CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA sophomore Daniel Andrus leads the Wildcats into action this weekend when they take on Rice and Fresno State in Houston today.

Swim and dive hosts Texas in final home meet of year

The sixth-ranked Arizona women's swimming and diving team and the seventh-ranked Arizona men's team will host the Texas Longhorns for the final home meet of the season today at 2 p.m.

The Texas men's swimming and diving team is currently ranked second with a 3-1 overall record. The Longhorns defeated No. 8 Georgia last week, 126-117.

The Texas women's team is ranked fifth with a 4-2 overall record after it's loss to No. 2 Georgia 169-126 last week.

Arizona's men and women traveled to the Bay Area to take on Pac-10 rivals California and Stanford last Friday and Saturday. Both teams posted their first losses of the season on Friday in a dual meet against Cal. The No. 8 women of Cal defeated the No. 6 Wildcats 152-148, and the No. 7 Arizona men's team fell to the No. 4 Golden Bears 169-118.

After the Texas meet, the Wildcats will be off for two weeks until they travel to Tempe on Saturday, Feb. 14 to take on Arizona State in a dual meet at 1 p.m.

÷ From staff and wire reports

Women's tennis home for three matches this weekend

The Arizona women's tennis team will begin its home schedule this weekend with matches against three different opponents in three days.

The No. 27 Wildcat women welcome Northern Arizona to the Lanelle Robson Tennis Center today for a 1:30 p.m. match. Arizona has never lost to the Lumberjacks, who enter the match unranked.

Tomorrow at 2 p.m., the nation's third-ranked player, senior Anda Perianu, will lead the Oklahoma Sooners in a 2 p.m. match with the Wildcats. The No. 35 Sooners present perhaps the biggest challenge of the weekend for head coach Vicky Maes' Wildcats, whose best players, juniors Dianne Hollands and Maja Mlakar, are ranked No. 28 and No. 29, respectively. Hollands amassed a record of 12-4 in the fall season to lead the Wildcats.

Arizona will finish the weekend against No. 46 San Diego, another team the Wildcats have never lost to, Sunday at 11:30 a.m. The Toreros feature the nation's No. 41 player in sophomore Lauren Perl, who boasts an 11-4 record.

The matches mark the Wildcats' last action until Feb. 12, when they host New Mexico.

÷ From staff and wire reports

Track and field heads to Flagstaff to take on NAU

The Arizona track and field teams will compete against in-state rivals Arizona State and Northern Arizona in Flagstaff's J.L. Walkup Stadium this weekend.

The Sun Devils are expected to be the Wildcats' main competition.

"ASU is one of the top four indoor teams in the Pac-10," head coach Fred Harvey said. "They may potentially challenge us for the championship, and it is exciting for us to go against rivals."

Junior hurdler Jeff Hunter agreed.

"It feels good to beat them, more than anyone else, for pride's sake," he said. "(I expect) the team to do very well because we have trained a little differently, the endurance is there and we are mentally prepared."

Harvey said he also expects NAU to be very competitive.

"They are the only true indoor school at the competition," he said. "(Arizona and ASU are) at a disadvantage because we do not have the opportunity to practice at their facility."

In the men's power rankings, produced by the U.S. Track Coaches Association, NAU was ranked 21st, followed by ASU and UA trailing at 22nd and 25th, respectively.

In the women's poll, NAU led the in-state schools at No. 20, with Arizona placed at No. 23 and Arizona State rounding out the top 25.

With the intense competition, Harvey said the meet could come down to a few events.

"We aren't conceding anything; we're going up there to win," Harvey said. "If we compete at our highest level, it will come down to the four by 400 medley relay and the distance relay."

÷ Lindsey Frazier

Men's tennis hits road to face Rice, FSU in Houston

Following a blowout home win in its first match against Northern Arizona, the Arizona men's tennis team will travel to Houston today and tomorrow to face Rice and Fresno State, respectively.

The Wildcats (1-0) are ranked No. 38 after dropping a spot from last week. They will go up against two teams ranked higher in the ITA polls, as Rice comes in at No. 24 and Fresno State at No. 36.

"It doesn't matter what they are ranked. We believe that we can beat anybody," said junior Paul Warkentin. "Whether it's Stanford or UCLA, or whoever, we believe we have a chance to win against anybody."

Today, the Wildcats take on the Owls (3-0), who have yet to lose a match in their three games. They feature 15th-ranked Robert Searle, as well as William and Richard Baker, the No. 3 doubles tandem in the country.

In its last match in 2002, Rice defeated Arizona 5-2 in Tucson.

"I was there for that match, and I think we can take it to them this time," said senior Tom Lloyd.

"We have a great coaching staff and unbelievable facilities, so we can compete with anyone," added Warkentin.

Tomorrow, Arizona will face Fresno State (2-2). The Bulldogs' only two losses came to Pacific 10 Conference foes Southern California and UCLA, but they defeated the Wildcats in their last meeting, 6-1 in 1999.

Lloyd said the preparation from this week of practice and the help from new assistant coach Tad Berowitz can help Arizona overcome its underdog status in this weekend's matches.

The probable return of senior Whi Kim, one of the top players on last year's team who is coming off of a tennis elbow injury, could also bolster the Wildcat squad.

÷ Roman Veytsman

Ruggers prep for Îbiggest match of our lives'

The Arizona rugby team's opponent tomorrow, the California Golden Bears, have given few teams reason to smile of late.

The Bears have won 19 of the last 23 national championships, sustaining perhaps "10 little blemishes" in the regular season, estimates Arizona's men's rugby head coach Dave Sitton.

One blemish came at the hands of the Wildcats. The only catch: it came 19 years ago, at the San Diego Tournament in La Jolla, Calif.

Still, when Arizona (3-1, 1-0 So-Cal Conference) faces the Bears (1-0) this weekend at Estevan Park, forgive the Wildcats for being a little nostalgic. Especially Coach Sitton.

"I always believe that we have a win in us, against any team at any time," he said.

Such optimism may be wishful thinking, especially against the Bears who, prior to last season's loss to Air Force in the national title game, hadn't lost a regular season game since 1990.

But Arizona enters the match on a streak of its own, having won its last four contests.

"We just need to keep playing like we're doing," said sophomore flanker Marcus Johnson, who recorded four tries in the Wildcats' 56-15 victory over UC San Diego last weekend. "Cycle the ball, play forward, match well ÷ those are going to be the keys."

Another key is stopping Cal senior forward Mike McDonald, who returned recently from his stint with the U.S. National Team in the Rugby World Cup.

Containing a player of McDonald's excellence, said Sitton, will be paramount tomorrow.

"He wasn't going up against college kids; he was playing the best," Sitton said.

Match-ups aside, Arizona's seniors relish their shot at the Bears tomorrow, in the Wildcats' first regular season match in the series since 2000. Senior center Peter Wyatt called the game "the team's secret Super Bowl," and prop Pat Reedy touts the meeting as "the biggest match of our lives."

"We want to win it all," he said. "We beat Cal, we're number one in the nation."

A victory would boost the team as it re-enters conference play. Arizona next faces UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly SLO in successive weekends.

"We've got the opportunity to assess and improve before we get to that cluster of games," Reedy said.

÷ Tom Knauer