Weekend sports preview


Arizona Daily Wildcat
Tuesday, November 10, 2005

Cats finish exhibition slate against D-II Fort Lewis

The Arizona women's basketball team concludes its exhibition schedule tomorrow against Division II Fort Lewis College at 7 p.m. in McKale Center.

It'll be a reunion of sorts for senior guard Natalie Jones, who will face off against East Anchorage (Alaska) High School teammate Christa Wilson, with whom she won three state championships.

Jones and the Wildcats will use this final exhibition game to get used to an undersized lineup that will now be missing freshman center Amina Njoukou for four to eight weeks after undergoing minor surgery Tuesday for a stress fracture in her right foot, said Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini.

- Michael Schwartz

Volleyball readies for postseason in Bay Area

The No. 6 Arizona volleyball team has picked the right time of year to play to its potential, with the postseason looming three weeks away.

But the Wildcats will be put to the test today, as Arizona (17-4, 9-3 Pacific 10 Conference) duals with No. 18 California (15-7, 8-5) at 8 p.m. in Berkeley, Calif.

The Wildcats battle with No. 4 Stanford (21-4, 10-3) tomorrow night at 8 in Palo Alto, Calif.

Although the Wildcats defeated Cal in three games in McKale Center on Oct. 14, Rubio said both teams played far from exceptional.

Arizona upset the then-No. 3 Cardinal in five games the day before.

- Lindsey Frazier

Cross country seeks championship bids

Despite finishing in second place at the Pac-10 Championships on Oct. 29, the No. 9 Arizona men's cross country team looks to redeem itself Saturday at the NCAA West Region Championships in Palo Alto, Calif.

Arizona will earn an automatic team bid to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 21 by finishing first or second this weekend.

Running for the Arizona women will be redshirt sophomore and team captain Emily McGregor and junior Ashley Ippolito, who will be trying to qualify for the NCAA Championships as individuals for the first time in their careers.

- Jason Kleinman

Icecats host 49ers behind potent 'Kid Line'

After a strong weekend on the road in St. Louis, the No. 13 Arizona men's club hockey team returns home for a series against Cal State-Long Beach. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Tucson Convention Center Arena.

One of the biggest boosts for the Icecats (5-2) this year has been the "Kid Line" made up of sophomore Scott Marshall and freshmen Matt Conover, Robbie Nowinski, Zack Stommen and Kevin West, Golembiewski said.

Conover has already racked up 17 points this season, and Nowinski, Stommen and Marshall all scored last weekend in Arizona's two-game sweep against Saint Louis on Friday and Saturday.

- Anthony Tarnowski

Diving teams travel to L.A. for Trojan Invite

The Arizona diving teams will compete in the Trojan Invite at Southern California's McDonald's Swim Stadium on Friday and Saturday.

The event will consist of both 1-meter and 3m competition, along with tower diving.

"This is a good warm up for the divers to see what their competition will be like in the Pac-10," said Arizona diving head coach Michele Mitchell-Rocha.

Rocha said she is expecting good results from all the divers going, particularly seniors John Collier and Tiffany Manning.

- Allison Hamila

Men's golf heads to Fla. for match-play action

The Wildcat men's golf team is off to Orlando, Fla., to play in the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship tomorrow through Sunday.

Leading the way for Arizona is junior Henry Liaw, who is coming off a second-place finish at the CordeValle Invitational on Nov. 1.

"He is the leader of the team," said Wildcat assistant coach John Knauer. "He has a different attitude ... the way he goes about his business."

"It seemed like last year he was a kid, and this year he is a man," said sophomore Trey Denton. "Now he's here to get down to business and play some golf."

- Dmitry Rashnitsov