UA takes on Pac-10 leader No. 4 Stanford

Forgive head coach Andy Lopez if he doesn't seem too concerned about his team's surprising 4-0 loss to Division II Grand Canyon Tuesday night. He has more important things to worry about.

Like the three-game road series against Pacific-10 Conference leader Stanford that begins today at 6:30 p.m., for instance öö a series he said is the most important he's faced in his two years at Arizona baseball's helm. [Read article]

Walk inside Sancet Field on a weekday afternoon during practice, and you can sense a difference.

More players line up for early batting practice. Fielders hustle after balls. Catchers' mitts pop like a fusillade down in the bullpen.

This year, there's something new in the Arizona baseball team's late-season practices: hope. And it's not the preseason kind of hope, the kind that wafts in with the early spring to infuse optimism into teams that wind up with losing seasons. [Read article]

Top-ranked Wildcats look to keep current hot streak alive at Oregon and Oregon State

Just a day before the No. 1 Arizona softball team (42-4) was to take on in-state rival ASU on the Sun Devil's home field, junior catcher Mackenzie Vandergeest said that UA plays better on the road.

Vandergeest, in a four-RBI effort, proved her point as the Wildcats defeated ASU for the third straight time, 4-2. [Read article]

Season ends for Bisordi, Gymcats

The UA women's gymnastics team's season officially came to a close last night as sophomore Monica Bisordi fell short of advancing at the NCAA championships.

Bisordi, ranked No. 15 nationally, had a disappointing meet, finishing 17th in the all-around, 29th in the vault, 28th on the bars, 38th on the beam and 32nd on the floor.

Bisordi qualified for the meet on her own ÷ the Wildcats failed to qualify as a team ÷ and advanced to the finals by finishing in the top four in an event at the regional meet. [Read article]

The Wildcats concluded their 15-practice spring session, and though the team made great strides, they have a long way to go before the fall on both sides of the ball, head coach John Mackovic said.

Defense

On the defensive side, the team had many obstacles to overcome this spring. The Wildcats were installing a new scheme, along with welcoming a new defensive coordinator.

"Number one, we had to install our defense and arrange our personnel," Mackovic said. "The transition of that went smoothly." [Read article]

A rain-soaked Thursday dropped the sixth-ranked Wildcats to fourth place after the opening round of the Pac-10 Championships in Oregon.

The UA golfers battled a little of everything, from rain to wind to even a little hail during the front nine.

After all the putts were tapped in, Arizona finished with an 11-over par 299, good for seven shots out of the lead, which was held tightly by California after two Golden Bear golfers shot in the red figures. [Read article]

The UA track and field team will split its squad this weekend as the Wildcats head to California and Iowa.

Arizona will send its throwers to San Diego to compete in the UCSD Triton Invitational, while the remainder of the team will head to Des Moines, Iowa to participate in the 94th annual Drake Relays.

"We wanted to put them (the throwers) in a situation where it was going to be conducive for them to throw," head coach Fred Harvey said. "In Iowa, you're looking at possible rain, possible snow, which is not good throwing weather. They're going where there is great weather and great throwing situations." [Read article]