The lady Wildcats stood tall this week and proved that they are some of the best athletes in the country. One Wildcat who stood out was track and field thrower Kaelyn Shipley, who broke a University of Arizona record in her event over the weekend.
The team that easily walked away with the honors this week was the Arizona beach volleyball team. The SandCats dominated all four of their opponents in two different invitations in two states. That is as tough as it gets.
Daily Wildcat Player of the Week: Kaelyn Shipley
Shipley is a redshirt sophomore from Kalama, Washington, but her name will be solidified in the Arizona record books. On Friday, April 17, Shipley traveled with the rest of the throwers to the West Coast Classic in Eugene, Oregon. Shipley is a javelin thrower and threw the javelin a staggering 51.02 meters at the classic.
Not only was that good enough to win her event, but Shipley also broke the school record held by former Wildcat Julie DeMarni. DeMarni must have been very good because that record stood for 19 years before Shipley crushed it.
Daily Wildcat Team of the Week: Arizona beach volleyball
No team on campus has a better win record than the No. 9 Arizona beach volleyball team. Whether this team plays home or away, day or night, the SandCats cannot be stopped. They have a regular-season record of 20-4, a win percentage of .833 and they have won nine out of their last 10 matches.
Their most recent victories came on Friday, April 16, and Sunday, April 18. On Friday, they took on Utah and Boise State at the Boise State Invitational. You could have tied one arm behind the back of every SandCat and it still would not have mattered. They crushed both teams by a combined match score of 9-1.
RELATED: No. 9 Arizona beach volleyball team crushes opponents at Washington Invitational
After only one day of rest and a plane ride later, the SandCats touched down in Seattle, Washington to face No. 15 Hawaii and Washington at the University of Washington Invitational. Once again, they bulldozed their opponents and swept their second straight invitational by a combined match score of 8-2.
Over the course of both invitationals, three SandCat pairs went undefeated. Blocker Carly Lowry and defender Natalie Anselmo outscored their opponents 185-153. Blocker Mady Noble and defender Dana Parker finished all their matches in two sets and outscored their opponents 171-100. Defenders Hope Shannon and Olivia Hallaran outscored their opponents 140-105. Split blocker Abby Russell was Shannon’s partner against Utah and they outscored their opponents 42-28 in a quick two-set sweep.
With the Pac-12 championships in Los Angeles approaching soon, the SandCats have proven that they are a team to be reckoned with in the Pac-12 and the NCAA.
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