Raycraft Wins WWPA Honors As Aggies Jump To No. 6 Nationally

Junior attacker shot 8-for-11 with four steals in wins against Santa Clara, Indiana last weekend

Junior Christi Raycraft shot 8-for-11 in wins against two Top-20 teams last weekend, helping the Aggies move up to No. 6 in the national coaches' poll.
 
Junior Christi Raycraft shot 8-for-11 in wins against two Top-20 teams last weekend, helping the Aggies move up to No. 6 in the national coaches' poll.
  

March 14, 2007

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis junior attacker Christi Raycraft was selected as Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week for March 5-11, it was announced Wednesday -- the same day the Aggies moved up one spot to No. 6 in the National Collegiate Top 20.

Raycraft, a hometown favorite who starred as a prep at Davis Senior High, scored four goals and two steals in each of two UC Davis wins against Top-20 opponents. Her four goals led the Aggies in a 12-7 win over 17th-ranked Santa Clara last Saturday. One day later, Raycraft matched that total to lead her team in a 14-7 win against No. 20 Indiana. She shot 8-for-11 for the weekend and drew a kickout and a five-meter exclusion in the two-game set.

Raycraft is the second UC Davis player to win WWPA Player of the Week honors, following Katherine O'Rourke's award two weeks before.

The No. 6 ranking is the highest for the Aggie program during the seven years that the NCAA has sponsored a women's water polo championship. The last time UC Davis held such a spot in the national poll was in 2000, when the 22-17 Aggies were No. 6 in the final postseason chart.

This season, UC Davis is off to its best start in varsity history, winning 15 of its first 19 games. Furthermore, the Aggies are 8-0 against WWPA members.

The Aggies, idle for the university's week of final examinations, returns to action for a home game with Maryland on March 23. UC Davis will then square off with Loyola Marymount a day later to begin a three-game, four-day road trip.

National Collegiate Women's Top 20 Poll

  March 14, 2007 Poll (Week 8)
  
Rank
School
3-7 Poll
Points
1
 Stanford University
1
100
2
 University of California, Los Angeles
2
95
3
 University of Southern California
3
90
4
 University of California, Berkeley
4
85
5
 University of California, Irvine
5
78
6
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS
7
70
7
 San Diego State University
8
69
8
 University of Hawaii
5
68
9
 San Jose State University
9
64
10
 Arizona State University
10
55
11
 Loyola Marymount University
11
51
12
 University of California, Santa Barbara
12
45
13
 Hartwick College
12
35
14
 Santa Clara University
17
33
15
 Long Beach State University
14
31
16
 University of California, San Diego
15
28
17
 University of Michigan
16
23
18
 Princeton University
18
15
19
 California State University, Northridge
NR
7
20
 California State University, Bakersfield
19
4
RV
 Indiana University
20
2
RV
 Brown University
RV
2