Tobias named Pac-10 coach of year on eve of NCAA tournament opener

Head soccer coach Dan Tobias said this week that he and his players wanted to establish a winning tradition at the UA.

Tobias managed to keep the Wildcats' winning ways of 2004 right on course yesterday, without even taking the field.

The Pacific 10 Conference announced Tobias, who took the Wildcats from near the bottom of the pack to the Pac-10 penthouse in just two seasons, as the conference's Coach of the Year award yesterday. [Read article]

Ready to repeat last season's Pac-10 Championship season and excited to avenge an early exit in last season's NCAA tournament, the UA women's basketball team opens its season tonight at 7 p.m. in McKale Center when it takes on Saint Mary's in the first round of the preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament.

The Wildcats enter regular season play fresh off a pair of exhibition blowout victories, 80-54 over Play Mode Sports on Nov. 2 and 77-45 over Baden Sports Monday night. [Read article]

The Arizona men's basketball team looks ready for the regular season after whipping Sonoma State 105-80 last night in its final exhibition game of the year.

The Wildcat cats likely won't live up to their top-10 national ranking, however, if center Channing Frye cannot stay on the court.

After a first half in which Frye scored only six points in six minutes of play after picking up two early fouls, he scored the second half's first nine points as the Wildcats blew the game open with a 13-3 run. Arizona extended its lead to 31 at one point before winning by its 25-point margin. [Read article]

For the second time this season, the No. 21 Arizona (15-9) volleyball team was brought down by top-ranked and undefeated Washington. The Wildcats' most recent defeat came last night in a sweep (20-30, 27-30, 23-30) at the Huskies home, Bank of America Arena in Seattle, Wash.

The loss broke Arizona's three-game winning streak and brought the team back to .500 in the Pacific-10 conference with seven wins against seven losses. Washington built on its best start in school history as it improved to 21-0 overall and 13-0 in the Pac-10. [Read article]

The UA Icecats hit the road for the first time this season tonight and Saturday against the St. Louis Billikens.

Arizona, ranked No. 20 in the latest American Collegiate Hockey Association poll, hopes a change of scenery will result in a change of its early season misfortune.

The Icecats are off to a 1-4-1 start after three tough series at home, including two against top-10 teams Arizona State and Weber State. [Read article]

The UA men’s and women’s cross country teams travel to Fresno, Calif. for the NCAA West Region Championships this weekend.

The Wildcats will send eight men and eight women to the Sunday event, to be held at Fresno State’s Woodward Park.

The women’s 6k event will take off at 11 a.m. PT, followed by the men’s 10k race at noon.

Robert Cheseret of the men’s team and Beth Hoge of the women’s team will be expected to lead the way for the Wildcats. [Read article]

If last weekend's UA victory over Washington was for the Pac-10's pseudo-championship - rather just to stay out of the conference basement - then the Wildcats' matchup tomorrow with top-ranked Southern California must be of National Championship proportions.

"We're going to look at it like our national championship game. It's a great opportunity to shock the country," said UA senior tight end Steve Fleming, preparing for second to last game in a Wildcat uniform, with kickoff set for 7:15 p.m. PST from Los Angeles. "It's an opportunity for us to play in the Orange Bowl, as far as I'm concerned." [Read article]