Staff Reports Arizona Daily Wildcat May 13, 1998 Season Wrapups Golf teams try to end seasons strong The top-ranked UA women's golf team matched its Pacific 10 Conference Championship with an NCAA West Region title as the Wildcats defeated Arizona State by 15 strokes to win its second region title. Arizona finished with a score of 871, good enough for five-under-par. UA's Marisa Baena finished second with a four-under-par 215. The women's team has had a strong year so far. With first place finishes at the Rolex NCAA Preview, Rolex Match Play Championships and the Pac-10 Championships, and coupling those with four second place finishes, the Wildcats find themselves ranked first going into the final tournament of the year. UA placed three golfers on this year's six-women All Pac-10 first team - sophomore Jenna Daniels and juniors Krissie Register and Baena. UA coach Rick LaRose was named Pac-10 coach of the year. The UA men's golf team has struggled throughout the year and will try to improve on its third place finish at the Pac-10 Championships when it travels to Tempe to participate in the NCAA West Regionals this weekend. "There is a very good field, but like I've said all year, if we play our best I have no doubt in my mind that we should win," UA senior Rory Sabbatini said. The Wildcats are ranked fourth in the nation after a devastating defeat at the Pac-10 Championships. Sabbatini, who has ranked college golf's best player for nine weeks, said the team didn't live up to expectations. "No, I do not believe we played to our full potential this year, as a team or individually," he said. - Mike Jenkins Volleyball team focuses on positives Despite a first round loss to Oral Roberts in the NCAA Tournament, the Arizona volleyball team says the season was a success. The Wildcats finished at 20-7 overall and 12-6 in the Pacific 10 Conference, their best league mark. They began the season ranked No. 20 and were the ninth-best team in the nation at one point. "Sometimes things don't end well but the ending is maybe not the most important thing to look at," senior Michelle Fanger said. "I'm really proud of everyone for sticking together. We had an amazing season with an amazing team." "Maybe next year we're in a different bracket and we're playing against a different team," UA head coach Dave Rubio said. The team will be different next season, as the Wildcats will lose seven players, including five seniors who had a strong impact on the program. UA also lost All-Pac-10 middle blocker Erin Aldrich, who transferred to Texas in December. "In athletics, seldom does the script play out the way it was meant to play out, or the most logical way to play out," Rubio said. "I didn't have any real high expectations of this team when we first started the season. We were just trying to make the playoffs." - Kristen Davis UA swimming exceeds expectations One of the top all-around swim programs in the country, Arizona's accomplishments in and out of the water are results that other schools dream of. This year was no exception, as the team put a great big smile on their coach's face. "Both the guys and girls were awesome," head coach Frank Busch said. "They had great seasons, higher than my expectations, that's for sure." The women's team finished second at the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, behind Pacific 10 Conference rivals Stanford. Sophomore Trina Jackson won her second consecutive 1,650-yard freestyle national championship, winning in a time of 14:49.25, the fourth-fastest time ever. The women were a motivating factor for the men, who finished sixth at the NCAA's in Auburn, Ala., a week later. Sophomore Ryk Neethling became only the second man to win the 200, 500, and 1,650 free national titles at one meet. Though Busch will lose Shannon Hosack, Laurie Kline, Leisl Kolbisen, Heather Branstetter, and Maureen Phillips, five seniors on the women's team, and Chris Counts and Glenn Flint on the men's team, he must like his team's potential for next year. "They are one of the best senior classes we've ever had, and they will be sorely missed," Busch said. - Bryan Rosenbaum Skieresz, Abdirahman highlight season The Arizona men's and women's cross country teams didn't have great seasons, with neither squad making it to NCAA's. But while the teams struggled, UA head coach Dave Murray saw runners Amy Skieresz and Abdi Abdirahman turn great performances. Skieresz, a junior, entered the season as the defending NCAA champion. She had won seven races in a row at the start of the season and extended that streak to 13 by winning every race up until NCAA's, including a record-setting third Pacific 10 Conference title in a row. Skieresz came in second at the NCAA Championships. Abdirahman, a junior transfer from Pima College, became the Wildcat men's top runner, capping off his season with a third place finish at the Western Regional in Tucson and a seventh place finish at NCAA's. He and Skieresz qualified as individuals, but their teammates failed to make it to South Carolina. "Losing Bob Keino, who was academically disqualified, hurt us a lot," Murray said. The women's team, he added, was hurt by a lack of runners. - Chris Jackson