Golf teams finish 13th and 17th at NCAA Championships
The No. 14 Arizona men’s golf team and the No. 20 women’s golf team finished 13th and 17th, respectively, at the 2006 NCAA Championships.
Junior Josh Esler led the men’s squad by placing 48th in the tournament after shooting a 6-over-par 248 for the tournament in Suniver, Ore., that finished in June. The team completed the event with a 16-over-par score, good for a combined 1,168.
Esler had the best day for the Wildcats when he had a round of 2-under 70.
Juniors Henry Liaw and Brian Prouty and sophomore Travis Esway all tied for 50th place overall with their scores of 7-over 295. Freshman Ben Fox tied for 66th place with a score of 10-over-par for the tournament.
Three women’s golfers made their NCAA Championships debuts at the event in Colombus, Ohio, in May.
A top-10 finish was in sight after the first round, but the Wildcats struggled in the second, posting a 19-over-par for the day. The team never bounced back from its poor performance and finished the tournament with a score of 64-over-par.
The event marked the end of the collegiate career of senior Cassandra Kirkland, who had a total four-round score of 299, good for an 11-over-par score that tied for 29th place.
Freshmen Sommer Scholl and Adriana Zwanck both finished tied for 43rd place, posting a 14-over-par 302 for the tournament. Fellow freshman Amanda Wilson tied for 116th place with a 35-over-par 323 and junior Rachel Gavin finished in 124th place with a 42-over-par 330.
Matalonga’s run ends in the round of 16, team loses in first round
Senior Roger Matalonga advanced to the round of 16 of the NCAA Singles Championships May 24-26 in Palo Alto, Calif., and beat the No. 2 seed to earn All-American honors.
However, No. 43 Arizona (12-10) lost No. 23 Colorado 4-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament May 13 in Los Angeles.
The No. 38 women’s team (13-12) ended its season May 14 in Palo Alto, after it was swept 4-0 by No. 1 Stanford in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats upset No. 28 Brigham Young 4-1 the day before.
Freshman captain Danielle Steinberg ended her season May 24 in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championships on the same court her team lost on.
Laxcats advance to second round
The No. 8-seeded Arizona lacrosse team lost in the second round of the National Tournament that took place May 10-14 in Dallas.
After beating No. 9 seed Oregon 6-5 in the first round behind two goals from junior midfielder Harrison Crawford and two assists from senior midfielder Brian Etheredge, the Laxcats lost to No. 1 seed and eventual champion Colorado State 11-7 despite two assists from senior midfielder Steve Luna.
In a consolation game, Arizona throttled No. 6 seed Florida State 19-10 as Crawford’s six-goal performance ended the year on a high note.
