/game lighting, with an additional cost of $75 plus tax for a club Adidas uniform kit.

No volunteer hour fees are required by parents, but the club is looking for parents who would like to join coaching staffs.

For more information, visit the website or send an email to davisalliance@sbcglobal.net.

Football and cheer clinic

The Davis Junior Blue Devils are inviting potential and returning football players and cheerleaders to attend a free clinic on Saturday at DHS’ Ron & Mary Brown Stadium.

The one-day camp, which is designed for kids ages 6 to 14, will run from 10 a.m. to noon, rain or shine. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and youngsters are encouraged to bring cleats or running shoes and something to drink.

For the football players, the clinic will emphasize basic fundamentals, skills and agility. The accompanying cheer clinic will teach basic skills.

Prizes will be awarded and athletes can have some fun with DHS coaches and players.