KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA sophomore golfer Henry Liaw hits an iron shot during the final round of his victory at the Pac-10 Championships last Spring. Liaw begins his second season with the Wildcats next week as one of the nation's top-ranked golfers.

Golfer Liaw earns preseason honors

With the team's first action of the 2004-2005 season on tap for next week, UA sophomore men's golfer Henry Liaw has been able to crack a pair of preseason awards lists.

Golf World magazine named Liaw to its "Top 50 Players to Watch" list after the Rowland Heights, Calif., native posted eight top-20 finishes and won the Pacific 10 Conference individual championships in the spring.

Liaw was also named a second-team preseason All-American by Golfweek.

In addition to Liaw's individual nominations, Arizona was tabbed fourth in Golf World's preseason poll, while the Wildcats check in at No. 11 in the Golfweek preseason top-30 poll.

Arizona returns 11 letterwinners from last season's club, which won the 2004 Pac-10 Championship and finished third at the NCAA Championships. The Wildcats open the season at the Topy Cup, Sept. 7-9, in Tokyo, Japan.

Bell up for nation's best back award

UA junior tailback Mike Bell is a preseason nominee for the 2004 Doak Walker Award, the Southern Methodist University Athletic Forum announced this week.

Bell is one of 42 players to be nominated for the award, presented to the nation's top college running back.

Bell led the Wildcats with 920 yards on just 168 carries as a sophomore last season and is the Pacific 10 Conference's top returning rusher. Bell scored six touchdowns last season as well, including four that went for 37 yards or more.

The list of candidates also includes Kansas State senior Darren Sproles, who was a finalist for the 2003 Doak Walker award. Sproles led the nation in total rushing yards last season with 1,915. Other candidates include Texas senior Cedric Benson, who led the nation in scoring last season and has 3,706 career rushing yards, the most of any returning back, and Syracuse senior Walter Reyes, who's gained more than 1,100 yards in each of the past two seasons.

California senior J.J. Arrington and Southern California sophomores Reggie Bush and LenDale White are the other three candidates from the Pac-10 nominated for the award.

Women's hoops adds to coaching staff

UA women's basketball head coach Joan Bonvicini rounded out her coaching staff this week with the hiring of Toriano Towns.

"I am extremely excited to join the Wildcat family," Towns said. "Tucson is a mecca for great college basketball, and Coach Bonvicini is a living legend in our sport. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with an exceptional staff and some of the most talented athletes in the country."

Towns comes to the UA from Gonzaga, where he has served as an assistant for the past three seasons. He will work with the Wildcat post players, and will also be heavily involved in recruiting and scouting.

"We're very excited to have Tori join our staff," Bonvicini said. "He has excellent experience and he's an outstanding recruiter. He was instrumental in helping Gonzaga become one of the top teams in the West Coast Conference."

At Gonzaga, Towns was responsible for post player development as well as scouting and game preparation. He also served as the co-recruiting coordinator. While there, he helped orchestrate the second-best turnaround in West Coast Conference history as the team went from eighth to second place in just one year.

- From staff and wire reports