Jenny Gladding Former UA pitcher

Gladding to transfer, leave UA with no returning pitchers
By Dan Komyati
Arizona Daily Wildcat

UA sophomore pitcher Jenny Gladding has decided to transfer to a school closer to her home of Palm City, Fla., according to the Tucson Citizen.

That plus the graduation of two-time national player of the year Jennie Finch leaves the softball team without a returning pitcher with game experience. Gladding and Finch made up the Wildcats entire pitching staff last season.

It will be the first time in head coach Mike Candreaās 18-year tenure at UA that he has not had a returning pitcher at the start of a season.

The shocking decision comes after two very successful seasons in red and blue for Gladding. She compiled a 35-8 record in the circle for the Wildcats, including a 14-2 freshman campaign in which she owned a 0.92 ERA. This past season Gladding combined with Finch to pitch Arizona to a national championship game loss against California. She finished the year 21-6 with a 1.89 ERA. In her two years she struck out 358 batters in 262 innings.

Gladding also was a solid contributor at the plate over the last two seasons. Primarily used as the teamās designated player when not pitching, she hit 11 home runs for the nationās most powerful offense. That total was two more than in her freshman season when she hit .357.

Gladding was unavailable for comment.

The sudden departure has left the Wildcats with returning starters at every position except pitcher. Redshirt freshman Marissa Marzan would appear to step into the No.1 slot on the pitching depth chart while Candrea will have to rely heavily on the arms of his incoming freshmen class.

Alicia Hollowell of Fairfield (Calif.) High and Leslie Wolfe from Desert Mountain High in Scottsdale are the primary candidates to carry Candreaās youngest staff in nearly two decades.

Hollowell struck out 2,329 batters in 1,078 innings during four dominant years of high school softball.

Ex-Wildcat charged with conspiracy to distribute
Associated Press

Former Arizona Wildcat and New York Giant football player Brandon Sanders was charged Friday with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana in California, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and North Carolina.

A San Diego gang task force arrested the 28-year-old football player and 14 others Friday as part of a three-year investigation of a suspected drug trafficking operation.

Several of those arrested were documented gang members known as ćOGsä or Original Gangsters, who have proven to be violent, said FBI spokesman John Iannarelli.

During simultaneous raids Friday, about 150 law enforcement officers from federal, state and local agencies served 13 search warrants and seized seven vehicles and two dozen weapons, Iannarelli said. Arrests were made in California, Nevada, Minnesota, Michigan and Arizona, where Sanders was taken into custody.

Sanders, spent the 1997 and 1998 seasons with the Giants and also played last year for the XFLās Las Vegas Outlaws.

UA golf has new home
Staff and wire reports

The UA menās and womenās golf teams have a new course to call home ÷ Arizona National Country Club at Sabino Springs.

The course, which was formerly named The Raven Golf Club at Sabino Springs, was recently purchased by the I.R.I. Golf Group.

As part of the new Arizona National facility, I.R.I. Golf Group has committed to a multi-million dollar capital improvement program, including a clubhouse renovation, practice facility and a Wildcat Hall of Honor.

ćThis is a great day for Wildcat golf,ä Arizona director of athletics Jim Livengood said.

ćThe ability to call this beautiful facility home will benefit our golf programs for years to come.ä

The course is located in the foothills of Tucsonās Santa Catalina Mountains and was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.

ćIām really pleased with this agreement,ä said Arizona director of golf Rick LaRose.

ćItās going to be a great deal for us. This is going to give us one of the finest golf facilities in the country.ä

New cross country coach hired
Staff and wire reports

Replacing longtime UA cross country head coach Dave Murray is not an easy task, but it looks like Arizona has found the guy ÷ James Li.

Li, 40, has been the head coach at Washington State since 1998.

He has previous coaching experience at the Sichuan Sports Technique Institute, where he was a Provincial Team coach from 1983 to 1985, and joined the WSU staff in 1985 as a graduate assistant coach. He was head track and field coach at Mankato State from 1990-94. He rejoined the Cougar staff in 1994 as a track and field assistant, and was named head cross country coach in 1998.

Li, a native of the Peopleās Republic of China, was a middle distance runner during his youth and collegiate days at the Beijing Institute of Physical Education, from which he graduated in 1981. He won the collegiate 800 meters title in 1979, was ranked seventh in China in 1980 and ninth in 1982.

He coached nine Cougars to All-America and or Pacific-10 Conference championships.

ćWeāre very excited to have someone of James Liās caliber come to Arizona,ä said UA director of track of field Fred Harvey. ćJamesā philosophy of developing speed and power in distance runners matches my own emphasis in distance training. His abilities as a coach will honor the accomplishments that Dave Murray brought to the programs.ä

Li was born in Chengdu, Sichuan, and naturalized as an American citizen in May 1998.

He and his wife, Jean, have two sons, Allen, 12, and Anthony, 10.