Cardinal sweep ends UA postseason chances

The Wildcat baseball team was on a roll going into this weekend's series against No. 18 Stanford at Sancet Field. They had just won two of three games at UCLA, and they were looking to make a late-season run at the NCAA regional playoffs. But Arizona's 22 -4 loss yesterday completed a three-game Cardinal sweep and took UA out of postseason contention. Yesterday's rout came on the heels of UA's 9-3 loss Saturday and a 6-5 defeat Friday.

The Wildcats fell to 22-28 overall, 6-18 in the Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division, while Stanford improved to 27-17 and 13-11.

"The first game was a game we should have won, and we played well enough to win it," Arizona head coach Jerry Kindall said. "(Saturday) our pitching from (Tyler) Haddix, who has good stuff, issued seven walks, and the walks killed us. (Sunday) the game ju st got away from us. Our pitching just ran out of gas."

Stanford came out early in yesterday's game scoring three runs in the first inning sparked by first baseman Luke Quaccia's two-run triple. Stanford continued their offensive run with a two-run home run in the second inning by right fielder Joe Kilburg.

The Wildcats answered in the second with a solo shot by second baseman John Powers. By the sixth inning, the score was 9-3 in favor of the Cardinal. After the sixth inning, the score was 20-3, and the Wildcats were never able to come back.

Stanford collected 11 hits and 11 runs in the inning off Jason Frierott, Jason Ford - who gave up seven earned runs - and Chet Henderson.

"The way I'm thinking of it is that we should at least have a respectable record," Powers said of the last games of the season. "We came out and played well early in the year, then we kind of hit a wall. We were clutch early in the year, and now we've slo wed down, obviously."

Saturday's game was close until the sixth inning, when Stanford scored five runs to take a 7-1 lead. Haddix (4-5), UA's starting pitcher, received the loss after allowing six hits and seven earned runs with seven walks and three strikeouts. Powers had a d ouble, and left fielder Jeff Gjerde had a triple. Catcher Tom King went 3-4 with one RBI.

- Sam Spiller

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Women's tennis gets 20th win vs. ASU

This weekend, the women's tennis team ended the regular season with their 20th win - an Arizona first.

That it came against Arizona State made it even better.

The fourth-ranked Wildcats (20-3 overall, 8-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference) swept the Sun Devils 5-1 Saturday at the Robson Tennis Center, clinching second-place in the Pac-10, also a first.

"It has been a phenomenal year. This team has worked so hard to achieve what it has," UA head coach Becky Bell said.

Winners for Arizona were Stephanie Sammaritano, Betsy Miringoff, Karen Goldstein, Khristen Pietrucha and Brooke Herman at the No. 2 through 6 positions, respectively.

At No. 4, Goldstein, a freshman, won her 20th match 6-4, 6-0 over Alison Nash.

All-American Vicky Maes, playing with a sore muscle in her right arm, suffered the only UA loss, to Reka Cseresnes 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 1 position. Maes, the current top-ranked player in the nation, has lost two of her last five matches. Playing five matches in 12 days, Maes' arm has not had time to heal.

Under Bell, the team's previous best record was in 1991, when it ended 19-10.

Coming into this year, the Wildcats had a 6-41 record in the Pac-10 since 1990.

"We have been last in the Pac-10 before and still ranked in the top 10," Bell said, attesting to the quality of the conference.

- Kevin Clerici

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Schwartz's win gives men victory

The streak continues, barely.

The 19th-ranked men's tennis team defeated Arizona State 4-3 Saturday to sweep the Sun Devils in Tempe and preserve what is becoming a pattern.

In the last four years, UA and ASU have traded sweeps, with Arizona taking three matches in 1994.

This year, the Wildcats (12-8 overall, 3-7 in the Pacific 10 Conference) and No. 34 ASU were tied 3-3 with only one match left. At No. 5, senior Edward Schwartz rallied from being down two match points in the second set to defeat Wolf von Lindenua 4-6, 7- 6, 6-4 and the Sun Devils.

After losing the doubles point, the Wildcats were forced to win four of the six singles matches. Also winning for Arizona was Jan Anderson with his 6-3, 6-4 defeat of 67th-ranked Oscar Bustos at No. 1, Tom Haugland at No. 4 and Roland Kupka at No. 6.

By finishing the regular season with another win against a top-50 opponent, the Wildcats have nearly guaranteed themselves a No. 1 or 2 seed at the West Regional in Las Vegas in May.

- Kevin Clerici