Blasberg ties for 19th in pro golf tour debut

Former UA golfer Erica Blasberg's pro career got off to a rocky start, and she faces an uphill battle to make the LPGA tour.

Blasberg tied for 19th at the Stratton Mountain Futures Classic, her first tournament in the Futures Tour. Blasberg, who chose to leave the UA early last month after only two years, shot a 216 in three rounds on a par 72 course, shooting 76, 69 and then 71 to earn $814.

The finish puts Blasberg alone in 126th place on the money list. In order to avoid the LPGA's Q school, Blasberg needs to finish in the top five on the Future's money list.

Seon-Hwa Lee is currently in fifth place on the money list with $21,178, earned in 11 events. There are seven more tournaments left.

UA to host women's basketball tourney in 2006

Arizona will host opening weekend action in the women's NCAA basketball tournament a year after hosting the men's, the NCAA announced last week.

The UA will be a host for the 2006 NCAA tournament in the new system of predetermining sites for the women's basketball tournament. Arizona will be a host for the men's tournament in 2005.

Tucson is one of the eight sites, going away from the 16 site format of this season, although hosts are still allowed to play at home, unlike the men. Chicago (DePaul), Denver (Colorado), Nashville (Vanderbilt), Norfolk, Va. (Old Dominion), Trenton, N.J. (Rider and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference), University Park, Pa. (Penn State) and West Lafayette, Ind. (Purdue) are the other hosts along with the Wildcats.

Host schools are not guaranteed berths, but the UA has made the tournament two years in a row after a two-year absence. The Wildcats hosted once before in 1998, winning both games and making it to the Sweet 16, the farthest they have advanced.

Despite an active 27 game home winning streak and tying for their first Pac-10 championship, Arizona is 41st in the nation in attendance, averaging 2,774 per game, a slight drop from 2002-03. The Wildcats will also host their first game of the preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament, along with the men.

USA softball, Hollowell fall in Canada Cup

The USA Schutt Elite softball team came up short in its bid to repeat as Canada Cup champions.

The Elite team, which boasts UA junior-to-be Alicia Hollowell and sophomores to be Caitlin Lowe and Kristie Fox, finished 7-3, losing 4-2 to China in a loser's bracket game.

Hollowell (2-2), who had a 1.30 ERA in six appearances, took the loss, giving up five hits and three runs, two when a ball hit off her leg. Hollowell threw one complete game and had 38 strikeouts in 27 innings.

Lowe batted .394, started every game and scored seven runs. Fox hit .360 and 7 RBIs.

Last year, with a team that also included Hollowell, the Elite won the tournament. Their next action is in the Champions Cup in Irvine, Calif. this weekend.

Crowe leading USA baseball through struggles

After enduring a five game sweep at Japan, Arizona baseball junior-to-be Trevor Crowe is proving to be a bright spot for the USA national team.

Crowe is leading the team in doubles and on Sunday in a 19-2 win over Danbury of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, an NCAA sanctioned summer league, he went 3-for-3. The win over the Westerners snapped a five game losing steak for the USA, which didn't qualify for the Olympics.

The Americans took it on the chin in the 33rd Annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series, losing all five games, all in the Land of the Rising Sun. Prior to that, the USA took four of four from Canada in the Friendship series.

Crowe is batting .390, in the most at bats on the team, with a .405 on base percentage and .610 slugging percentage.

After three games against NECBL teams, the USA plays Chinese Taipei in a three game home series, in Durham, N.C., before heading to the second World University Championships in Taiwan.