Wildcat Week in Review, Oct. 14

Arizona football clawed it’s way back in the second half, but fell just short of USC last Thursday, Oct. 10, losing 31-38. The Wildcats (3-2, 0-2) trailed the Trojans (4-2, 1-2) 28-14 at halftime in Los Angeles before senior quarterback B.J. Denker turned up the heat, connecting with junior receiver Garic Wharton for two touchdowns and sophomore receiver David Richards for one more. Denker’s 363 passing yards were not enough to catch USC’s quick running game, as the Trojans recorded 259 rushing yards. USC running back Javorious Allen led the way with 37 yards and two touchdowns.

Women’s volleyball went 1-1 in Washington this weekend after falling to No. 6 Washington 3-1 (10-25, 20-25, 25-21, 20-25) on Friday and defeating Washington State 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-12) yesterday. Junior libero Ronnie Lewis, freshman setter Penina Snuka, and Candace Nicholson combined for 39 digs in a defensive effort against the Huskies, but it wasn’t enough to stop Washington’s .276 hitting percentage. Snuka also added 33 assists to junior outside hitter Madi Kingdon (13 kills), Jane Croson (12 kills) and junior outside hitter Taylor Arizobal (10 kills). Sunday, the Wildcats picked up their defensive game, recording 93 digs in an effort against Washington State. Snuka and Nicholson each had 20 digs, while Lewis contributed 18, and Kingdon added 16 in addition to 19 kills.

Arizona basketball held it’s annual McDonald’s Red-Blue Game yesterday at McKale Center, with the Red defeating the Blue 44-38. The Red, led by sophomore center Kaleb Tarczewski (18 points), freshman forward Aaron Gordon (12 points, 13 rebounds, three assists), and junior guard Nick Johnson (nine points) put on a show against freshman forward Rondae Jollis-Jefferson (18 points, four rebounds, two steals) and sophomore forward Brandon Ashley (14 points, 12 rebounds) for the sold-out arena and over 7,000 internet viewers. Gordon also won the slam-dunk contest before the game.

The Arizona women’s soccer team trumped Oregon State 2-0 Friday in Corvalis, Ore. before falling to Oregon 1-0 today. The Wildcats (6-5-3), led by senior forward Jazmin Ponce, outshot the Beavers (2-9-2) 16-7 on Friday night. Ponce’s eighth goal of the season came in the 48th minute, followed by a goal by junior Alexandra Doller in the 83rd minute. Sunday, the Wildcats held Oregon (6-5-2) scoreless in the first half before Oregon freshman ShayLee Miner scored in the 60th minute of the game. The Wildcats hit the crossbar three times in their 14 attempts on goal, but could not connect with the net.

The Wildcats ice hockey team went 1-1 in their double header at No. 10 Liberty this weekend in Lynchburg, Va. The #19 Wildcats (3-3-0) defeated Liberty (8-1-0) 5-1 Friday, Oct. 11 before falling 5-2 on Saturday. Liberty recorded it’s first loss of the season Friday night, after Mike Ferreira and Ansel Ivens-Anderson netted two goals and Andrew Murmes pitched in one. Murmes also scored both goals on Saturday night. Goalie Steven Sisler started both nights in the net, recording 37 saves on Friday.

Men’s golf placed 12th overall at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate last Tuesday in Vestavia Hills, Ala. Senior Erik Oja shot +2 overall (212) at the Old Overton Country Club, landing him an 8th place finish, 10 strokes behind UAB’s Wilson McDonald (-8, 202), who won the tournament. Alabama won the tournament by 16 strokes over second-place finisher Texas A&M (+5, 845). Contributing to the Wildcats’ 12th place finish were 56th place finisher senior Benson Liu (228), 58th place finisher junior Alex McMahon (234), 59th place finisher junior Tucker Wadkins (236), and 60th place finisher Christian Colegrove (242).

The women’s Arizona tennis team dominated the Wildcat Invitational at El Conquistador that wrapped up yesterday. The Wildcats recorded eight championship wins, three for doubles and five for singles, in each of their respective brackets. In the Wildcat Flight bracket, duo senior Susan McRann and junior Laura Oldham remain undefeated on the year as they beat Rebeca Calvillo and Davina Meza of UTEP 9-7. Sophomores Shayne Austin and Inge Hendrikx went undefeated in the Cardinal Flight, beating CSUN’s Collet and NAU’s Headford 8-3. Senior Akilah James and freshman Lauren Marker shut out UTSA’s Rosnell-Canudas and Johnson 8-0 to claim the consolation bracket. In singles, James and Rosnell-Canudas met again, with James taking the Wildcat Flight championship 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. Marker swept UTSA’s Irene Gandara Gonzales 6-1, 6-0 to win her first fall tournament of the year in the singles Cardinal Flight. McRann also took her match in two, defeating UTEP’s Tench 6-1, 6-2, and Arizona freshman Carly Cassity swept NAU’s Headford 6-1, 6-2 to claim the consolation Navy Flight title. Austin and Hendrikx faced off in the Navy Flight, were Austin won the best-of-three match 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Arizona’s men’s and No. 3 women’s track and field teams competed in the Thunderbird Classic in Mesa, Ariz. on Saturday. Junior Thomas Valente placed first in the 8,000-meter race for the men’s team with a time of 24:48.5, followed by teammates junior Braden Timpe (25:15.7) and freshman Travis Thorne (25:20.9) in second and third place. Other Wildcat top-10 finishers included sophomore Sam Willis (fifth 25:38.4), freshman Jeff Gautreau (eighth 26:14.1), freshman Brendan Tinoco (ninth, 26:20.9), and Michael Cox (10th, 27:11.3). In the women’s 5k, freshman McKenna Gaffney took fifth place with a time of 18:31.1 and junior Daylee Burr followed closely behind, placing sixth with a time of 18:52.4.