Matt Wall
Best Moment: ASU football victory
It just has to be when the cross country team defied all odds and… wait no, actually when ASU quarterback Mike Bercovici’s fourth down pass fell incomplete, and the
Wildcats won the Pac-12 South.
Worst Moment: USC football loss
The missed kick against USC to win it in the last seconds. The Wildcats probably had no business winning that game, but the fact they got Charlie-Browned made it all the more worse.
Biggest Star: Scooby Wright
Wright is likely an All-American and should bring home multiple awards, so he is the easy choice, but soccer midfielder Gabi Stoian deserves a lot of recognition.
Biggest Surprise: Football’s offensive struggles
The football team’s struggles on offense. In Rich Rodriguez’s third season at the helm, you would think the offense would carry the Wildcats, but it often struggled mightily against good competition and relied on the defense to pull out wins.
Brian Peel
Best Moment: Arizona football beating ASU
ZonaZoo rushing the field after Arizona football won both the Territorial Cup and Pac-12 South will serve as one of the signature moments of the year.
Worst Moment: USC football loss
Arizona’s perfect season slipped away as Casey Skowron missed a game-winning field goal versus the Trojans. Little did anyone know that Skowron would redeem himself a few weeks later with a game-winner against Washington.
Biggest Star: Scooby Wright
Who else could it be? Two-star Scoob took the college football world by storm with his tireless work ethic and almost single-handedly took down Heisman frontrunner
Marcus Mariota when the two faced off in Eugene, Ore.
Biggest Surprise: Gabi Stoian
The midfielder led UA soccer with 13 goals this season, tied for second-best in school history. Stoian and the Wildcats made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005.
Roberto Payne
Best Moment: The fall of ASU
Winning the Pac-12 South division and taking down ASU at the same time is just too good to pass up on for best moment.
Worst Moment: Volleyball loses early
This was the best UA volleyball team in nearly a decade with senior standout Madi Kingdon leading the way. It was tough to see the team lose in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Biggest Star: Scooby Wright
Scooby Dooby Doo! The player formally known as Phillip tore up the collegiate football landscape this year.
Biggest Surprise: Soccer makes NCAA tournament Head coach Tony Amato has done wonders in his short time at the helm of Arizona soccer. The Wildcats really made waves this season.
Ezra Amacher
Best Moment: ASU football victory
The best moment of the semester no doubt is when Arizona defeated ASU 42-35 in the Territorial Cup. The look on UA head coach Rich Rodriguez’s face when he realized the Wildcats were Pac-12 South Champs was priceless.
Worst Moment: Pac-12 Championship loss
The worst moment of the semester was when Arizona football lost to Oregon 51-13 in the Pac-12 Championship. It was just plain embarrassing for Arizona’s offense, especially at the quarterback position.
Biggest Star: Scooby Wright
At the beginning of the season, no one could have guessed that Scooby Wright would be one of the top defensive players in the Pac-12, let alone the country. He has already won the Nagurski award and is just a sophomore.
Biggest Surprise: Men’s basketball win over Gonzaga
Trailing for most of the game, No. 3 Arizona men’s basketball defeat of Gonzaga was the most surprising of the semester simply for the final two minutes of overtime. Who could have guessed that Gonzaga’s Byron Wesley would miss all three free throws?
Zoe Wolkowitz
Best Moment: Hail Mary
When Arizona football beat Cal 49-45 with a Hail Mary pass when time expired in the game. Anu Solomon passed it to Austin Hill, so the play is dubbed Hill Mary.
Worst Moment: Pac-12 Championship loss
Arizona football received a complete smack down from Oregon during the Pac-12 Championship title game. And even worse, after Solomon had such a great year, he performed awfully and was pulled at halftime.
Biggest Star: T.J. McConnell
McConnell is playing his second year of Wildcat basketball and is just so clutch. He is a pass-first point guard but usually puts up double digits on the scoreboard.
Biggest Surprise: Rondae dunking over a 7-foot-6 center
Hands down, the most surprising moment was when Rondae Hollis-Jefferson dunked over a 7-foot-6 UC Irvine center. I was lucky enough to see that in person, but anyone who watched that was probably just as speechless as I am.
James Kelley
Best Moment: Scooby Strip
At No. 2 Oregon, Arizona football linebacker Scooby Wright literally took the game away from Heisman favorite Marcus Mariota, silencing and shocking the Autzen Stadium crowd.
Worst Moment: Skowron’s costly miss
Arizona football kicker Casey Skowron’s last second missed kick against USC was brutal — not only for the loss, but because Skowron is universally liked.
Biggest Star: Stanley Johnson
Johnson is still developing and was a little more raw than Aaron Gordon, but he’s already the best player on the best team at the UA.
Biggest Surprise: Arizona football
In August, if you said you picked Arizona football to go to the VIZIO Fiesta Bowl and finish the regular season in the top 10, you’re a liar.
