Gymcats back at home tonight

The No. 15 Arizona gymnastics team returns home to the Pacific 10 Conference schedule against No. 27 California in McKale Center tonight at 7:30.

The Gymcats (5-1, 1-1 Pac-10) are coming off a split road series with a win last week at Illinois-Chicago (196.525-194.450).

"We needed to get back on track last week, and we had good success," said UA head coach Bill Ryden. "We added difficulty and we changed the lineup, so it was nice to see new athletes perform."

Arizona is ranked seventh in the nation on vault (49.169), No. 16 on the beam (48.887) and No. 17 on the bars (48.881). Junior Andi McCabe is ranked 17th in the nation on vault (9.887), while fellow junior Katie Johnson is 20th on the floor (9.894).

"We have to focus on hitting our routines and getting our feet on the floor," Ryden said. "When we've had letdowns, we've been able to look in the mirror for the mistakes."

The Golden Bears (6-1, 2-1) are swinging off a hot streak with wins over four schools in a row, including Arizona State Jan. 23 and Oregon State last Friday. Washington was the only Pac-10 loss for Cal, as the Golden Bears only put up 193.600 in Seattle.

The last time these two teams met was at Haas Pavilion on March 7 when Cal posted a196.800, a school record.

Ryden is not worried about the other side of the mat, though, as he said Arizona is only responsible for Arizona.

"We don't worry about the competition," Ryden said. "Our first focus is getting ready for the postseason in March and maintaining the mental edge."

- Ross Hammonds

Ruggers face biggest tests of season this weekend

The Arizona's men's rugby team returns to So-Cal Conference play this weekend, facing UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in two pivotal division matches at Estevan Park.

Last season, all three teams tied for the conference title, notching 7-1 marks. But because its point differential was the worst among the teams, Arizona (4-2, 1-0) failed to qualify for postseason play.

"We've got two games that are both absolutely critical," said head coach Dave Sitton. "We lose them both, we're out of the league. You split them, you still have to hope that someone else will help you."

Last time out, Calfornia broke an early 3-0 deficit to score 60 unanswered points against the UA ruggers. The defeat snapped a season-high four-game winning streak and gave the Wildcats their second loss of the season.

Still, Sitton said the experience will come in handy this Friday, when Arizona begins the weekend against Santa Barbara.

"We saw where we needed to improve (against Cal). We played too much defense, and they wore us out," Sitton said. "We're trying to make a couple of adjustments on offense: one, so we score points, and two, so we can put some pressure on our opponents."

Flanker Brooks Herd and forward Andrew King lead the pack for Santa Barbara, which fell to the Wildcats 19-12 at home last season. The Gauchos (3-0, 3-0) have swept their conference matches thus far in 2004, and look to finally take their twelth win in the teams' all-time series (led 13-11-0 by Arizona).

UA junior wing Justin Kunz said he anticipates a team performance for the Wildcats.

"Look out for our strong forward play," he said. "We have a very strong pack, and our backs are real quick. Once we get outside to our backs, we should be all right."

Arizona won't have much time for adjustments over the weekend. On Sunday they return to Estevan to play Cal Poly SLO (4-0-1, 2-0), which brings its own firepower in All-America forward John Lauritsen and two U.S. National Teamers, flyhalf John Kennard and fullback Ed Franz. The Mustangs dispatched the Wildcats 40-3 last year.

"We really have a sense of urgency for the weekend," Kunz said. "If we win these games, we're in the playoffs."

"A lot of the league's story is going to be told," Sitton said. "And we'll know it Sunday night."

- Tom Knauer

Men's tennis takes on California schools to open six-match homestand

The Arizona men's tennis team opens a six-match homestand when they host Sacramento State and UC Santa Barbara today and Sunday, respectively, at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center, up a six-match homestand.

"They're not must wins, but we would very heavily like to win these games," said UA head coach Bill Wright.

The Wildcats (2-1), ranked No. 38 nationally, will take on unranked Sacramento State (0-0), which lost its top three men from last year's team that finished 12-16 but made it to the NCAA championships.

"Sacramento State is a solid team," said first-year assistant coach Tad Berkowitz. "They're one of those teams that's deceiving. They will be ranked by the end of the season."

Arizona will then compete against No. 64 ranked UCSB, which features No. 94 singles player Alex Anselme. Arizona is 7-3 all-time against UCSB, including a 7-0 squash in last season's matchup in Tucson.

"They're a good team. They were league champion last year," said Wright.

"Sacramento State and Santa Barbara are similar schools," added Berkowitz. "They have a lot of pride and they show up to play."

Playing well for the Wildcats thus far has been sophomore Roger Matalonga, undefeated in three matches to start the season, as well as sophomore Daniel Andrus and junior Paul Warkentin, who are both 2-1. Matalonga missed the fall season but has returned to play well, and the coaches are not surprised.

"He has such a great attitude. He's such a great fighter," Berkowitz said. "He deserves all the success he's had early in the season. He shows up to practice every day with intensity.

"We're playing him a little low to try to get him back in the swing of things," said Wright. "I'm not surprised at all that he's 3-0. They've been decisive wins."

Coach Wright said Matalonga would be moved up to the No. 4 singles position for this weekend's matches. As for Whi Kim, who's playing in the No. 1 singles position, Wright believes it's only a matter of time before he gets going, and he'll be fine as long as his elbow holds up.

"We need to improve on our concentration for an entire match," Berkowitz said. "We play well in spurts."

- Roman Veytsman

Icecats travel to Oklahoma

Don't let Oklahoma's temporary status in the second division of the American Collegiate Hockey Association fool you - the Arizona Icecats certainly won't.

The Icecats, No. 16 in AHCA Division I, will look to gain some ground in their quest to finish in the top 13 and make the national tournament this weekend with two games at Oklahoma (19-4-1), which is ranked No. 7 in out of 34 teams in its region. Division II does not have national rankings.

Icecats head coach Golembiewski took offense at the question of why the Icecats are traveling to a first year D-II team.

"Why? They're a Division II team coming to Division I next year; they're highly talented; they're going to be part of a conference we're trying to put together for next year; the guy who is starting their program had success at Ohio University," Golembiewski said.

Golembiewski said that during the UA's first few years, he was very appreciative when the powers at the time, BYU and Cal State Northridge, agreed to play the Icecats.

"People say, 'Oklahoma?' But that's just like 25 years ago, when people said, 'Arizona?'" Golembiewski said.

Oklahoma is currently on a five-game winning streak, fresh off 6-0 and 10-0 wins over St. Louis' Division II team, and has won seven of its last eight. The Sooners have also tied Iowa State, which is ranked No. 10 in Division I.

Playing a schedule against Division I, II and III teams, the Sooners have outscored foes 166-43. The Icecats are 6-6-1 against teams currently in the top 12, the eighth-best mark in the country.

Golembiewski, who said he knew Lindenwood would be good, said he was questioned about scheduling the No. 5 Lions, another first year team as well. That series with the Lions proved advantageous for the Icecats, who are hoping the split will help their tournament chances.

Golembiewski said he thinks a sweep in Oklahoma would help the Icecats in the rankings. The penultimate rankings come out today, and the Sooner series is the UA's last before the rankings that decide tournament seeding come out.

"(Oklahoma) is pretty solid team," Golembiewski said. "They're supposed to have some pretty good players."

- James Kelley

Track and field set for Falcon Invitational

The Wildcat track and field teams take on Colorado, Colorado State and Air Force Saturday at the Falcon Invitational held in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Wildcats have won this event three times since1995. The women took first place in 1995 and 1999, and finished second to Colorado State in 2002. The men also claimed the title in 1999, while coming in third in 1995 and 2002.

"It's nice to go into competition where you've had success," said UA head coach Fred Harvey. "It is a great competition situation to earn national qualifying marks for the bulk of the team."

The Wildcats could value from this invitational, as five of the attending squads are ranked in the top 30 of the U.S. Track Coaches Association Power Rankings - an evaluation of team strength in a dual meet. The UA ladies lead the competing women's squads, ranked 21st, with Colorado State coming in second at 29th overall. On the men's side, Colorado State is ranked 18th, while the Air Force and Arizona trail at No. 21 and 27, respectively.

Despite the rankings, Harvey believes every squad would provide the Wildcats with tough opposition. He said Colorado's strength lies in the distance events, while Colorado State will be has competitive sprinters and hurdlers.

"The Air Force is fairly balanced, with no strength in one given area. They will be a formidable challenge in every event and are in the middle of the pack among the four schools," Harvey said.

Added Harvey: "(The Falcon Invitational) will be a good overall competition and there will be competition in each discipline. Because of the higher altitude, this event will be more conducive for our sprinters, hurdlers, throwers and jumpers."

Junior sprinter and hurdler Chelsea Powell said it is a little intimidating being the only out-of-state school represented in the meet.

As the NCAA Indoor Championships draw near, Powell hopes this event will be a "good competition to get our athletes to rise to the occasion."