AP poll mimics coaches: UA men's hoops fourth

The Associated Press dubbed the Arizona men's basketball team as the fourth-best in the country yesterday to start the 2003-04 season.

The ranking marks the fourth time in the past five years the Wildcats have cracked the AP's top 5 prior to tipping off the season.

The Wildcats are also ranked fourth in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.

Led by a trio of seniors - Jason Gardner, Luke Walton and Rick Anderson - Arizona started last season in the nation's top spot and held onto that position for a majority of the campaign. That team enjoyed a 28-4 run to the NCAA West Regional Finals where the Wildcats were bounced out of the tournament to eventual runner-up Kansas.

Head coach Lute Olson returns eight letter winners from last year's squad, including two starters, to this season's team, which will face four AP top-25 programs. Those opponents include No. 8 Florida, No. 11 Texas, No. 23 Marquette and the only other ranked Pacific-10 Conference foe, No. 17 Stanford.

Arizona eked out the fourth spot in the poll, following top-ranked Connecticut, Duke and Michigan State, and barely beating fifth-ranked Missouri.

Olson is sitting on 499 wins as head coach of the Wildcats. His first chance to reach the 500 win milestone will come in the season's very first game on Nov. 24 in Tucson against in-state rival Northern Arizona. The Hall-of-Fame coach, entering his 21st year as skipper of the Wildcats, has 691 career victories against 237 losses. The 700 plateau could be reached as early as January. A perfect 8-0 start would land Olson at 699 wins going into Tempe on Jan. 3 to take on rival Arizona State.

- Christopher Wuensch

Women's hoops ranked No. 23 in preseason AP

The UA women's basketball team garnered the No. 23 ranking in the Associated Press preseason poll, announced yesterday.

The preseason nod is the Wildcats' first in the AP poll since the 1999-2000 season. Arizona is also ranked No. 22 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. Stanford is the only other Pac-10 team ranked in the preseason AP poll, although Washington and Arizona State did receive votes for ranking.

Ten of the Wildcats' 2003-04 opponents are either ranked or have received AP poll votes. Texas, a potential opponent at the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Hawaii later this month, stands at No. 3. Stanford is ranked No. 6, LSU is No. 9, UC Santa Barbara is No. 18 and Virginia is No. 25. Washington, Arizona State, Brigham Young, New Mexico and Montana (another potential matchup in Hawaii) were all among teams that received votes for ranking.

-From staff and wire reports

Wilks earns soccer Pac-10 Player of Week honors

Forward Candice Wilks of the UA soccer team has been named Pac-10 Women's Soccer Player of the Week, the league announced yesterday.

Wilks, a junior from Altadena, Calif., led the Wildcats to a 2-1 win over Washington State Friday. Wilks came off the bench to score both Wildcat goals, scoring on just two shots on goal. Wilks put the Wildcats on the scoreboard in the 38th minute before scoring the game winner - the fourth of her career - at the 62nd minute mark.

Wilks finished the season on top of the UA scoring charts, tallying 18 points on a team-high eight goals and two assists. Wilks also led the Wildcats in scoring as a freshman in 2001 when she scored eight goals, three assists and 19 points.

The nod was the second of Wilks' career and the fourth all-time for Arizona

-From staff and wire reports