Swimmers beat ASU on senior day
The seniors of the Arizona swimming and diving teams said goodbye to Hillenbrand Aquatic Center Saturday with their teammates on the pool deck and their families in the stands.
Before the Wildcats defeated the No. 21 ASU men 178-95 and the No. 23 women 174-114, the seniors were honored in a traditional ceremony.
“”To be a senior in this program, it means you put forth a whole lot of work the last four years, and I really respect that in my seniors, for their dedication,”” UA head coach Frank Busch said.
Senior Kathryn Elofson said she was surprised at how emotional the entire situation was.
“”I didn’t expect to be emotional, and on the way to the pool today, it really hit me that this is my last meet here, and I was fighting back tears pretty much all day,”” she said. “”It’s kind of a weird feeling to be in a meet and being sad at the same time.””
Elofson and the rest of the No. 4 Wildcat women (8-2, 4-2 Pacific 10 Conference) won 11 out of 16 events against ASU (4-5, 1-5), with junior Lacey Nymeyer winning two individual events, the 100- and 200-yard freestyles.
On the men’s side, the No. 5 Wildcats (6-3, 3-2) also won 11 events, including both relays, against the Devils (2-7, 0-4).
Senior Adam Ritter won two individual events, the 100y backstroke and freestyle as did sophomore Nicolas Nilo who won the 50y and 200y freestyle.
Busch said even though the meet “”wasn’t pretty,”” he was still pleased with the performances he saw from his team.
In the diving well
In her last meet at Arizona, senior Megan MacDonald was victorious in the 3m springboard, while junior Holly Kast finished third in the 1m event.
For the men, junior Matt Bisordi took second in both springboard events.
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Melissa Krueger
Men’s shot put continues to shine
Shot put continued to be a strong point for the Arizona men’s track and field team Saturday in the Mountain “”T”” Invitational in Flagstaff.
All three UA athletes who competed in the event provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships March 9-10.
Senior Shawn Best topped his personal best for the second consecutive week, placing fifth with a throw of 18.75 meters.
“”For me to (set my personal record) and not feel good is exciting because I can’t wait to see what happens when I do feel good,”” said Best, who said he didn’t feel “”in the rhythm”” due to lack of practice time.
The shot put team could only practice Friday because of the recent rain in Tucson, Best said.
Seniors Adam Kuehl and Jarred Sola also provisionally qualified, throwing 18.02m and 17.99m, respectively.
In the pole vault, an under-the-weather Nick Mossberg surprised himself, tying his season best with a 5.20m vault for a third-place finish.
“”I had a bad cold and cough all week. I felt real weak,”” said Mossberg, a junior. “”I had to compete though. I can always feel sick later.””
He provisionally qualified for the Indoor Championships, missing his personal record by 0.01m.
For the women’s team, junior Jeanine Dancy recorded a personal-best time of 8.90 seconds in the 60m hurdles. Sophomore Gabriella Duclos placed third in the high jump, clearing 3.95m.
– Justin Adler
Gymcats come back to beat Minnesota
Despite some late struggles , the No. 14 Arizona gymnastics team came back in style in the final floor rotation Friday, defeating No. 23 Minnesota 195.400-195.125 in McKale Center.
Senior Aubrey Kelly (9.875) and junior Karin Wurm tied for first on floor, and freshman Miranda Russell (9.850) tied junior Danielle Hicks for third.
“”The shining moment was to come back on floor and actually 100 percent look like ourselves,”” said Arizona head coach Bill Ryden. “”I told the girls, ‘This is where we’re going to win the meet. If you want this meet … you have to show up right now.’ And they did.””
Arizona (3-1) started on vault, where sophomore Bree Workman (9.850) took first place. Senior Jamie Holton and freshman Brittney Morgan tied for second with 9.800s.
On the uneven bars, junior Karin Wurm put up a 9.900 to take first place. Senior Aubrey Kelly, who competed in three events Friday after an old ankle injury kept her out of every event but bars Jan. 26, posted a 9.850 to take second in a tie with Angela Walker of Minnesota (0-4).
Arizona struggled most on beam. Wurm, who went second in the lineup, made several balance checks and posted a low 9.350, which she attributed to a “”mind blip.””
The team was forced to count Wurm’s score after Holton temporarily dislocated her shoulder on an acrobatic series and fell off the beam, resulting in a 9.050 that was dropped from the final score.
Wurm also took the all-around title with a 38.875.
The team made some undeniable mistakes, but the scoring was also stiffer than normal, Kelly said.
“”The judging was really tight, and I thought we deserved a little bit higher score,”” she said. “”But the fact that we can get a 195 with tight judging like that just shows the potential we have to score.””
– Nina Conrad
Icecats drop two to ASU, tourney hopes slim
No. 20 Arizona men’s club hockey team is watching its postseason hopes fade as the losses continue to pile on in the spring semester.
The Icecats (13-11-1) fell to No. 17 ASU (13-12-3) with an overtime 2-1 loss Saturday and a 4-3 defeat Friday.
“”I felt it was some of the best hockey we played all season,”” said sophomore goaltender Nick Boddy. “”They just were able to capitalize on our mistakes with goals.””
The Icecats are 3-5 since winter break and are currently on a four-game losing streak.
ASU took advantage of a subpar second period for the Icecats Friday with two goals, and Arizona never recovered, scoring only one goal in the third.
Only the top 16 teams in the American Collegiate Hockey Association national rankings will get into the National Tournament March 28-Feb. 4 in Youngstown, Ohio.
“”Our only chance (for Nationals) is to sweep (No. 5) Oklahoma (next weekend) and hope some votes swing our way,”” Boddy said. “”We’re going to go all out and try to make it.””
– Savir Punia
Tough weekend for women’s tennis
Losing is always tough, but losing the way the No. 49 Arizona women’s tennis team did Saturday can be demoralizing.
The Wildcats (1-3) suffered a 4-3 loss to No. 23 Fresno State (2-1) but what may have hurt the most was knowing it could have been prevented.
While juniors Juliette Mavroleon and Camelia Todorova were beginning their third sets at the No. 2 and No. 6 singles spots, respectively, freshman Natalia Toporowska was struggling to close out her final set against Fresno State’s Vanessa Heroux.
After leading 5-2 at one point in the third, Toporowska found herself down 6-5. From there she couldn’t recover, and Heroux went on to win 7-5 to give the Bulldogs the decisive fourth point.
“”We should not have lost,”” UA head coach Vicky Maes said. “”When it came down to the big points, our girls got really tentative and didn’t execute, and that’s what cost us the match.””
Men’s tennis loses two in New Mexico
Before this weekend’s matches, junior Jason Labrosse said he was worried about his stamina due to his inactivity over the past several months because of a back injury.
Against No. 63 Nebraska (2-2) Saturday, the worst of his fears came true, as his endurance failed him, leading to Arizona’s 4-3 loss for Arizona.
The No. 61 Wildcats (1-3) lost both matches in Albuquerque, N.M., also falling to No. 73 New Mexico (3-1) 6-1 yesterday.
The Wildcats took two of three doubles matches against the Cornhuskers to claim the match’s first point.
Then, after Arizona lost three of the five singles matches, it came down to Labrosse’s match at the No. 5 spot. After splitting sets, both in tiebreakers, Labrosse’s endurance ran out, and he dropped the decisive third set 6-0.
“”He’s just not quite tennis fit,”” said UA head coach Tom Lloyd. “”He’s definitely gotten stronger and healthier in the weight room. But when you get out on the tennis court, it’s a totally different ball game.””
Arizona couldn’t recover against the Lobos, suffering a 6-1 loss. The only win came from No. 86 Claudio Christen at the No. 1 singles position.
