Wednesday September 26, 2001

It's time for someone to stand up for the little guy on this campus.

Well, what better person to stand up for the little guy than a slightly overweight, 5-foot-8 columnist for the Wildcat?

Even if I do hit that expected growth spurt this month, I will always campaign for those who are often overlooked.

At our campus, there are the two big sports - football and basketball. They overshadow almost all of the other sports on campus, and for good reason. The basketball and football teams make enough money for the school to give increased budgets to the sports that aren't as marketable.

But some of the best athletes in this fall season aren't going to be playing in front of a crowd in Arizona Stadium or a packed house at McKale Center.

Don't get me wrong - Jason Johnson's astronomical 150 quarterback rating is something you don't see too often from any quarterback, not to mention a UA signal-caller, and Clarence Farmer chugging along at nearly 5 yards per carry isn't something to shake a stick at.

But now it's time to shed a little light on the other UA athletes who dominate their sports.

Lorena Ochoa - never heard of her? She's a women's golf sophomore sensation from Guadalajara, Mexico who blew away the competition last year en route to a NCAA Player of the Year award. In her final nine tournaments, she didn't finish out of the top three. That is bordering on Tiger Woods-like domination over her competitors.

The rest of the women's golf team isn't that bad either - with a pre-season No. 4 ranking, they're worth paying attention to this fall.

Switching to the men's side of the golf world, we find an equally talented team and an equally talented superstar in the making.

Ricky Barnes, a junior from Stockton, Calif., is also the top-ranked collegiate golfer in the country. Statistically, he is also the best golfer that this program has ever produced. His 71.05 career stroke average is currently the all-time best for a Wildcat golfer.

Like the women's squad, the rest of the team has some talented guys that you might see in a Sunday playoff one day. Hopefully, they'll be playing against Phil Mickelson, because you know he would choke.

Lisa Rutledge and the entire women's volleyball team might have the strongest case for you to go and check them out. So far, the No. 3 ranked Wildcat women have a perfect season going, and seem to get better every week. They're on the road this weekend to take on two formidable opponents in USC and UCLA, but make sure to go to at least one match this year.

Rutledge is leading the way with 4.52 kills a game, which is almost on par with the top player in the country, Logan Tom - the only collegiate player to play for the U.S. National Team. Rutledge will be keeping some pretty good company if she can continue to hang with the likes of Tom.

So on Saturday night, while jingling your keys and hoping the football team stays undefeated, think about all this campus has to offer an avid sports fan.

Now, I'm not advocating getting wasted and hitting up the golf course to prove to Barnes that you're a fan. But remember these other athletes put as much time as anyone else on this campus, and deserve student support and recognition.

Go to a volleyball game, follow the golf teams, and show some love to all of the sports here on campus.

We all should be glad we go to school with a superior athletic program, because it could be worse.

We could all be going to Rutgers and cheering on a Scarlet Knights team that lost its last two football games by a combined score of 110-0.

That's not so good.