UCD roundup: Aggies come up just short in Idaho

MOSCOW, Idaho — A late run put the UC Davis men’s basketball team in position to tie it in the final second. But for the second time in four days, the Aggies were unable to get over the hump, losing 73-66 to Idaho on Saturday at the Cowan Spectrum.

A 14-3 spurt late in the second half pulled UCD (1-4) to within three points of the Vandals (2-4) with just 19 second left. But the Aggies couldn’t hit the game-tying basket and Idaho made a enough free throws to hold off the locals.

Sophomore guard Corey Hawkins led the Aggies with 20 points, including 6-of-8 from the charity strip, while junior Ryan Sypkens made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Ryan Howley finished with a team-high 10 rebounds, the third time this season the senior has recorded 10 or more boards in a game.

Stephen Madison led Idaho in scoring with 21 points, followed by Kyle Barone’s 12 and Connor Hill’s 11.

UCD shot 47.2  percent (25-of-53) from the field and made 8-of-28 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range. The Aggies also held the Vandals to 42 percent shooting from the floor, but Idaho made 5-of-12 treys and went 26-for-31 from the free-throw line.

The close loss came on the heels of an 84-83 defeat at the hands of Nevada on Wednesday. In that contest, Sypkens hit a late three to put the Aggies up by one, but the hosts scored the game-winning basket with 3.8 seconds left.

UCD now returns home to face San Jose State (3-3) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Fans that donate a new, unwrapped toy at The Pavilion ticket office can purchase general admission seats for just $5. All proceeds will be donated to Toys for Tots.

UCD swimming

Freshman Marissa Brown and sophomore Hilary Hunt broke school records in the 1,650-yard freestyle and 200 backstroke, respectively, on Saturday to cap a strong Aggie performance at the Mizzou Invitational Saturday.

With 575.5 points, UCD finished third of out of nine teams at the meet.

Brown posted a time of 16 minutes, 44.83 seconds in her debut 1,650 free race, shattering teammate Cara Silvas’ Aggie record of 16:55.96 from last year’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. Brown took third in the race with teammate Samantha Shellem in sixth after touching in 17:04.60, the fourth best time in school history. Sophomore Marilyn Carey also hit a personal record in the event at 17:14.68, moving her past Shannon Little into seventh in the UCD record book.

In the very next women’s race, Hunt became just the third Aggie to break the two-minute barrier in the 200 back. Her 1:58.99 surpassed the 2005 benchmark of 1:59.52 set by recent Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Yuka Kobayashi, and was an NCAA B qualifying time.

Hunt led a sizable UCD field in her race, with junior co-captain Sabrina Cochrane swimming a 2:04.31 (fourth in Aggie history), junior Karley Troup clocking a 2:05.32 in the prelims (seventh all-time) and Sam Rados and Sarah Luibel tying at 2:06.04 to share ninth place on the UCD top 10.

Junior Liliana Alvarez had the Aggies’ highest individual finish of the day, placing second in the 200 breaststroke at 2:13.23, while Audrey DeNeffe led the UCD divers in Saturday’s platform competition, scoring 183.00 to finish seventh. Her score now ranks second in the program’s young history in the event.

Alvarez (100 breast) and Shellem (200 free) also had big days on Friday, hitting NCAA B times in their respective events. Brown also had a notable performance, clocking a 4:23.84 in the 400 individual medley to tie her for second in the Aggie record book.

UCD now takes a break for the winter, resuming competition with a home dual against Pacific on Jan. 12.

UCD men’s tennis

Parker Kelley has signed a grant-in-aid form, while Alec Adamson and James Wade have each signed national letters of intent to join the Aggie program.

Kelley, a transfer from College of the Desert, will compete for UCD beginning in December. A four-time All-Bay League first team selection at Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach, Kelley played No. 1 singles for a College of the Desert squad that was the top-ranked junior college in the nation for most of the season. He also won the men’s community college doubles title at the 112th Annual Ojai Valley Tournament in April.

Adamson and Wade will join the Aggies in the fall of 2013.

From Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, Adamson played No. 1 singles during his junior season, helping the Sea Kings advance to their first CIF Southern Section championship since 2003. For his efforts, he was named to the All-Pacific League singles first team and the All-Orange County second team.

Wade closed out his junior season at San Marino High as the Pasadena Star News Player of the Year after a 42-5 record at the No. 1 singles position. He won the Rio Honda League singles title, advancing to the CIF-Southern Section championship where he reached the round of 16. His team voted him Most Valuable Player as well as team captain.

UCD resumes action on Jan. 19 at Santa Clara before hosting Sonoma State (Jan. 25) and Pacific (Jan. 26) in back-to-back contest at the Marya Welch Tennis Center.

UCD women’s tennis

Frederique Sleiffer, who ranked as high as No. 58 in the Belgian women’s ranking, has signed a national letter of intent to join the Aggie program in the fall of 2013.

Sleiffer is ranked in the top 10 of her age group in Belgium, and also earned a No. 906 junior world ranking by the International Tennis Federation.

“We are very excited and fortunate that Freddie has chosen UC Davis,” said coach Bill Maze, who begins his 18th year at the Aggie helm. “She is just the type of student-athlete we look for — bright, athletic and hard-working. We can’t wait until she joins us in the fall of 2013.”

The Netherlands native has been especially strong in doubles, advancing to the semifinals of the 2012 Belgrade Open with her partner Laura Correia of Luxembourg. Sleiffer advanced to the doubles semifinals of three other ITF events, winning the ITF/CAT North African Circuit in 2011 with her partner Jelena Dzinic of Serbia.