Sports briefs: Two Matts lead UCD golfers to ninth on first day

FAIRFIELD — Matt Seramin opened with a 69, then Matt Hansen followed with a second-round 67 as the UC Davis men’s golf team, ranked 33rd in the nation, was in ninth place after the first day of action at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational.

Host and top-ranked Cal sits atop the leaderboard with an impressive 35-under 533.

Hansen was tied for 17th at 3-under 139 after posting a five-stroke improvement between his first and second rounds. He opened with a 72 in Round 1, then came back with a season-low 67 to jump from 47th to 17th.

He was at 2-over through five holes, then settled with five straight pars. Then he birdied the par-5 15th hole, setting off a string of five birdies over his final seven holes. Hansen followed hole 15 with back-to-back birdies to get down to 1-under, parred the 18th, then birdied the next three straight holes to reach 4-under. He closed his second round with a par on the par-4 fourth hole.

Seramin was tied for 24th after a consistent day that started with a 2-under 69, a season low for the Aggie junior.

Also for UCD, Jonny Baxter finished the day in a tie for 32nd at 1-under 141 after posting a 71 and a 70, while DHS graduate Tyler Raber was tied for 38th at 1-over.

Mike Brockington (tied for 75th) rounded out the scorers for the Aggies, who were set to tee off Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.

UCD women’s soccer

Ashley Edwards scored for the Aggies in the third minute of the game, but visting UC Irvine was able to score late, forcing overtime, and the two teams finished their Big West match in a 1-1 tie on Sunday.

Zoya Farzaneh scored the equalizer for the Anteaters (8-8-1, 4-1-1) to help force the overtime periods. UCD (7-6-2, 2-2-1) and UC Irvine tied at Aggie Soccer Field for the second straight season.

“It’s a Sunday, that’s the challenge, dealing with the grind,” said Aggie coach Maryclaire Robinson, whose team lost a tough 1-0 game to No. 22 Long Beach State on Friday. “We made some adjustments and went at them early and I felt there were waves when we had our legs and there we were waves when we didn’t.”

UCD got the early momentum, wasting little time in getting the first goal of the match. Kirstin Holmberg played a nice ball along the right side that was scooped up by Lexi Poppoff along the right endline. Poppoff then found Edwards in the middle, who knocked it straight in from about eight yards away.

Both defenses then went to work, allowing few prime scoring chances. In all, the Anteaters outshot the Aggies, 12-10, with UCD goalie Taylor Jern posting six saves.

The Aggies will head on the road for two matches this weekend, traveling to face Big West newcomer Hawaii on Friday, then playing at Northridge on Sunday.

UCD field hockey

After holding defending national champion Maryland to a pair of goals in the first half, the visiting Aggies allowed the No. 6 Terrapins to score five more times in the second period to beat UCD, 7-0, in a nonconference game on Sunday.

Sarah Sprink led Maryland (11-3) with two goals, while five other players scored one each.

The game provided the Aggies (6-9), who are in just their fourth season since restarting their varsity program, a chance to measure themselves against one of the elite collegiate teams. UCD head coach Vianney Campos was pleased with that opportunity, and with how her team responded to the challenge.

“(Sunday’s) matchup against the defending national champs was such a valuable opportunity for our young program, ” she said. “I felt the team did a great job of executing the game plan and making Maryland have to earn every opportunity they got.

“Our first half of play was incredible; we had Maryland on their toes and we created some offensive opportunities that we just couldn’t capitalize on. All in all, I am proud of the players and their determination as they competed against the nation’s best.”

Goalie Conley Craven had seven saves for UCD, with Casey Wollbrinck, Cloey LemMon, Marissa Hughes and Emily Mecke each taking shots on goal.

The Aggies return to action on Saturday, hosting Stanford at 6 p.m.

Yolo Country amateur golf

Tyler Raber, a former Davis High golf star who now plays at UC Davis, took first place in the Championship Flight of last week’s Yolo County Amateur Championships, which were contested on the Davis Golf Course.

Raber’s 127 put him ahead of Chase Dossa — a current Blue Devil golfer — and Nick Amen, who both shot 130 to tie for second place.

Other division winners included Senior champion Gary Ramsden (133), and Ted Villanueva, who captured the First Flight with a 141. Alex Hamilton and James Morgan each shot 153′s to tie at the top of the Second Flight, while Kathy Roberts’ 160 was good enough to win the Third Flight.

Junior high volleyball

DHS will host a pair of Junior High Volleyball Nights when the Blue Devil varsity girls meet Franklin (Tuesday) and Monterey Trail (Oct. 25) in a couple of key Delta Valley Conference matches.

“It’s a really awesome (way for) teams to come together, sit together and make a whole team get-together out of it,” says DHS coach Julie Crawford says.

Game times are at 6 p.m. and matches will be played in The Cage (south gym).

Junior high players in uniform, and their coaches, will get in free.

Pee Wee basketball

The city of Davis is now taking registration for its Pee Wee Basketball Program, which is designed for first-time players in first and second grades.

Basketball fundamentals, teamwork, sportsmanship and fun will be emphasized at three sessions, all held on Saturdays at the DHS gym. The cost is $55 per child and includes a T-shirt.

The first session offered is Saturday through Nov. 3, from 10 a.m. to noon. Two sessions (10 am. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.) will run Nov. 10 through Dec. 8.

For more information, contact Lori Conrad at 530-753-7731 or lconrad@cityofdavis.org, or visit www.cityofdavis.org.