Another quick recap of how other sports on the U of A campus are doing:
Softball:
The #13 ranked Wildcats hosted a doubleheader against the UTEP Miners (11-11) on Wednesday and came away with wins in both matchups. In the first game Arizona easily handled the Miners 20-1 led by 5 home runs, 2 of those from Freshman Kristen Arriola. Freshman Lini Koria (pictured below) also contributed 6 RBIs.
In their second game UTEP played a much better game, forcing the Cats to rally in the 6th inning to pull out a 5-2 victory. After the first 3 innings, the game remained scoreless, but in the top of the 4th UTEP broke the tie to take a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the 6th inning the Wildcats scored 4 runs off homers from Junior Stacie Chambers and Sophomore Brittany Lastrapes. Arizona will play host to the Hillenbrand Invitational this weekend.
Gymnastics:
The #16 ranked Gymcats will be hosting their last home meet of the season at 7:00 PM local time tonight at McKale Center.
Track and Field:
The annual Arizona International track meet scheduled for this weekend has been due to the low number of participants involved. As disappointing as this is for the University, it will provide the Wildcats with a few extra weeks of training before their first meet of the season which will be the Willie Williams Classic held on March 20th.
Women's Basketball:
The Cats were heavy underdogs Thursday against the #2 ranked Stanford Cardinal, but put in a terrific effort in a heart breaking loss. Sophomore forward Ify Ibekwe (pictured right), the Wildcats' leading scorer and rebounder, returned to action after missing two games with a knee injury and finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. In the late second half, U of A went on a terrific run to cut Stanford's lead to 65-64 with only 1:36 to play. The Cardinal recovered to extend their lead back to 4 when Freshman Courtney Clements hit a three with 5 seconds left to cut the lead to 68-67. Stanford made both free throws and Arizona missed a buzzer beater attempt to end the game.
The Wildcats will finish their season tonight against the #9 ranked California Golden Bears on the road.
Men's Swimming:
The Pac 10 Men's Swimming Championship started Wednesday this week and will continue until Saturday when a champion will be crowned. During the meet the Wildcats are trying to beat their competition, but also their times as they try to reach the marks necessary to qualify for the NCAA National Championships held in College Station, Texas. After the first two days of competition the 'Cats are in third, led by Olympian Jean Basson who easily won the 500 freestyle with an impressive 4:12.99.
Men's Tennis:
The #17 ranked 'Cats continued their successful season with a 6-1 victory over the Texas A&M Aggies. The win was their 8th consecutive and only lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes. Arizona's next match will be at home on Sunday against the UCI Anteaters.