Tierney injured in Missouri

Arizona Daily Wildcat

Injuries are a coach's worst nightmare.

In the midst of one of its best seasons, the UA gymnastics team (6-2) received a major blow Friday in the Cat Classic, which was held in Columbia, Mo. When their team leader and top performer, junior Karen Tierney, went down awkwardly on her knee in the first event, the Wildcats feared the worst.

And after a close examination, those fears were compounded when UA coach Jim Gault said he was not optimistic regarding the situation.

But to their credit, the Wildcats didn't quit, receiving a much-needed boost from senior Nicole Garrett and redshirt freshman Tenli Poggemeyer and finishing second overall with a score of 191.125 Ä however, they still fell short of beating Penn State by .150.

"Losing Karen was quite a blow for us, especially in the first event," Gault said. "But the team hung in there and still recorded a great score."

Garrett led the Wildcats in the all-around with a 38.50, second overall. Poggemeyer and junior Darci Wambsgans recorded the fourth- (38.375) and fifth-best (37.925) scores, respectively.

"It was great to see Nicole perform like she did," Gault said. "Darci and Tenli also did well for us."

In the individual competition, Poggemeyer finished third on the vault, second on the floor and first on the bars. Sophomore Becky Bowers continued her bars brilliance by finishing second, and senior Jenna Karadbil recorded a second-place finish on the beam.

"When you lose your strongest all-arounder, it's tough to deal with," Gault said. "But you have to give the girls some credit for performing the way they did."

Ä Arlie Rahn

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The Arizona women's basketball team (9-12 overall, 4-5 in the Pacific 10 Conference) was beaten by No. 13 Washington 79-71 Saturday night in Seattle. The Huskies' win completed a sweep of the UA by the Washington schools Ä the Wildcats lost to Washington State 78-72 last Thursday.

Against the Cougars (10-7, 3-5), guards Brenda Pantoja, JiJi Sweet and freshman Adia Barnes each scored 14 points.

Saturday, DeAngela Minter scored a career-high 13 points in only her fourth start of the season. Fellow freshman Mikko Giordano also scored 10 points in what was her fourth consecutive start. Sweet pitched in 12.

Despite being tagged for the loss, Arizona shot a season-high 53 percent from the floor, while Washington shot only 34 percent.

Pantoja had eight assists Ä which came on the wind of the impressive 13 assists she had against the Cougars.

"We played a good game tonight," UA coach Joan Bonvicini said of the matchup with UW. "I am proud of our players. They executed the game plan well."

Arizona has now lost three consecutive games, its

last win coming Jan. 26 against then-24th-ranked Oregon in Tucson.

This week, the UA travels to the Bay Area to face Stanford Thursday and Cal Saturday.

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With the weather resembling April more than February, it seems a perfect time to start the golf season. Both the Arizona men's and women's golf teams begin their 1995 seasons Monday with high expectations.

The No. 17 men's team starts the year off in Tucson by hosting the Ping Arizona Intercollegiate. Fourteen teams will compete in the tournament, which lasts through tomorrow. No. 2 Oklahoma State, last year's defending tournament champion, leads the field.

The 15th-ranked women's team opens up its year in Los Angeles at the UCLA Pioneer Electronic Classic.

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The two-time defending national champion Arizona softball team beat an alumni squad 10-4 in the Wildcat Alumni Game Saturday at Hillenbrand Stadium.

Details of what amounted to a comedy on the diamond will appear in tomorrow's Wildcat.

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