The UC Davis women return three starters and seven letterwinners, including junior forward Sydnee Fipps who was one of six players selected to the Big West Preseason All-Conference team. Fipps, a repeat Preseason All-Conference selection, averaged a team-high 17.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, her 17.1 points per game ranked second in league. The Aggies prepare for a tough non-conference schedule that includes a home opener versus USC and road trips to Stanford and Connecticut.
On the men’s side of things, Davis looks to maintain the momentum from the 2012-2013 season after improving on its five victories in 2011-2012 to boasting a 14 game win total just last year. UCD’s Corey Hawkins, the Big West Conference’s Newcomer of the year in 2013, has received a slew of preseason attention from the media – Hawkins was named one of the top mid-major players in the country by ESPN college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman and CBSSports.com’s Garry Parrish listed Hawkins as one of the top 100 college basketball players in the nation. In addition, the junior guard earned a Preseason All-Conference nod by the Big West. Hawkins, along with seniors Ryan Sypkens, Tyler Les and Josh Ritchart, look to repeat the success from beyond the arc as the four accounted for 225 of the team's 257 made three-pointers last year. The Aggies are out to finish at the top of the conference.
IDIT ORYON
UC Davis returns its most potent three-point shooter in senior Idit Oryon who shot 37 percent from beyond the arc sinking 19 of 51 attempts. The forward was fifth on the team with a 75 percent success rate from the line and averaged 2.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. The Aggies will look to the veteran for leadership this season as Oryon looks forward to playing alongside her teammates that she describes as “champions”.
Q: As a senior, what advice would you give to an incoming player looking for their first minutes as a collegiate athlete?
A: First of all, it's an experience, so just enjoy taking everything in. Then, work hard. Your first year, you're going to have to pick up a lot of stuff, the game is much more physical. Take it all in. It goes by so fast.
Q: What has your offseason routine been like?
A: I've been putting in a lot of basketball work but, also, a lot of conditioning that is not necessarily related to basketball, like CrossFit, because I get so much basketball work in during the season. Mostly conditioning, taking a mental break because it is such a long season, and just having fun mixing it up with different workouts.
Q: If you had to describe your team in three words, what would they be?
A: Family. Relentless. Champions.
Q: What matchup are you most looking forward to this season and why?
A: Of course, we're really excited to play UConn at their place and Stanford, but I'm really excited for our home opener against USC (Nov. 8). We played really well against them last year (a 78-69 win) and I really would like to beat them at home this year. It would be our first official game as a team and I can't wait to start playing.
Q: What can we expect to see from you and your team this season?
A: I feel like this year I have a lot more experience. We've been working so hard together in practice. Fans should see a fast-paced, energetic, brand of basketball, good outside shooting, and some great post play. Great balance inside and out. Great defense. I want fans to leave thinking that we left it all out there, we played for each other, and we played hard the entire game.
RYAN SYPKENS
While draining 106 three-pointers last season, senior Ryan Sypkens ranked eighth in the Big West record book with his single-season total. Sypkens enters his final season just 17 career threes shy of 237 to break into the Big West top 10. With his efforts last year, the guard earned an All-Big West Honorable Mention selection while setting four school records from beyond the arc: most field goals made in a season (106), career (220), attempts in a single season (230) and career (521). While taking every outing one game at a time, in his final year as an Aggie the senior wants to leave everything on the court.
Q: After suffering an injury in what would have been the start of your junior season, what did it take to get back to the court? How did your team help you through that challenge? What motivated you to wear that jersey again?
A: The rehabilitation process was one of the biggest challenges I have faced at UC Davis. I worked hard every single day, and did whatever was asked of me because I wanted to return to the court. Not being able to play was tougher than I expected. When I returned, I thought I played pretty well. Being stuck on the sidelines was definitely the most difficult part of the entire process.
My teammates were really supportive and wanted to help me out as much as they could. Corey drove me from place to place since it was tough carrying everything on crutches. I do not know what I would have done without him. Obviously, I could not bike around campus like I do now, that was a huge help.
Basketball is my love, during some of the more challenging moments of my junior year, I just focused on whatever exercise I performed to help me return to the court. Being away from the game made me even more hungry to return; the team had a challenging season that year, even though I did everything I could to support my teammates, I wanted to help out even more.
Q: What will you be thinking about when you step onto that court for the first time this season?
A: I take everything one game at a time, one play at a time. I want to play hard, leave the court at the end with zero regrets. There are a lot of things that I cannot control, which is why I try to focus, as much as possible, on the things that I can.
Q: How have you and your team prepared for the 2013 season?
A: I think the entire team has done a great job working hard, and helping the new players learn the system. I can definitely see a difference in the way everyone is performing now, compared to our first few practices as a team. We are trying new things, and learning new things, but everyone is responding well. We are all learning from one another's mistakes, and have done a great job to not repeat those errors. I am excited to see how this team performs this season.
Q: What are you most looking forward to this season?
A: I always like playing at Long Beach, especially since my sister attends school there. She always wears Davis gear, knows a lot of guys on the team and will represent the Aggies when we visit the Walter Pyramid.
Since this is my last season, I am looking forward to every single game and want to make the most of my experience with this team.
Q: How will your team surprise people this season?
A: I think we are going to surprise a lot of people; I know that a lot of individuals think the loss of J.T. Adenrele is going to severely affect our season. I think he is one of the best post players in the conference, and we are going to miss his presence. As a team, we are all ready to step up in his absence and make a strong run towards a title. I think people are going to be surprised to see how we have handled this situation and improved as a team to continue our progression as a team. Defensively, I think people are going to be impressed to see how we play against teams that possess a size advantage against us. We have been working hard on boxing out and rebounding, everyone is focused on improving their performance on defense in practice. By doing this, we can compete against any team, regardless of their height, size or type of offense they run.