Clean bill of health has Wildcats clawing to set starting roles

After enduring numerous injuries last year, the Arizona women's volleyball team is new and improved and has the luxury of a healthier and deeper roster than in seasons past.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 17 in the College Sports Television/American Volleyball Association preseason poll, welcome nine newcomers to the team this season, including six freshmen and three transfers. [Read article]

The Arizona football team completes its final week of preseason preparation today before heading into a week of preparation for the 2005 season.

The Wildcats open the season Sept. 2 in Salt Lake City against Utah. What follows is a breakdown of the Arizona offense as it breaks camp and what the depth charts look like at each position.

Quarterbacks

The Wildcat quarterbacks put on a passing clinic at the team's final intrasquad scrimmage, showing, if nothing else, how deep the talent runs at the position. [Read article]

To sports fans in softball-crazy Tucson, one of the more befuddling developments this summer had to have been the results of the secret ballot given to more than 100 members of the International Olympic Committee, the event's highest authority.

The nature of the ballot? Determine which of the 28 sports slated to appear at the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London deserve to stay on the roster.

Members were urged not to use any sort of personal bias while judging. Instead, they were instructed to decide which sports, according to a July 8 Associated Press article, had enough "technical merit" - i.e., the potential for a wide range of countries to reasonably compete. [Read article]

For the No. 18 Arizona women's soccer team, it's not so much that they are playing Missouri in their first game of the season - it's simply getting to play.

They get that chance tonight at 6 in their home opener against the Tigers at Murphy Stadium and at 1 p.m. tomorrow against Pepperdine.

"We are going to really see what kind of team we are," said sophomore goalkeeper McCall Smith.

The Wildcats return 10 players who started 10 or more games last season and have a team loaded with experience, with six seniors, one junior, eight sophomores and eight freshmen. [Read article]

Second baseman Shelley Schultz of the Arizona softball team pleaded guilty Wednesday to two of six charges stemming from animal cruelty charges brought against her in April, according to an article in yesterday's Arizona Daily Star.

As part of the deal, Schultz, who hit .205 in 50 starts last season, was sentenced to three years' probation, a span in which she may not own any animals, the article stated. She must also pay a pair of $113 fines. [Read article]