Let's face it, anticipating the year in sports at the UA back in August could have been summed up in four syllables: Bru-schi and Reg-gie. But at a university dominated by football and men's basketball, it was the women that turned in the banner seasons. Amy Skieresz kicked things off with a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship in cross country, and before Jenny Dalton and Vicky Maes lead softball and tennis, respectively, to shots at national titles later this month, women's basketball entered the postseason for the first time and won the National Women's Invitation Tournament; women's swimming glided through a perfect dual-meet season; Heidi Hornbeek led the gymnasts to another NCAA Tournament; and Maria Baena won the Pacific 10 Conference title in women's golf.
When the season began, Arizona women's basketball head coach Joan Bonvicini said she wanted her players to have the attitude of a champion. By the time the season ended, that attitude translated into a trophy.
Arizona finished the season by sweeping through the National Women's Invitational Tournament field and capturing its first postseason title in school history. UA finished tied for third in the Pac-10 with Oregon at 10-8 and its 22-8 record was the best in the 23 years of the program. The Wildcats began the season at 9-0.
To Bonvicini, the end-of-the-season success was a reiteration of the effort and work ethic the players had displayed all year.
"I have to credit the players with our success," Bonvicini said after winning the NWIT. "It was their attitude that made us a winner this season, and it's that enduring attitude that will make us a winner in the future."
The Wildcats combined senior leadership with young talent to produce an up-tempo team that relied on defensive pressure and the long range shooting of senior point guard Brenda Pantoja and senior forward Andrea Constand. Pantoja was the nation's leading a ssist woman, averaging over nine a game. Sophomore forward Adia Barnes gave the Wildcats an inside scoring threat, averaging 16.9 points per game and grabbing 7.5 rebounds.
The Wildcats' successful season, however, was not without its pitfalls. Despite Arizona's best record in school history, it was passed over in March by the NCAA selection committee for Oregon, a school it had beaten earlier that week. At the beginning of the season, most of the players stated that their single goal was to make the NCAA Tournament. When they failed to, it seemed to temporarily crush their spirits.
"We've never gotten respect here, and tonight just capped it off," Pantoja said at the team's annual banquet at McKale Center in March. "This school and Joan have never received any respect, and it's unfortunate because she did a great job this year in ge tting our team to where it is now."
But the Wildcats' win in the NWIT seemed to erase any bad memories or hurt feelings.
"Now we have a taste of what it is like to win," Barnes said. "That has given us a lot of confidence. Now we want to continue to improve and just get better next season."
Arizona's 79-63 victory over Northwestern in the NWIT title game punctuated a season of big wins. The team defeated 15th-ranked Oregon State at home by 14, avenged a loss to UCLA with a win on Feb. 16 and beat Cal in an emotional come-from-behind victory, 85-82, in the last game of the season. The Wildcats were swept only by Pac-10 champion and Final Four-bound Stanford this season.
Emotion and veteran leadership were two of the reasons Arizona was so successful this season. With only two players graduating, five freshman joining the team and two redshirts preparing to play next season, the Wildcats are looking to become even deeper and more talented than ever.
"We have made great strides this season," Bonvicini said. "This program is definitely on the rise."
- Craig Sanders
Gymnastics
In 1996 the UA gymnastics team gave Arizona fans a big indication on which direction the program is heading. After failing to reach the NCAA championships two years in a row, the Wildcats (35-11) finished seventh in the nation this season.
"This year's team had a much higher talent level than we've had in the last couple of seasons," UA coach Jim Gault said. "Add that to the great senior leadership and high work ethic and you have a very good team."
Three main reasons for Arizona's success were a trio of talented freshmen who wasted little time in making their presence felt. First team All-Americans Heidi Hornbeek and Maureen Kealey, along with second team All-American Kristin McDermott, gave Arizona three performers capable of winning the all-around every meet.
Hornbeek, Arizona's most consistent and talented performer, finished as the No. 4 all-around performer in the nation when she recorded a 39.4 in the championships. Hornbeek's perfect 10 on the floor exercise captured first-place honors, while a 9.9 in the bars ranked her at number four. She was rated number one in the conference in the all-around, vault and floor.
Kealey came on at the end of the season and was another reason for Arizona's success. She finished 10th in the nation in the all-around, while finishing ninth on the bars.
"One major strength on our team this season was the depth we had at each event," Gault said. "While we had Heidi and Maureen to give us the great all-around scores, our success was also due to the many role players we had on our team."
One person that excelled in a limited role was senior second-team All-American Shane Allbritton, who recorded a 9.85 on the bars in the NCAA championships to help Arizona finish strong.
"We thought Shane should have reached the finals for her performance on the bars," Gault said. "But she really came on for us as the season came to a close and had a great senior year."
- Arlie Rahn
Softball
His team weakened by graduation and injury, Arizona head softball coach Mike Candrea definitely had some questions heading into the 1996 season.
Lisa Pitt has given him an answer.
Pitt, a freshman pitcher from Buena Park, Calif., has turned into a force in the pitching circle after rough outings at the beginning of the season.
"I think basically she's got command of her pitches," Candrea said. "She's not walking people - that's the bottom line."
Pitt started the season 10-0 but then lost two games - a 2-1 loss to No. 4 Fresno State in which she gave up a home run in the top of the seventh and to No. 2 Washington 7-0. Since that time, she has pitched her best games of the season, including three s hutouts in her last four appearances.
With the help of Pitt, UA (47-9 overall, 19-5 in the Pacific 10 Conference) has been ranked No. 1 and is poised to make another run at the NCAA title game - its postseason destination every year for the last five. Arizona won the title in 1991, '93 and '9 4.
"Right now we need people that are hungry," Candrea said. "To get where we want to go you need to be hungry and you need to be focused. It's got to be important to you and if it's important to you you're going to do well."
The road to the title game may lead through Seattle, however, as the Wildcats may have to hit the road for regionals.
"You always want to control your own destiny and we want to help ourselves and win out," Candrea said.
The Wildcats close the regular season this weekend with doubleheaders on the road against Oregon and Oregon State.
- Craig Degel
Women's tennis
Becky Bell is in a tough situation.
Her UA women's tennis team has had the most successful regular season in her 11-year coaching career. Her predominately underclassmen team has played better than expected all year long, but the team still has the NCAA tournament to contend with. Without a championship, the team, now ranked fourth in the country, will fall short of its goal.
"The tournament has been our main goal from the beginning of the season. That is what we have worked so hard for," Bell said. "But regardless of the tournament, this has been a successful year. We have achieved a lot and it has been fun."
The Wildcats still have 10 days before the NCAA tournament begins in Tallahassee, Fla., at the Florida State tennis complex. Arizona's first-round match will come from the winner of one of the regionals.
Arizona stands to get the No. 4 seed at the tournament. No. 2 Stanford - the only team to beat the Wildcats , doing so three times - will be placed in the other side of the bracket.
The official seedings are announced by the NCAA selection committee after the regionals are over.
"Our focus now is getting through finals and have good practices leading up to the tournament," Bell said.
A focused leader, Bell has made the most of her young team. All-American sophomore Vicky Maes (44-8 overall, 21-2 in dual-match play) is the top-ranked player in the nation. Sophomore Betsy Miringoff has 28 wins and has spent most of the year in the top 5 0. Freshman Karen Goldstein finished 22-4 on the season, including her upset of last year's national champion, Keri Phebus of UCLA, at the Pacific 10 Conference tournament. Junior Stephanie Sammaritano has consistently played solid at No. 2 for the team a nd is currently ranked 32nd and freshmen Monique Allegre and Brooke Herman have combined for 29 wins.
"This team has proven that we can beat good teams. The team is very self-motivated to win," Bell said.
The Wildcats have compiled the best record ever (20-3) under Bell, while finishing in second place in the Pac-10, another first for the Wildcats.
One of the few disappointing things this year was assistant coach Stephanie London leaving the team after the regular season to take a job as the national coordinator for World Team Tennis in Los Angeles.
"There has been more things to take on since she has left, but she will be back to help," Bell said. London will come back as assistant coach for the tournament.
Besides the team tournament, the Wildcats are waiting to see who gets into the singles and doubles tournaments.
Maes is a lock and Sammaritano should also qualify. Miringoff and Goldstein are considered to be on the bubble, but after strong performances at the Pac-10s both players are confident.
"Karen had an extremely good tournament with the win over Phebus, but we just have to wait and see," Bell said.
- Kevin Clerici
Women's golf
![[ women's golf ]](golf.gif)
After losing an 11-shot lead at the Pacific 10 Championships in Tucson last week, the Arizona women's golf team is looking to redeem itself at the NCAA West Regional, May 9-11, in Omaha, Neb.
The No. 5-ranked Wildcats placed third at the Pac-10s, behind four-time champion Arizona State and UCLA, which slid past UA into second place.
The field of 20 includes No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 San Jose State, No. 3 Arizona State, No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Stanford. With this level of competition, the Wildcats have their work cut out for them.
"With eight or nine of the best teams in the country in our region, we have to play well to advance," UA head golf coach Rick LaRose said.
"We have to play our best golf of the year, top to bottom. If we pick up and play like we did the first two days of Pac-10s, there is no telling what we can do."
Though Arizona lost the lead that could have won the Wildcats their first Pac-10 title since 1992, the team is taking it in stride.
"Even though we lost the lead, it was a very good learning experience," UA assistant golf coach Tom Brill said.
Freshmen Maria Baena and Krissy Register are two players UA will look for to lead it to victory.
Baena is ranked seventh in the nation and won her fourth title of the year when she claimed the Pac-10 individual title last week.
Register has impressed with six top 10 finishes this year, including a win at the Rainbow Wahine Golf Invitational, and a fourth-place finish at the Pac-10s.
A 1996 second-team All-Pac-10 selection, sophomore Heather Graff continues to be the focal point of the team.
With six top 10 finishes to her credit, she, along with Register and Baena, form a very good nucleus. But as it was shown last week, the Wildcats need some good putting and pitching from sophomore Christina Tolerton and senior Jeanne Anne Krizman in order to challenge for top honors.
"We need consistent, steady play from all five players," Brill said. "We know that if we get our No. 4 and No. 5 players to play as well as we know they can, we have a chance to win at the NCAAs."
The Wildcats must finish in the top nine at regionals in order to advance to the NCAA championships, May 22-25, in LaQuinta, Calif.
- Jacinda Sweet
