Icecats split with No. 9 Weber State

The Arizona Icecats split a pair of games with No. 9 Weber State, setting the stage for a huge series with Arizona State this weekend.

No. 17 Arizona (10-9-2) lost to Weber State (17-10-1) 3-2 Friday but flipped the score with a 3-2 win Saturday.

"We're proud of the guys any time you go on the road against a team ranked higher than you (and) play them tough for both games," said Icecats head coach Leo Golembiewski. "We could have won both of them, as a matter of fact."

The Icecats went down 2-0 early but rallied to tie it before losing Friday's game.

Junior forward Dave Lawrence scored the first Arizona goal, assisted by junior forward Shaun Brooks and senior defender Andrew Fredricks, who played through a broken thumb. Freshman forward Bryan Meagher scored the second goal off of assists by Fredricks and sophomore defender Eric Kowalek.

In addition to Fredricks, the Icecats had a handful of other players hurting, including goalie Bryan Aronchick, who had a combined 71 saves and was awarded the game puck both nights.

Sophomore forward/defender Banks Concepcion and sophomore defender Mike Pelletier could not play in the first game because of their role in the Arizona's fight with No. 5 Lindenwood last week.

On Saturday, junior forward Don Holtz scored two goals and sophomore forward Brian Pollock had the other in the Icecats' win.

"We could have swept the series," Golembiewski said. "I've got to give the kids credit for what they did."

The Sun Devils, despite not having a winning record at 11-11-3, jumped from No. 19 to No. 12 in the latest poll, while the UA dropped a spot. To get into the national tournament, a team must be ranked in the top 13.

"Right now we're getting it handed to us by this ranking baloney," Golembiewski said. "How Arizona State can jump from 19 to 12 is ludicrous."

The Icecats take on ASU in Tempe Friday night and in Glendale Arena, the new home of the Phoenix Coyotes, on Saturday.

- James Kelley

Softball outscores Phoenix College 20-0 in final tuneup

The bad news for the Arizona softball team is that its two exhibition games this weekend against Phoenix College didn't really settle any preseason questions. The good news is that was because pretty much everyone did well.

The No. 3 Wildcats outscored the Lady Bears 20-0 in Saturday's doubleheader, winning the first game 14-0 and the second 6-0. Though the games had no 8-run mercy rule and were a full seven innings each, the umpire did tell the scorekeeper to turn the scoreboard off after the lead became 10.

"I told the team, ÎFrom here on out, the competition gets a little bit stiffer,'" said interim co-head coach Larry Ray.

The UA went ahead 4-0 right off the bat thanks to senior catcher Mackenzie Vandergeest's home run in the first inning. It was the first of many UA homers on the day: freshman shortstop Kristie Fox had a solo home run off the batter's eye, sophomore second baseman Shelly Schultz had a solo dinger and junior third baseman Jackie Coburn and senior first baseman Erin Palomarez had RBI doubles.

"I think the whole key for this team throughout the year is that the first two players in the lineup set the table for the rest of them.," Ray said.

Sophomore pitcher pitcher Alicia Hollowell got a win in the first game, pitching five innings of no-hit ball. In relief in the second game, she struck out six of nine Phoenix batters. Sophomore Leslie Wolfe relieved Hallowell in the first game, getting two strikeouts, and started the second game with four Ks in two innings, before being replaced by freshman Annalyn Hollingsworth.

"I knew Alicia is going to be steady like she was last year," Ray said. "She's going to need some help, and how much support we give her will really depend on how far this team goes."

The Wildcats begin the regular season with the Arizona Pepsi Classic starting Feb 6. They will welcome New Mexico, Ole Miss, Cal State Northridge and UNLV to town for the tournament.

÷ James Kelley

Gymcats lose first meet of year

The quest for Pacific 10 Conference dominance will have to wait another week for Arizona Gymnastics.

The No. 6 Gymcats (4-1, 1-1 Pac-10) were swept in all four events by No. 14 Stanford (4-1, 1-1) en route to a 197.300ö194.625 loss at the Farm.

The loss included a season-low on the beam (47.975), as Arizona placed only junior Jamie Schell in the top five (9.850).

One of Arizona's bright spots was junior Katie Johnson, who tied for first place on the floor with a 9.950. Junior Monica Bisordi placed fifth in the event with a 9.900.

Senior Andi McCabe, sophomore Abby Pearson and Schell all tied for third on the vault (9.850), although Arizona lost the event 49.225-49.050.

In the all-around, Schell took fourth place for the Wildcats (38.800), while Bisordi struggled on her way to finishing fifth (38.450).

Arizona stops next in Chicago to face Illinois-Chicago on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

÷ From staff and wire reports

Track and field opens season with win in Boise

The UA track and field teams began the 2004 season on the right foot with several strong performances at the Western Indoor Classic Saturday in Boise, Idaho.

The Wildcats competed against four other schools ÷ including their toughest opponent, Stanford ÷ along with several club teams.

Overall, head coach Fred Harvey said the Wildcat performances were "pretty good," and believes his team is now more confident to take on Arizona State next weekend in Flagstaff.

The UA ladies shined, winning three events and placing second in two others. Sophomore Angel Perkins came in first in the 60-meter dash at 7.53 seconds, while junior Sharifa Jones won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.60 seconds. In the long jump, junior Jessica Corkhill took first place with a jump of 18 feet, 9 1⁄4 inches.

Freshman Billie-Jo Grant, with a shot put throw of 49 feet, 5 1⁄2 inches, and freshman Tiffany McDonald, who clocked at 8.73 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, both finished second in their first UA competition.

On the men's side, senior Chris Chappell came in second in the pole vault at a height of 16 feet, 6 3⁄4 inches. Fellow senior Michael Mensah took home two third-place finishes ÷ in the long jump with a personal best of 22 feet, 11 inches, along with the triple jump, marked at 47 feet, 8 inches. Freshman Jarred Sola also earned a personal best as he finished third in the shot put at 53 feet, 9 1⁄4 inches.

"Our overall readiness to compete must be improved," said Harvey, noting that senior Jevon Mason was unable to finish the men's 400 meters, as he was knocked off the track by a Stanford athlete.

"With our opening competition, our expectations were high as a team and everyone competed well, but not as well as they are capable of," Harvey said.

The Wildcats will next take on Arizona State and Northern Arizona in Flagstaff on Saturday.

- Lindsey Frazier

Rugby takes out Tritons

Fresh off a sabbatical, the Arizona men's rugby team won its first conference game of the season this weekend.

The Wildcats began So-Cal Conference play with a 56-15 victory over the UC San Diego Tritons at Warren West Pitch in San Diego. The win was the 13th for Arizona (4-1, 1-0) in the all-time series. The UA hasn't lost to the Tritons (1-3, 0-2) since 1984.

Sophomore fly half Marcus Johnson scored four tries to lead the Wildcats, who had not played since Nov. 23rd, at the Memorial Invitational Rugby Tournament in Tucson. To make matters worse, unseasonably wet conditions interrupted Arizona's practice schedule last week, forcing the team to conduct only light group drills at Himmel Park on Thursday.

But come Sunday, Mother Nature proved irrelevant. Arizona won its fourth consecutive game, setting season highs in both total points and victory margin despite converting only three of ten tries.

"We were very pleased with the fundamental approach our players took to the game today," head coach Dave Sitton said. "It's hard to argue when you put up 56 points against your opponent."

Arizona returns home this weekend to face California at Estevan Park. The Bears, winners of 19 of the last 23 national rugby championships, opened their regular season Saturday with a convincing 51-7 win over local rival St. Mary's.

California returns five All-Americans from a squad that fell in the national semifinals in 2003, after winning twelve straight national titles.

÷ Tom Knauer