Swim and dive teams open up with win vs. Wisconsin

The Arizona men's and women's swimming and diving teams began their 2003-04 season Saturday with victories over the Wisconsin Badgers. The Wildcats took home the men's team title ÷ 175-121 ÷ while also grabbing the women's team title by a score of 172.5-128.5.

UA sophomore Lyndon Ferns dominated the day's events on the men's side, while senior Jessica Wagner controlled the women's competition. Ferns took home three titles, placing first in the 200 freestyle, 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle individual competitions, while Wagner won the 100 and 200 breaststroke events.

Sophomore Tyler DeBerry and senior Juan Veloz each won two events as well. DeBerry took home victories in the 1000 and 500 freestyle events. Veloz won the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke. Freshman Whitney Myers won both the 100 and 200 butterfly, while also taking second in the 100 freestyle.

The team of sophomore Dave Rollins and seniors Greg Owen, Luis Rojas and Eric LaFleur placed first in the 400 medley relay.

Sophomore Dave Rollins, senior Greg Owen, senior Luis Rojas and senior Eric La Fleur placed first for the men's team in the 400-medley relay with a time of 3:22.28.

Marshi Smith, senior Jessica Wagner, sophomore Lisa Pursley and freshman Lauren Preyss dominated Wisconsin, winning the women's 400 medley relay in a time of 3:45.41.

On the diving boards, Arizona men laid claim to the top three spots in the one-meter and three-meter events. Senior Alex Vollelunga won the one-meter competition while sophomore John Collier won the three-meter. Freshmen Dustin Watson made his Wildcat debut by taking third place in both the one-meter and three-meter events.

For the women's diving team, senior Daniela Bemme and freshman Mary Yarrison stood out by taking the first and second places in both events. Bemme finished first in the one-meter competition, while Yarrison was first in the three-meter.

Cross country men take 4th; women 6th at Pac-10s

The Arizona men's cross country team placed fourth while the women's team took sixth in the team competitions at the 2003 Pacific 10 Conference championships in Pullman, Wash.

The women had six runners finish within one minute of each other while the top-ranked men's and women's squads from Stanford swept the team and individual titles.

Freshman Robert Cheseret led the men's squad with a third-place finish in cold temperatures on the hilly 8,000-meter course at the Washington State University golf course.

An individual Pac-10 title wasn't out of reach, but two Stanford runners were able to edge Cheseret at the finish line. Cheseret crossed the line at 24:35.80, less than two seconds behind Ian Dobson of Stanford, the race winner.

Junior Jonah Maiyo posted a strong performance for the Wildcats, as well. The junior college transfer finished fifth in 25:06.20 to help out the Arizona cause.

Junior Beth Hoge led the UA women's team on the challenging 6,000-meter course. Hoge finished in 28th position with a time of 23:20.10. Hoge was closely followed by sophomore Adrienne Goeller, who finished 30th, just a second behind her teammate.

The Wildcats' next meet will be the NCAA West Regional Championships in Portland, Ore. Nov. 15. The regional will determine which teams receive the automatic berths to the NCAA Championships held Nov. 24.