UA blows out USC in second half to jump back in winner's circle

Chris Rodgers may have worked himself into the starting lineup.

Behind the strong play of the backup guard, Arizona (15-6, 7-5 Pacific 10 Conference) was able to avoid a season sweep at the hands of USC, dropping the Trojans 97-70 in front of a raucous crowd in McKale Center.

Three days after Arizona head coach Lute Olson publicly stated that his sophomores needed to step up their games to the level of juniors, Rodgers churned out arguably his best performance of the season. [Read article]

UCLA 87 ð UA 68

Los Angeles - As quickly as the Wildcat women's hoops team catapulted its way to the top of the Pacific 10 Conference, the Bruins brought Arizona back down a notch.

UCLA (13-10, 8-6) won its fourth consecutive game, upsetting Pac-10 leader and 24th-ranked Arizona (18-6, 10-3) 87-68 last night in Pauley Pavilion.

Four Bruin players scored in double figures, with freshman Noelle Quinn leading the way with a career-high 31 points. She added 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double in five games. Sophomore Nikki Blue also had a double-double, her second consecutive, with 16 points and a career-best 11 assists. [Read article]

This time around, Andre Iguodala only shouldered part of the blame.

His teammates are responsible for the rest.

But this time, there's one major difference: a 27-point rout for the No. 16 team in the nation, rather than a stunning last-second loss.

"Things change with a win," said Iguodala, who scored 14 points and grabbed 11 boards during Arizona's 97-70 win over Southern California last night in McKale Center. [Read article]

No. 15 baseball battles No. 8 Fullerton at home

With only three games under its belt in the 2004 season, the Arizona baseball team is already getting an early taste of Omaha.

Cal State Fullerton (3-3, 0-0) heads into Tucson this weekend for a three-game series, which opens at 3 p.m. today.

The No. 8 Titans are coming off a third-place finish at last year's College World Series and have been to Omaha for the College World Series three of the last seven years. [Read article]

The softball season is still young, and so is much of the Wildcats' talent - but the nation is watching them.

Sophomore pitcher Alicia Hollowell, senior catcher Mackenzie Vandergeest and freshman outfielder Caitlin Lowe - who has just five collegiate games under her belt - have been put on the "watch list" for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. There are 40 total players on the list, 15 from the Pacific 10 Conference. [Read article]

Wins have come fairly easy to the No. 2 Wildcat softball team thus far, but that will likely change this weekend in a Phoenix tournament featuring some of the best teams in the country.

The Fiesta Bowl Tournament fields 18 teams - six that are ranked in the top 25 and two others that received votes. The Wildcats will face six teams by playing two games apiece today, tomorrow and Sunday.

Up first for the UA is No. 18 Texas A&M, which is 3-0 after a win over North Texas and two against Stephen F. Austin. The Wildcats faced the Aggies in the same tournament last season, shutting them out 6-0. They saw the Aggies again in the NCAA Regionals in Tucson and won both games 3-0 and 10-5. [Read article]

If there were a study that showed the number of times per year fans in a NCAA football or basketball game rushed the field or court in celebration, what would the trend show?

An exponential increase in celebrations from year to year, in all likelihood.

Field and court-rushing celebrations have become commonplace and unexciting.

Fail to save the celebrations for truly special moments, and they become meaningless. [Read article]

Playing in a home away from home, the Ventana Canyon Resort, the UA men's tennis team battled weather conditions and Wichita State and came out on top, 6-1.

"It was nasty conditions up here, said senior Tom Lloyd. "The courts were quick, it was windy and cold, but we battled."

The Wildcats (5-1) swept the doubles matches and won five of six singles matches to hand Wichita State (2-3) its third loss of the season. [Read article]

Arizona women's tennis defeated the New Mexico Lobos 5-2 in a dual match at home yesterday, improving its record to 3-1.

The Wildcats had to come back in a few of their matches, but eventually the team's depth and perseverance were too much for New Mexico (2-2) to overcome.

"A lot of our girls got behind fast and had to scramble back," said head coach Vicky Maes

In the longest match of the day, junior Diane Hollands, playing in the No. 1 singles slot, won in three sets, 6-2, 6-7 (9-7), 6-1 to push her record to 3-1 this season. Hollands, ranked No. 28, won the first set easily, but lost the second set, despite coming back from 6-1 in the tiebreak. In the third set, Hollands dominated UNM's Iva Gersic with cross-court winners and hard volleys. Gersic tried to control the game, hitting lob shots in an attempt to force Hollands to make unforced errors. [Read article]

Lead by the Pacific 10 Conference Player of the Week, the No. 14 Arizona gymnastics team heads to No. 19 Oregon State today at 8 p.m.

The Wildcats (6-1, 2-1 Pac-10) will carry last week's victory (196.750-195.200) over California into the dual meet in Corvallis, Ore.

Despite their ranking, the Beavers (3-6, 1-2) have lost two meets in a row, including last week's defeat at Arizona State, when OSU set a school record for points in an away meet (196.700). [Read article]

With less than two weeks before the beginning of the Pacific 10 Swimming and Diving Championships, Arizona prepares for its final duel of the regular season against rival Arizona State.

The Sun Devils will host the seventh-ranked Arizona women's swimming and diving team and the eighth-ranked Arizona men's team. The ASU men are No. 15 in the polls despite a 3-4 overall record. The women are ranked No. 21 with a 2-7 record. [Read article]

The Arizona men's and women's track and field teams travel to Seattle tomorrow to compete against interdivision rivals at the Pac-10 Invitational.

The University of Washington will play host to 18 men's squads and 15 women's teams, including nine from the Pacific 10 Conference.

The Wildcats will have their work cut out for them, as 12 squads were ranked in the top 35 of the U.S. Track Coaches Association power rankings. [Read article]

Following its loss to top-ranked Colorado State, the Arizona's men's lacrosse team will try to rebound this weekend against Texas A&M and Texas.

The Laxcats first meet A&M tomorrow night. The Aggies (2-0), powered by attackmen Jason Dunn and Ryan Turnbow, begin nonconference play against Arizona (0-1) after dispatching their first two opponents, Houston and Louisiana State, by an average of 18 goals. [Read article]

Pac-10 men's basketball:
(16)Arizona vs. UCLA
They should reschedule this game for 7 p.m., rather than 1. That way, I can spend my Valentine's Day night at Old Chicago drinking beer and watching basketball, instead of arguing with the hostess at one of Tucson's finer eateries about my reservation for two that they mysteriously "lost" (sorry, hon). It would also give Lute Olson more time to open all his love letters from the local media. [Read article]