Tennis restarts postponed match against Sun Devils

One month ago to the day, the Arizona women's tennis team took on in-state rival Arizona State at home. The Wildcats were just a few games away from pulling the upset when the match was suddenly halted due to rain.

At the time, UA was ranked No. 24 while ASU was No. 8. The upset could have propelled the Wildcats into the top 20 and given them some much-needed momentum heading into the thick of their conference schedule.

Since the loss, though, UA has lost three straight and they have plummeted to No. 42 in the latest rankings.

Today at 1 p.m. at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center, the Wildcats will have a chance to prove that their performance a month ago was more then just a fluke.

If the match had been scheduled to resume within 48 hours, the match would have picked up where it left off.

However, No. 7 Arizona St. was unable to come back to Tucson within the two-day time period and the match was officially postponed.

Men's golf takes first at Oregon Duck Invitational

A steady rain could not keep the University of Arizona men's golf team from winning its third tournament this spring, as the Wildcats rallied to capture a share of the Oregon Duck Invitational yesterday.

Rain began falling midway through the final round and turned into a steady downpour during the tournament's final four holes, but that didn't stop Arizona from erasing a four-stroke deficit heading into the final 18 holes.

UA posted the lowest round of the day, a two-under-par 286, to claim tournament honors with an 858 (-6) total. Arizona shared first place with second-round leader Washington at 858. Bad weather canceled a possible playoff.

The win marked Arizona's third win this spring. It marks the first time since 1992-93 that the Wildcats have won as many as three tournaments in the same season.

Team leaders Ricky Barnes and Chris Nallen both earned top-six finishes with sub-par final rounds yesterday. Barnes carded a three-under 69 to finish in third place at 208 (-8). It was Barnes' fifth top-10 finish this season and the 22nd of his career. His eight-under-par tournament total equaled a season low. He finished one stroke behind individual medallists John Ellis of Oregon and Brock Mackenzie of Washington, who posted 207 (-9) totals.

Nallen, who was six under par over the final 36 holes, tallied a final-round 71 (-1) and finished in sixth place at 212 (-4). It was the sixth top-10 finish for Nallen in 10 events this season. Twelve of Nallen's last 13 rounds have been at par or better.

Two other Wildcat golfers also finished in the top 30 places, as seniors Brian Woolf and Reid Hatley finished tied for 23rd and 28th, respectively. Woolf shot a final-round 73 to finish at 220 (+4), while Hatley shot a 76 to finish at 221 (+5). The final member of the UA lineup, Andrew Medley, finished tied for 39th place at 223 (+7).

The sixth-ranked Wildcats will next be in action March 30 ÷ April 1 at the 2003 National Invitational Tournament at Tucson National Golf Course in Tucson.

Gardner adds all-region award to career resume

Senior Jason Gardner was a Basketball Times all-region selection, the publication announced yesterday. It was Gardner's third all-district selection this season.

Gardner, who earned similar honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the United States Basketball Writers Association, was named to the Basketball Times' All-Rockies team, one of seven regional teams throughout the nation. He is joined on the squad by Marcus Banks of UNLV, Ike Diogu of Arizona State, James Moore of New Mexico State and Uche Nsonwu-Amadi of Wyoming.

The highest-scoring guard in Arizona history, Gardner, a 5-foot-10, 191-pound senior from Indianapolis is averaging 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists through 30 games this season. He averages a team-best 34.8 minutes per game, shoots 36.8 percent from the field, including 32.6 percent from 3-point range.

Gardner has scored in double figures in 22 of 30 games and has passed out at least five assists in a game 16 times in 2002-03. He is the only Arizona player to register at least one double-figure point, rebound and assist game this season. Gardner was named All-Pacific-10 Conference for the third time in his career on March 10. He is the school-record holder for career games (134) and minutes (4,751) played.

Heptathlete in second at Wildcat combine events

Wildcat heptathlete, Amanda Underwood, competed in the first four of seven events today at Roy P. Drachman Stadium. She is currently in second place at the Mike Maynard Wildcat Combine Events meet.

In the first event of the day, Underwood finished second place in the 100 meter hurdles with a new personal best time of 15.59. Dailey was first, while Yost finished third. In the high hump competition, Underwood earned another personal best with a leap of 4 feet 11.75 inches (1.52m) to finish second again behind Dailey.

In the second half of today's action, Underwood won the shot put with a throw of 38 feet 6 inches (11.73m). Dailey finished second, followed by Yost in third. The last event of the day was the 200 meter. Underwood placed second in a time of 26.86. Yost was the winner in 26.73 seconds, and Dailey finished third at 27.40.

After the first day, Underwood sits in second place with 2,776 points. The heptathlon will conclude today at Roy P. Drachman Stadium, with events scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.