Coach Gault to retire

UA's gymnastics coach Jim Gault announced he will retire following the upcoming season, which concludes an 18-year career at the university.

Gault joined the University of Arizona in 1981 and built an unheralded program into a consistent top-20 team. Under Gault's tutelage the Wildcats made nine NCAA Championships appearances, including a string of seven in a row from 1987 to 1993.

The Wildcats top finish under Gault was a fifth-place showing at the NCAA Championship in 1992, returning the following season to finish sixth. Gault has earned five Pacific 10 Conference Coach of the Year awards, most recently in 1996.

Candrea honored

UA softball head coach Mike Candrea has been selected as the Speedline/NFCA Division I National Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year.

Candrea led the Wildcats to their fifth national championship this season with a 10-2 victory over their league rival, the UCLA Bruins. This year's squad finished with a 61-5 record and a best-ever Pacific 10 Conference mark of 26-1.

Earlier in the year, Candrea who has coached at the UA for 12 years, became the 10th coach in NCAA Division I history to win 600 games. His overall record stands at 627-138.

Candrea will be honored as the national coach of the year Dec. 5 at the NFCA National Convention in Palm Springs, Calif. He was first selected by his peers as the Speedline Pacific Region Coach of the Year and then placed on the ballot for national coach of the year.