Jeff Lund sports editor

It was a good weekend for Arizona athletics, especially given the majority of its competition resides at Arizona State in Tempe.

The Wildcats held a perfect 4-0 record against the Sun Devils, with both tennis squads posting impressive wins over ASU and the top ranked UA softball team roasting the Devils at Hillenbrand.

Forget the fact that the attendance at these events was painfully small (other than at the softball games); it is these sports that are carrying the ASU-UA rivalry.

Rivalries are defined by competitive games, longevity, and of course, bad blood.

Since the first football game between UA and the Tempe Normal School (changed to Arizona State University in 1958), the two schools have jockeyed for bragging rights in all aspects of sport.

Over the years, however, as both football programs failed to stay at elite levels, and the Wildcat basketball team used the Sun Devils as a biannual doormat, the rivalry has seemingly fizzled a bit öö or has it?

It is no secret that the easiest way to look at a good rivalry is by games worthy of ESPN Classic, hyped by heated meetings, in front of a lot of fans with a lot on the line.

As mentioned before, however, the prime time matchups have not supplied enough fuel to the duel in the desert.

The beating heart of the ASU-UA bad blood exists at the smaller attended events such as tennis, swimming and diving, as well as softball and volleyball.

To these teams, ASU is definitely a feel good win, or a frustrating loss each time out. Though it might not carry the hype of a basketball or football game, all UA fans should experience as much of the UA-ASU rivalry as possible.

Women Wildcats rule the school

What else can be said about Lovie Jung and Alicia Hollowell? They continually find new ways to amaze fans and sports writers while posing a near unbeatable tandem for even the nation's best softball teams.

These two are the latest in an incredible string of performances by Arizona female athletes that started with the emergence of Arizona soccer thanks to redshirt freshman Kelly Nelson, who tallied a record 13 goals on the season, including five in one game.

Her play rubbed off on her teammates as the team took giant strides and landed well within the realm of respectability.

Kim Glass was the next to wow the campus with her incredible hitting ability on the volleyball court.

She herself added her name to the record books with season records in kills and kills per game. Oh and guess what, she is a freshman too.

While on the topic of freshmen, did any team, men's or women's, rely on an underclassman as much as the women's basketball team?

To say that Shawntinice Polk was up to the challenge of leading Joan Bonvicini's squad is a gross understatement. Polk played well beyond her years and had to have made her way into dozens of nightmares for centers and power forwards in the Pac-10 and on the UA schedule.

Sophomore Emily Mason swam herself into record books at the NCAA Championships as well.

But its not just the young Wildcats having all the fun; junior Amy Linnen, when healthy, is the top pole vaulter in the country öö though teammate Connie Jerz is defying gravity at a phenomenal rate as well. Along with Jung, seniors Tara Chaplin (cross country) and graduate student Emilie Scribot (tennis) have proven to be some of the nation's best in their respective sports.

While people say it might be a man's world, something should be said about the women's way of doing things in the athletics department.