Staff Reports
Arizona Daily Wildcat
November 18, 1997

Tuesday's Tidbits

Don't expect any trash talking from the UA football team before the big game against the Sun Devils. To avoid all the chaos that occurred last year: the boasting in the papers and the fighting off the field, head coach Dick Tomey has closed practice to all media before the Nov. 28 game. It looks like neither team will be able to put any newspaper clippings on the bulletin board for motivation. Last year's 56-14 loss, however, should be enough motivation for the Wildcats.

The ninth-ranked Wildcat volleyball team got a bit of a surprise earlier this month.

Arizona Daily Wildcat Heidi Bomberger

On the Thursday practice before Arizona's Homecoming weekend match against Cal, Heidi Bomberger stopped by.

Bomberger, a senior outside hitter on last season's team who became just the fifth Wildcat to appear in 400 games in her career at UA, didn't tell anyone she was coming into town.

Senior Sara Johnson spotted her in the McKale Center stands during practice and shouted her name, beginning a string of hellos.

"I just wanted to pop in because I hadn't seen anyone for a while," said Bomberger, who watched the Wildcats sweep Cal that Friday. "I didn't even know it was Homecoming weekend. I just wanted to see a game before the season was over."

Bomberger and former UA football player Tedy Bruschi, who is now playing for the New England Patriots, got married over the summer.

"Married life couldn't be better," said the Tucson native. "Tedy's doing excellent. He's playing well and having a good season. The team's slipping a little bit right now but they're going to come back."

UA cross country runner Katrin Engelen, who joined the team in September from her native Germany, was not difficult to pick out among the 167 women at Saturday's Far West Regional at Tucson's Dell Urich Golf Course. Engelen was sporting a solid red Wildcat sticker about the size of two thumbprints upon her forehead. Her teammates placed the red or blue stickers on less conspicuous body parts, like shoulders and arms. Engelen had an explanation for her odd choice of placement.

"It was a good luck charm," the native of Dornstetten, Germany said. "Unfortunately it wasn't that good."

Engelen came in 46th with a time of 18 minutes, 56.6 seconds.

Icecat freshman right-wing Marc Harris said that he has been best friends with fellow freshman Erin Murphy for the past six years. On Saturday night, Murphy got a chance to show off her own stick skills on the ice when she was selected to shoot a puck for a free pizza, a contest held between the second and third periods of every home game. After announcing to the crowd that she was Harris' best friend, Murphy smacked the puck straight into the goal. Because he was in the locker room during the entire event, Harris was just a bit surprised when he was told of his best friend's exploits.

"No way!" he yelled, laughing. "Man, that's great! She made it? Whoa."

Wide receiver Jeremy McDaniel seems to be recovering well from his deep thigh bruise suffered over the summer. The team's top receiver from last year has been practicing with the scout team. He will not see action, however, because he is redshirting this season so he can enjoy a healthy senior season.

Arizona Daily Wildcat Jeremy McDaniel

While the football team is off limits to the media for the next two weeks, basketball coach Lute Olson has placed a blanket of his own on his players. Media can only talk with players after Olson's weekly press conference and following games; after practice interviews are no longer allowed. The Wildcat was asked not to approach players as they exit McKale Center or try to reach them at home.

Four members of the UA baseball team had a successful stint with the USA baseball team that recently moved its headquarters to Tucson. Infielders Keoni DeRenne and Omar Moraga, who was the oldest member of the nation's best young players, and pitchers Peter Fredericks and Tony Milo participated in the week long event at Hi Corbett Field. All four were selected to represent the United States in its international tour next summer.