Tim Plough earned his first career win at the helm of the UC Davis football team at its home opener against Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday (Sept. 7) as the Aggies prevailed against the Lions, 36-22.

Also on display were twists on familiar attractions, like Cori the kickoff tee-retrieving dog being helped by a student athlete and a student making her debut in the role of Maggie the Aggie. 

Connections abound

Cori, the Labrador retriever owned by Lisa Tell ’87, DVM ’91, a professor of medicine and epidemiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine, is scheduled to retrieve kickoff tees at every regular season home game this year. In her season debut, she got help from Jason Hanson, a history major and baseball player. Cori has also retrieved bats at baseball games.

“Jason did a fantastic job at the game,” Tell said. “He was a real natural and she was super comfortable with him since she knows him well.”

Tell said she appreciates that Cori is growing even more connected to campus sports, with familiar student-athletes like baseball players and returning kicker Angelo Genetti.

Cori will take the field again at the Sept. 21 football game against Utah Tech. Kickoff for that game, which carries a back to school theme, is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Another Aggie who made a splash at last week’s game was Maggie the Aggie, the student in Western regalia who leads the team out — on horseback — before home games. This year, junior communications major and equestrian team member Nicole Shroyer will take over in the role.

Kendal Scheiner, who served as Maggie the Aggie last season, has graduated but is still spending time on campus as the equestrian team’s reining coach.

“I’ve always watched Kendal do it and it always looked so cool,” Shroyer said, adding that she was especially excited for the community aspect of the role, as Maggie the Aggie and her horse pose for photos with fans on the concourse of UC Davis Health Stadium. 

Shroyer and Scheiner knew each other before coming to UC Davis — the two grew up on the same street in Novato and attended the same high school a few years apart, Shroyer said.

She praised the work of her horse, a 12-year-old Quarter Horse named Red, in their debut.

“My horse was not scared of anything and did great,” Shroyer said. “It felt great to ride out on the field.”

UC Davis Athletics contributed to this report.