Farewell, Davis

Sadly, this will be my last post with The Davis Enterprise.

On Thursday, I was informed that the sports editor position was eliminated for budgetary reasons and my services were no longer needed. How can a newspaper survive without a sports editor? Well, you'll have to ask The Enterprise about that one.

Despite the way things ended, I enjoyed my four years in Davis. It was quite a culture change from conservative, rural Marysville (where I worked last) but I adapted eventually.

I will miss the relationships I formed with several individuals, both at UC Davis and Davis High School. It was always a pleasure coordinating our football preview cover with Aggie coach Bob Biggs. No matter how strange the cover sounded originally, he always humored us.

I will miss talking with Davis High coaches like Paul Ochs, Bill Gregg, Dan Gazzaniga and Leigh Whitmire as well. They always seemed to make my job easier and I was floored by the dedication to their sports.

It was a challenge adapting to UC Davis' transition to Division I, but I think our sports writers did an incredible job. We've tried to expand coverage of sports like men's soccer and baseball in the past two years as those programs gained national attention.

My fondest memory reporting on a game came in June when the baseball team played the Cardinal at the Stanford regional. I can still feel the noise from the big Davis crowd as it hung on every Eddie Gamboa pitch in the ninth inning.

As for me, I will bounce back. Maybe I will see Lane Kiffin on the unemployment line.

Thanks for the memories, Davis.

UC Davis page starts Wednesday

Our UC Davis page will begin again this week. Look for it every Wednesday.

This week, we'll focus on UC Davis volleyball's fast start. The Aggies led nationally ranked Long Beach State 2-0 on Saturday before falling in the final three games.

UCD's new coach Jamie Holmes' team is 8-7 overall, a marked improvement for a program that went 4-24 the last two seasons. Senior Renee Ibekwe is pictured in a match against Sacramento State.

Every week the page will focus on Aggie programs like soccer, volleyball, water polo and cross country, which sometimes get overshadowed by UCD football and basketball.

The page will feature standings, statistics and a look at upcoming games.

More Aggies

Beginning Wednesday, the Enterprise will feature a UC Davis page devoted to those sports you may not hear as much about. The page will feature a notebook, standings, statistics and things to watch out for in the Big West Conference.

For example, the UCD men's water polo team is 14-5 overall and 11-0 in the Western Water Polo Association. Are the playoffs on the horizon for the Aggies? Men's and women's soccer and volleyball will also be featured.

Make sure to check it out.

Make it official

The Big West Conference welcomed UC Davis today as a full-fledged member on its Web site. As a staff it will be a relief to not have to use phrases like "if the Aggies were an official member of the conference" anymore.

The Aggies' first official Division I competition is Aug. 24 when the volleyball team travels to Northern Arizona's Hilton Garden Inn Invitational. Volleyball will play UCD's first Big West match as well when it hosts Pacific at The Pavilion on Sept. 19.

Men's and women's soccer start their first Division I seasons in August as well. The women are at Kent State and the men at Xavier on Aug. 31. The women's first conference game is Sept. 23 when they host Cal State Fullerton and the men host UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 29.