Wildcat On-Line: Athlete of the Year

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It is time for the Arizona Daily Wildcat readers to make decisions on top UA sports personel of the year. Make sure to vote in your choice for Coach of the year to sports@wildcat.arizona.edu. The choices for UA Coach of the year are: Joan Bonvicini, Women's Basketball; Frank Busch, Swimming and Diving; Mike Candrea, Softball; Rick LaRose, Men's Golf; Todd McCorkle, Women's Golf; Lute Olson, Men's Basketball; and David Rubio, Volleyball. Voting is not available online. The polls will stay open until Monday, May 1 and the results will be announced the following Tuesday.

Male (Pick one)
Alex Aybar	Tennis
Playing the entire year at the No.1 position, Alex Aybar has led the team on and off the court. On April 15, Aybar scored his most impressive year of the season, defeating Stanford's Alex Pim, who was ranked third in the country. The junior, who is ranked 89th in the country, has also used his playing experience to cultivate the new comers on the team, as he teams up with freshamn Tom Lloyd to form a succesful doubles team as well.

Ricky Barnes	Golf
Although only a freshman, Ricky Barnes has already won two tournaments for the UA this season - the Louisiana Classic and the PING/Arizona Intercolliegiate. Barnes, who is the No.22 golfer in the nation, owns the lowest stroke average(71.56) for the Wildcats. Barnes was even recognized for his accomplishments in an issue of Sports Illustrated. He has four top-10 finishes to go along with his two tournament titles. Barnes has also been a key factor in the consistent improvement of the No. 10 Wildcats.

Ben Diggins	Baseball
Ben Diggins won his first eight decisions this season leading the Wildcats to a win against top-ranked Stanford. Following the victory the Prescott native was named the nation's top collegiate prospect by Baseball America Diggins, a sophomore, has platooned as the team's designated hitter on days in which he does not pitch, hitting .379 with eight home runs and 32 RBI. His .650 is also second on the team. Predicted by most to be a first round pick in the upcoming amateur draft, Diggins will likely forego his junior season to enter the Amateur Draft.

Jeff Dutoit	Track
Dutoit, a senior captain for this year's track team, has been a consistant competitor that competed in his fourth NCAA Championships this past indoor season, garnering his third All-American honor in the pole vault. He currently ranks seventh in the NCAA in pole vaulting, positioning himself to make his fifth trip to the NCAA Championships.

Micheil Jones	Golf
Jones stepped up this this year and became Arizona's top runner as well as one of the best runners in the nation. Jones captured individual titles at the first three races this season. He finished second at the Pac-10 Championships and was third at the NCAA West Regional. In the 10,000-meter race, his time of 30:39 ranks him No.9 in UA history.

Ryk Neethling	Swimming and Diving
Neethling dominated the Pac-10 as he captured his fourth straight 1,650 meter freestyle title and his third straight title in the 500m. Besides dominating the Pac-10, he also was successful at the NCAA Championships as he captured two national titles in the 200 and 400 meter freestyle in the U.S. Open record times. All of his success led him to his fourth straight Pac-10 Swimmer of the Year award, which is only the second time an athlete has won that award four years in a row.

Dennis Northcutt	Football
The senior from Los Angeles set 12 individual school records in 1999, while claiming the title of UA's all-time leading receiver in yards (3,252), receptions (223) and all-purpose yards (5,392). He was named a consensus All-American at the all-purpose position. Dennis Northcutt was also a finalist for the Mosi Tatupu Award, given to the nation's top special teams player. Northcutt also set season records for receptions (88), receiving yards (1,422) and all-purpose yards (2,249). He had eight receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, and his average gain per play was 16.8 yards, an NCAA record. He led the nation with an 18.96-yard punt return average, while taking back two punts for touchdowns.

Loren Woods	Basketball
Loren Woods sat out the the 1998-99 season after transferring from Wake Forest, but made an immediate impact in his first season at Arizona. Woods tied an NCAA record with 14 blocks against Oregon and was named All-Pac 10 first team, the Pac-10's Newcomer ofthe Year and the Basketball News West Region Player of the Year.

Female (Pick one)

Beth Botsford Swimming and Diving

Botsford was a major factor in Arizona's first ever Pacific 10 Conference title. She had an unbelievable season as she captured a Pac-10 title in the 200 meter backstroke and finished fourth in the 100 backstroke. She improved on her conference championship performance with a national title in the 200 backstroke with an American record time of 2:06.70. She also placed third in the 100 backstroke. All of her individual success led to her being awarded the Pac-10 1999-00 Women's Swimming Newcomer of the Year.

Tatum Brown Basketball

In her first full season at UA, Brown was the team's second leading scorer (12.4 points per game) and leading rebounder (7.7 per game), helping guide Arizona to a 25-7 record, the best in school history. She was also the Pac-10 leader in field goal percentage (59.7) and in double-doubles (9). Brown was awarded MVP of the Seelbach Classic and the Insight.com Bowl Classic. She was also named Pac-10 Player of the Week on Dec. 6 and earned a spot on the first team All-Pac-10 squad. Brown also set a school record for single game field goal percentage (91.7) against Colorado State.

Dana Burkholder Volleyball

There aren't very many UA records that Dana Burkholder doesn't own. The fiery sophomore, considered by many to be the best setter in the nation, was named to the All-District 8 and All-Pacific 10 Conference teams in just her second year at Arizona. Despite missing the team's first seven games while competing for the U.S. Junior National Team, Burkholder managed to set a UA single-season record for assists while leading the Wildcats to a Sweet 16 appearance.

Tara Chaplin Cross Country

Chaplin was the Wildcats No. 1 runner all season. She won the first title of her career at the Asics-UCI Invitational and won her second title the following week at the Aztec Invitational . She was the top finisher for Arizona at the NCAA West Regional, finishing 12th overall in the 5,000-meters. Chaplin qualified for the NCAA Championships where she finished 33rd overall.

Jenna Daniels Golf

This All-American senior is clearly the No. 1 women's golfer in the nation this season. Daniels has won two tournaments this season - the Golf World Invitational and the PING/ASU Invitational -and has two second place finishes to add her list of achievements. Daniels has finished in the top 10 in all eight tournaments she has participated in, along with being named Golf World Magazine's Player of the Week for the week of April 10. Her stroke average of 71.29 is the lowest on the team this season for the Wildcats.

Jennie Finch Softball

In only her second year, Finch has done double duty for the Wildcats, as she has been dominating in the circle and at the plate for the second-ranked UA softball team. Her numbers are staggering as she is 21-2 when pitching with a 0.74 ERA and 160 strikeouts in 142 innings of work. Finch is also the team's leading power source as she has a team-high 14 homers to go along with a team leading .726 slugging percentage. She is also second on the team in batting average (.370) and RBI (45).

Brianna Glenn Track and Field

Glenn set five UA records this past year - indoor 55-meter, indoor 60m, indoor 200m, indoor long jump and outdoor 100m. She would have had two more records in the outdoor 100m and 200m if the wind hadn't been more than the legal limit. Glenn was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Female Athlete of the Year, along with being awarded Pacific-10 Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week after her performance at the Texas Relays. She has two NCAA Indoor All-American honors this year in the 60m and long jump.

Michelle Gough Tennis

Gough has been ranked nationally in both singles and doubles play throughout the year. With partner sophomore Lindsay Blau, the duo reached the finals of the Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Championship in Houston. Always in the top-20 in the national poll, the duo was ranked third on March 15, the pair's highest ranking of the year. In singles play, Gough has dipped in and out of the national rankings, getting as high as 59. With her veteran experience in years and tournaments, Gough has never played lower in the singles lineup than the No. 3 position

Randi Lilijenquist Gymnastics

Randi Liljenquist received second-team All-America honors in the all-around at the NCAA Championships last weekend. She tied for 13th on the beam (9.775) and floor (9.825), finished tied for 26th on the bars (9.725) and the vault (9.75), and also placed 18th overall in the all-around. Liljenquist, who is a two-time All Pac-10 selection, has earned Arizona's top individual scores of the year on the bars (9.925), the beam (9.925) and the floor (10). Her all-around score of 39.525 ties the No. 2 high score in school history.

Chrissy Sanford Soccer

In only her first year with the UA program, Sanford put together the best individual season by any player in the program's history. Sanford tied the UA record for goals in a season (11) and tied for third in assists in a season with five. She ranks third all-time in goals scored and total points (27), and sixth in assists. Sanford was one of the few members of the Arizona soccer team to give an all out effort every time she stepped on the field, as her leadership and hustle were invaluable to the team

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