DAVIS, Calif — The UC Santa Barbara Women's Water Polo team (1-11) begins Big West play this weekend, taking on No. 18 UC Davis (7-9) on Saturday at the Schaal Aquatics Center in Davis.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos have had two weeks to prepare for their conference opener after rounding out non-conference action at the ASU Invitational, Feb. 7 and 8. Santa Barbara opened that tournament against then-No. 10 Fresno State and then-No. 19 San Diego State. Cami Mras led the Gauchos offensively, scoring a team-high four goals across both games. Lainey Weintre also had three goals on the day — two against the Bulldogs and one against the Aztecs — while rookie goalkeeper Lydia Soderberg made seven saves and added four steals versus San Diego State.
 
On the second day, the Gauchos faced then-No. 20 Pacific, where freshman Gigi Rimlinger put up a hat trick after she scored her first career goal just the day earlier. Loretta Hovey also joined the action, tallying a hat trick against hosting then-No. 6 Arizona State, while Eliza Harlow also put two past the Sun Devils in the final game of the weekend.
 
Though the Gauchos had an 0-4 weekend, the young roster will look to utilize their early growth and offensive highlights from non-conference challenges to prepare for their first Big West match of the season.
 
Santa Barbara last saw Davis in a golden-goal overtime thriller last season, falling just short, 12-11, in the final minutes. Although several key contributors have moved on, the now assistant coach Imani Clemons delivered a career-high five goals against the Aggies last season — a performance that could offer valuable expertise in this upcoming match.
 
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
UC Davis is coming off a 2-2 weekend at the Midwest Invite last weekend, showcasing strong performances with record-setting scoring and narrow losses. Sadie Henry started off the weekend against McKendree with a five-goal scoring run, followed by Sofia Bozzo's four and both HanaLora Abel's and Lillie Vehling's three to contribute to the 29-3 victory scoreline. The Aggies then fell short to Michigan 14-13 despite a hat trick from Giana Nocetti and two more from Liberty Massman, splitting the first doubleheader of the tournament.
 
The next day, Davis fell one goal short again to No. 10 Indiana,13-12, led by hat tricks from Henry and Chelsea Johnson. The Aggies rounded out the weekend with a 21-4 victory over Mercyhurst, with Nina Albers earning a career-high five goals to finish out the tournament.
 
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
The Gauchos and Aggies will hit the water at 12 noon from Schaal Aquatics center in Davis on Saturday. Fans can also follow along from anywhere by watching with live stats at ucsbgauchos.com/WWPLiveStats.