Mike Candrea notches another career milestone

Arizona softball head coach Mike Candrea moved to second on the NCAA softball career win list when the Wildcats defeated Stanford 6-1 on Saturday.

The win pushed Candrea ahead of former California State University, Fresno, coach Maggie Wright. Entering Sunday, Candrea—in his 31st year of coaching—stands five wins short of Michigan’s Carol Hutchins on the all-time wins list.

Candrea cemented his legacy as one of the greatest coaches in the sport in 2004, when he led the U.S. to a gold medal at the Athens Olympics. Candrea has also led Arizona softball to eight national championships, the most recent being in 2007.

UA Men’s tennis coach steps down

Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne announced Friday men’s tennis coach Tad Berkowitz will leave the program at the conclusion of the season. Berkowitz coached the program for 12 seasons and was named the 2009 Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

“I want to thank Tad for all of his hard work with our men’s tennis program,” Byrne said. “We’ve enjoyed having him as a part of our staff and we wish him nothing but success in his new career path. Assistant coach Arron Spencer will lead the program until a new head coach is named. We plan to conduct a national search and I’m confident we will find an excellent head coach for our men’s tennis program.”

Berkowitz competed in tennis at Kentucky and later at New Mexico. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Alabama, followed by a stint at Texas A&M.

“I’ve absolutely loved working at the UA for the past 13 years, but I’ve decided to pursue other opportunities outside of coaching,” Berkowitz said.

Berkowitz joined the UA staff in 2004 as an assistant before becoming head coach in 2005. He led Arizona to an NCAA Tournament appearance in the 2008-2009 season.

“I want to thank my staff members and the student athletes I’ve had a chance to work with during my time as a coach,” Berkowitz said. “It’s been great being part of the Wildcat family. I’m looking forward to advancing professionally outside of coaching and I’m extremely excited for what the future holds.”

The men’s tennis team entered the last weekend of the regular season with an 8-16 record, including 10 consecutive defeats. The Wildcats will next compete in the Pac-12 Conference Championship, which begins Wednesday.

ESPN Insider to speak to UA students

ESPN college basketball insider and UA alumnus Jeff Goodman will participate in a Skype session Q&A with the UA Sports Journalism Club on Tuesday afternoon. Goodman will be joined by Brian Jeffries, the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

Goodman graduated from Arizona in 1994. He then covered basketball for a number of outlets, including Fox Sports and CBS Sports, before joining ESPN in 2013.

Goodman and Jeffries will share keys to their successes in the sports journalism field. The Q&A will take place at 5:45 p.m. in the Marshall building, room 301.

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