Arizona Daily Wildcat Online
sections
Front Page
News
Sports
· Basketball
Opinions
· Columnists
Live Culture
GoWild
Police Beat
Datebook
Comics
Crossword
Online Crossword
Photo Spreads
Special Sections
Classifieds
The Wildcat
Letter to the Editor
Wildcat staff
Search
Archives
Job Openings
Advertising Info
Student Media
Arizona Student Media info
UATV - student TV
KAMP - student radio
The Desert Yearbook
Daily Wildcat staff alumni

News
Napolitano joins Wildcats for a day


Photo
KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Gov. Janet Napolitano sits on the bench with the UA women's basketball team Saturday night during a game against California.
By Shane Dale
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Monday, February 9, 2004
Print this

Gov. Janet Napolitano sat on the women's basketball bench Saturday with more on her mind than just hoops.

Napolitano was a guest coach for the Wildcats as part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which promotes the advancement of women's sports. It was the second time the governor joined the Wildcat women on the bench.

Napolitano was accompanied on the floor of McKale Center in a halftime ceremony by UA athletic director Jim Livengood, assistant director Kathleen "Rocky" LaRose and Wildcat women's swim and dive coach Michele Mitchell-Rocha, along with more than 100 young female Tucson athletes.

"Girls, I want to tell you: Sports can change your lives," said Mitchell-Rocha, a silver medalist in the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. "The sky is now the limit for women in sports."

"More and more girls are playing competitive sports in school and getting that opportunity," Napolitano said after the game. "They're getting to play in college. These are opportunities that weren't available until a few years ago."

In 2003 and 2004, 173 female student-athletes play or have played in an NCAA Division-I sport at Arizona. Hundreds more participate in UA club sports.

The governor is now 2-0 when guest-coaching Arizona, as the Wildcats beat the California Golden Bears 77-59 for their 25th straight home victory. The Wildcats beat Washington State by 30 when Napolitano joined them on the sidelines last year.

"The rule was that they had to be up by 30 for me to call a play," Napolitano said. "So I've got to come back next year and pick an easier team, I guess."

Though the governor didn't get to call any shots this year, she listened in on head coach Joan Bonvicini's instructions during timeouts and asked a lot of questions of the players.

"I was listening to what directions the coach was giving during timeouts and I was asking, 'What does that mean?'" Napolitano said. "They explained to me the plays that were being called. They were just helping me understand the game better."

Asked why she passed up the Arizona State-Stanford women's game in Tempe in favor of the Wildcats, Napolitano smiled and said, "I have to be very careful how I answer that question."

"I will be guest coaching in Tempe later, but I came to the UA first because this was my first guest coaching job last year. So it will always be number one," she said.



Write a Letter to the Editor
articles
Students saddle up at rodeo
divider
Bill would add money to financial aid funds
divider
ResLife rule kicks clubs out of dorms
divider
Napolitano joins Wildcats for a day
divider
Students love 'Wanda's World'
divider
ASUA looking for students to boogie down in dance-a-thon to help hospital
divider
Faculty Senate to review computer anti-virus policy
divider
On the spot
divider
Fastfacts
divider
Flashback
divider
Police Beat
divider
Datebook
divider
Restaurant and Bar guide
Search for:
advanced search Archives
CAMPUS NEWS | SPORTS | OPINIONS
CLASSIFIEDS | ARCHIVES | CONTACT US | SEARCH


Webmaster - webmaster@wildcat.arizona.edu
© Copyright 2003 - The Arizona Daily Wildcat - Arizona Student Media