Controversial call in the end zone gives Wildcats 23-17 victory

Head coach John Mackovic said he expected to play a sixty-minute game Saturday.

And that's what he got.

Arizona was able to hold off a last-minute drive by Utah in a 23-17 win in Arizona Stadium and begin the 2002 season the same way it started its 2001 campaign: 2-0.

With only 28 seconds remaining and the Utes down by six, Utah junior quarterback Lance Rice threw a fourth-down swing pass from the UA goal line to senior running back J.R. Peroulis. UA junior safety Clay Hardt closed quickly and tackled Peroulis for a two-yard loss to preserve the Arizona victory. [Read article]

For three quarters Saturday night, it appeared head coach John Mackovic's dream had arrived.

The passing game looked as prepared as it's ever been, with quarterback Jason Johnson playing what Mackovic referred to yesterday as "perfect football" ÷ making good throws to his receivers Bobby Wade and Andrae Thurman, who always seemed to have five yards between them and the closest defender.

Running back Clarence Farmer, while not quite spectacular, was eating up yards and time on the ground. By halftime, he had rushed for 61 yards ÷ more than double his total against NAU. [Read article]

Sometimes the better team is going to win, as the UA women's soccer team learned this weekend in Oklahoma, falling 2-0 to the undefeated Sooners.

"I'm not disappointed, we lost to a better team," UA head coach Cathy Klein said. "I am excited about the potential I saw in us."

The Wildcats (3-1-1) are still off to their best start ever and the Sooners add to their perfect mark (6-0-0).

The teams played to a stalemate in the first half with Oklahoma out-shooting Arizona 8-5, although UA had more shots-on-goal, 3-2. [Read article]

What a difference a week makes for the Arizona women's volleyball team.

Last weekend, the Wildcats struggled and lost two out of three matches.

However, last year's Final Four participant was back to form over the weekend.

The 15th-ranked Wildcats (5-3) finished their non-conference schedule on a high note by winning the Nike Pacific Invitational by defeating St. Mary's, British Columbia, and Pacific. [Read article]

The UA cross country team competed in the Aztec Invitational this past weekend, and though it was the first taste of Division I competition for many of the Wildcats, both teams gained valuable experience in a solid first meet.

The Wildcats sent 10 freshmen, out of their 17 runners, to compete in San Diego. The men were able to finish second and the women finished sixth.

"We did pretty well," said head coach James Li, who was hired as UA's new coach over the summer. "Going in there with how young we are, I'm pretty happy with how we performed." [Read article]

In his first tournament since winning the U.S. Amateur Championship, senior Ricky Barnes finished third in the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate.

The UA men's golf team shot a final round 299 (+11) and could not make up ground on the leaders Saturday in posting a third-place finish.

The No. 4 Wildcats finished the 54-hole event with a team total of 874 (+10) to finish in third place. Tournament host New Mexico won the event with an even-par 864, five strokes ahead of UNLV. [Read article]

Q: Name the starting lineup of the 1990-91 UA basketball team that featured the missing Bison Dele (Brian Williams)

A: Guards: Matt Othick and Matt Muehlebach. Forwards: Chris Mills and Brian Williams. Center: Sean Rooks.