Beard ties Breaststroke World Record at World Championships

Former Wildcat swimmer and current UA student Amanda Beard unexpectedly tied a world record last week in the 200-meter breaststroke at the World Championships in Barcelona.

Beard, a retail and consumer sciences junior, who, after swimming for the UA for two years, left the team to swim professionally, won the breaststroke with a time of 2:22.99. Beard trailed in the last 50 meters until pulling ahead and winning. UA swim coach Frank Busch, who still coaches Beard and accompanied her to Spain, called it the "perfect race."

"I thought I might get the American record tonight, but I never expected to see a world record," Beard said after the race. "If I had known I was that close, I would have gone a little faster! But tying a world record is great, too. I always said I wanted to break a world record before I retired, and tying doesn't count, so I guess I'll have to keep going."

Beard, who swam the breaststroke leg of the U.S. 400-meter medley team, and her teammates finished second to China in the relay. The Americans finished in 4:00.83, compared to China's 3:59.83, the second-fastest relay time ever.

Beard won four Olympic medals in 1996 and 2000, including a gold in the 400-meter medley relay in the Atlanta games. While at the UA, she won two NCAA national championships in the 200-meter breaststroke in two years.

Tickets Remain for Men's Hoops' All-Star Classic

Tickets are still available for the Lute Olson All-Star Classic, the highlight of the men's basketball team's centennial celebration.

Current and former professional basketball players like Steve Kerr and Sean Elliott will return for the game on Aug. 24, the day before the fall semester starts.

Tickets, which first went on sale to season ticket holders and then to the general public on Monday, range in price from $10 in the sections behind the baskets, to $35, though there are few of those remaining. The proceeds go to the Bobbi Olson Endowment for Ovarian Cancer research at the Arizona Cancer Center in addition to Arizona athletics.

The McKale Center ticket office is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. ÷ 4:30 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased online at arizonaathletics.com or by calling 621-CATS or 1-800-452-CATS.

Polk Scores in Double Digits for Team USA against South Korea

Sophomore Arizona women's basketball center Shawntinice Polk helped Team USA rebound from their first loss in the 2003 FIBA World Championships for Young Women by scoring 10 off the bench in the Americans' 94-46 win over the Czech Republic Tuesday.

The USA (3-1) followed up its loss to Brazil by bouncing the Czechs, assuring a berth in the medal quarterfinals.

In the first game of the tournament, Polk had five rebounds; in her second she had 13 points and six boards and three steals in her third game.

The USA closes first-round pool play Wednesday with France (3-1).

After ending its two-season-long absence from the NCAA tournament, the road back will again be tough for the women's basketball team. In the UA's schedule released last week, the Wildcats will face 12 teams that played in the post season last year.