Sophomore forward makes return to Allen Fieldhouse, this time with an Arizona Wildcat uniform

It takes a lot to get Dennis Latimore excited. Usually quiet and soft-spoken, the sophomore forward gets pumped up for games in his own way, but odds are, Latimore will be more ecstatic than usual tomorrow.

Latimore, who is playing the best basketball of his young career, will get his first chance to show off his game ÷ in the building he went to camps at during his childhood ÷ tomorrow at 11 a.m. MST in Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse. [Read article]

How do you cool off after an intense rivalry game?

Fly to Wisconsin a day later. It's no joke, the Arizona women's basketball team will arrive in Madison, Wisc. at 2:02 this afternoon, just as the mercury should be reaching its peak of 18 degrees. They will then begin preparing for the Sunday afternoon quarrel with the Badgers, hoping to bounce back after last night's loss to ASU.

"There is going to be lots of study hall because it's the beginning of a long road trip," said coordinator of basketball operations Craig Haubrich. "Because it's so damn cold up there, we are going to be spending a lot of time in the hotel." [Read article]

Last month, Arizona women's tennis player Emilie Scribot was nothing more then a normal 22-year-old looking for a school to obtain a graduate degree from

Now, the French native is the No.1 tennis player for the 20th-ranked Wildcats.

After joining the team two weeks ago, Scribot made her Tucson debut yesterday in UA's first spring match, versus the San Diego.

Scribot's effort was one of the many highlights of Arizona's 6-1 win over USD. [Read article]

Steven Capriati had to live in the shadow of his sister Jennifer who plays tennis on the professional tour.

Now it's Steven's turn to cast a shadow from which an Arizona men's tennis player must emerge.

As the Wildcats take the court for the first time on Saturday against Santa Clara, the reins of the UA program will be passed from Capriati to junior Whi Kim.

Throughout his two-year career at Arizona, Kim has continually improved, and UA head assistant coach Bob Helmig said that Kim is ready for the challenge of being the Wildcats top player. [Read article]

QB Johnson wins national award
Staff and Wire Reports

University of Arizona senior quarterback Jason Johnson was named winner of the 2003 Woody Hayes National Scholar-Athlete Award yesterday, as the outstanding man in Division I athletics.

Johnson was one of six men and women chosen from Division I, II, and III.

The winners combined for a grade point average of 3.9, more than 50 all-conference to All-America titles, and a host of activities ranging from tutoring to volunteering at food banks and various other community service projects. [Read article]

It might be the title of a movie, but every time Bill Ryden has left Seattle it has left him sleepless.

The Gymcat head coach has lost all three of his meets there.

But Ryden is also quick to remind doubters that outside of Seattle he defeated Washington three times last season.

Unfortunately, for his sake, his No. 15 Gymcat team will be back in the Northwest tonight when it takes on the Huskies and San Jose State. [Read article]

The No. 7 Arizona Icecats swept the No. 11 Saint Louis Billikens just three short weeks ago, but according to UA head coach Leo Golembiewski, the Icecats are anticipating a much more challenging match-up this time around.

The Icecats (15-4) defeated Saint Louis in back-to-back games on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, 4-2 and 2-1, respectively.

"This is going to definitely be a lot tougher in their barn," Golembiewski said. "From their standpoint, they have to beat us. They are pretty physical and we anticipate two tough games." [Read article]

One would think the Wildcat Swim and Dive teams would like to ease their way back into competition this spring.

They won't have that chance.

Today and tomorrow, Arizona kicks off its spring season, facing Pac-10 rivals Stanford and California at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center.

In their first competition since the Texas Invitational more than a month ago where they finished in eighth place, the Wildcat men will face a daunting task as they go head to head against Stanford Friday and California on Saturday, ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the country, respectively. [Read article]

The Midwest is a popular destination for Arizona athletics this weekend, as UA men's (Kansas) and women's (Wisconsin) track and field travel to the central time zone.

Coming off of a solid opening weekend in northern Arizona, where Arizona saw 20 of its athletes qualify for post-season bids, the Wildcats continue their northern march, traveling to the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center this Saturday to compete in the Wisconsin Invitational. [Read article]

OF Candace Abrams, So.

A redshirt sophomore who started in right field. Abrams started 21 games last season, while accumulating a .293 batting average with two home runs.

OF Courtney Fossati, So.

Batted .342 last season, mostly in the No. 2 spot. The lefty started in 48 games and was flawless in the field.

OF Autumn Champion, Fr.

A speedy leadoff hitting freshman from Tustin, Calif. was a four-time Orange County All-District first-team member and two-time All-American. [Read article]

C Nick Hundley, Fr.

Prized freshman recruit, picked in the fifth round of the MLB Amateur Draft. Has great speed for a catcher.

1B Pat Reilly So.

A redshirt freshman last season, was second on team in batting at .317. Had 265 putouts ÷ including an NCAA single-game record with 29 against Stanford.

2B Trevor Crowe, Fr.

Another MLB draftee, the switch-hitting Crowe received multiple state player-of-the-year awards as a senior at Westview High in Portland, Ore. [Read article]