Staff Reports
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 17, 1998

Tuesday's Tidbits

Arizona Daily Wildcat Carrie Penfield

Carrie Penfield, a senior outside hitter for UA's volleyball team last year, was one of three women who made the U.S. Olympic National Team in December. More than a dozen women were at the tryouts, which were held during the Final Four in Spokane, Wash.

"I was keeping it quiet," Penfield said yesterday from her Colorado dorm room at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. "I didn't want to make it a big thing."

Penfield, an All-Pacific 10 Conference selection, is training with the 16-person traveling team.

The team's first tournament was held last month in the Dominican Republic. Upcoming events include a U.S. tour with the Russian National Team in April and a Grand Prix tournament in Asia.

A big reason the Arizona Icecats (16-7-1) are going to the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Tournament in March is because of the improvement of sophomore goaltender Mike Tesi. Tesi, a native Tucsonan who had played 91 minutes in eight games before coming to UA, began the season with what head coach Leo Golembiewski called "virtually no college experience."

"I think he's improved 100 percent since the beginning of the semester. The team has confidence in him that they obviously wouldn't have from the offset," Golembiewski said.

Tesi is coming off a big weekend against Colorado, saving 21 of 22 shots Friday and 28 of 32 Saturday.

"He's a small guy with a big heart. He's improved spectacularly since September. His big problem was positioning. He's worked on it a lot," Golembiewski said. "(A team) can't do much without strong goaltending."

When the women's basketball team suited up for a game against Arizona State Saturday night, the team had to go into battle without three reserves.

Head coach Joan Bonvicini knew that Cha-Ron Walker was out with academic problems and Amber Phoenix was out with a knee injury, but she could not have predicted that freshman center Monique Paige would be talking to the police instead of prepping for the game.

Arizona Daily Wildcat Monique Paige

As it turned out, someone had stolen Paige's car and she was providing details for a police investigation.

Of all the players on the seventh-ranked Arizona baseball team, no one has opened more eyes offensively than second baseman Erik Mattern. The senior leadoff hitter currently leads the 16-0 Wildcats in at-bats (76), runs (34), hits (36), triples (5), and total bases (64). He even leads the team in RBI (30). Mattern has already equaled his numbers from last season in RBI and home runs (four). Mattern went 5 for 6 against Portland State Friday, becoming the first Wildcat to record five hits in a game since he did it last February against California. Mattern's career-best 15-game hitting streak that began at the start of the season, though, came to an end in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.

Ever wonder how a high-profile athlete and soon-to-be millionaire spends his nights?

"All I do is watch TV," senior guard Miles Simon said. "As soon as I get home from practice I turn on the TV and watch ESPN."

Simon admitted he is a college basketball junkie, saying he tries to catch every game shown. During the few times he is not watching games, Simon said he fills the rest of his nights playing video games.

Freshman softball player Toni Mascarenas is making quite a name for herself at the plate this season. Mascarenas, who plays third base for the Wildcats, has hit three home runs through eight games, including a grand slam against Utah State Saturday in a 19-2 thrashing of the Aggies. Mascarenas is second on the team in home runs behind senior Leah Braatz and leads the team in both hitting (.682) and RBI (15).