CANDREA ADDS TO HIS ALREADY ILLUSTRIOUS LEGACY
We were fortunate to witness another career milestone on Sunday when our head softball coach Mike Candrea notched his 1,500th Division I victory. He is the first coach to reach 1,500 Division I softball wins, and the fastest, in any sport at any level, to reach the 1,500-win plateau. With a record of 1,500-380-2, Mike trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins (1,506-485-5), who spent time in Division II, on the NCAA's all-time softball wins list.
This is another major accomplishment in a career filled with them. During Mike's tenure at Arizona, we have won eight National Championships, which is the most ever for a softball coach, while reaching the Women's College World Series 21 times. We've played in the postseason every year under Mike, except for his first season in 1986. The 30 straight postseason appearances is the longest active streak in the nation and tied for the longest streak ever in collegiate softball. Individually, the program has produced 54 All-Americans, who have earned 95 All-America honors.
Not only has Mike been successful on the diamond, but so many of us who were fortunate enough to play for him, have taken his lessons and applied them to our lives outside of softball. Speaking from a personal standpoint, I wouldn't be where I am today without his guidance and tutelage, and I think many, if not all, of my fellow letterwinners would say the same.
We couldn't be happier for you, coach, and we wish you good luck during the remainder of the season.
If you'd like to watch the tribute video that played after the game on Sunday, click HERE.
MEN'S BASKETBALL WRAPS UP ANOTHER GREAT SEASON
Our men's basketball program wrapped up its 2016-17 campaign with a 32-5 record, a share of the Pac-12 Championship, a Pac-12 Tournament title, and a trip to the Sweet 16.
To dig a little deeper, the 32 wins this year are the fourth most in program history. In fact, four of the program's seven 30-win seasons have come under Sean Miller, who earned his third Pac-12 Coach of the Year Award in the last seven seasons. The regular-season Pac-12 title is the fourth conference championship under Sean, while the tournament title was our second during his tenure. In addition, Sean has now guided his teams to seven Sweet 16s (five at Arizona) since 2008, which is matched only by John Calipari, Tom Izzo, Bill Self and Roy Williams.
While we're disappointed about not advancing further in the NCAA Tournament, nobody was more disappointed than our coaches and players. They put in so much work throughout the year and it's always difficult when you fall short of your final goal, despite accomplishing so much throughout the season.
We want to thank you for your support as always. We've won 70 of our last 72 games in McKale and you're a major reason for that. We also can't get enough of the 'U of A' chants when we're on the road.
We also want to thank the basketball staff and student-athletes. Your commitment to success continues to make basketball season one of the most enjoyable during the calendar year.
Lastly, we want to thank Sean, not only for what you do for our basketball program, but for Arizona Athletics, the University and the Tucson community as a whole. We appreciate all of the time and effort you put into making our program one of the best in the country and there isn't anyone we'd rather have leading it.
FOOTBALL WRAPS UP SPRING BALL
Reminder, all fans are invited to Arizona Stadium on Friday night as Coach Rodriguez closes spring ball with a full scrimmage. This is the second event of our Spring Showcase Series, presented by OrthoPros. The scrimmage will start at 6 p.m. There will also be a free coaches clinic for youth and high school coaches prior to the scrimmage. You can find more information HERE.
30 PRIZES IN 30 DAYS ENDS TOMORROW
We've had a lot of fun giving away prizes this month to fans who have renewed their football season tickets and/or Wildcat Club donations (including men's basketball priority seating). The contest ends tomorrow. Thank you to all who have already renewed. If you haven't, renew tonight for a chance to win. Click HERE to renew online. There is still time to get on a payment plan. We are now offering two-part payment plans. Pay half of your renewal now and the other half on the May 1 renewal deadline.
BASEBALL WELCOMES PAC-12 FOES TO HI CORBETT
Baseball will host their first Pac-12 opponent of the season after being on the road for the last two weekends. The Cats will open the conference slate at home against USC beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 31 at Hi Corbett Field. The 3-game series will continue on Saturday at 6 p.m., and following the game, we will host our annual fireworks show. The series will wrap-up on Sunday for a Sunday Fun Day, which means select concessions are 50% off and all kids can run the bases following the game. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will also receive a JJ Matijevic trading card, the fifth in a series of nine.
We encourage all fans to Wear Red when the team continues their home stand on Tuesday, April 4 against ASU at 7 p.m. For tickets or more information, call (520) 621-CATS (M-F, 9-5 pm) or click HERE.
FASTEST KID IN TUCSON
We're excited to have track home in Tucson for the Jim Click Shootout, which runs April 6-8. We're hosting Iowa, Wisconsin, NAU, Oklahoma State, and TCU. You can purchase your tickets to the meet HERE.
The third annual Fastest Kid in Tucson Contest will wrap up the Jim Click Shootout. Kids 13 and under are invited to race for the title of Fastest Kid in Tucson. The 100-meter race will begin at noon on Saturday, April 8. Check-in is at 10 a.m. There is a $5 registration fee, which includes a poster and a t-shirt. Age groups will depend on registration numbers. To register your child, visit tinyurl.com/UAFastestKidinTucson by Friday, March 31. All adults will need to purchase a full-price, single-day ticket. For more information on the Fastest Kid in Tucson, email lauralittle@arizona.edu.
ARIZONA NUGGETS
Through 33 games, Softball is outscoring opponents 260-34. We have hit more home runs (NCAA-most 48) than our opponents have scored total runs (34) … Baseball's JJ Matijevic now has 14 doubles this season, which is tied for second nationally … Brad Reeves from Men's Golf finished fourth (-3) at the Duck Invitational, helping the team to a second-place finish … Men's Swimming's Justin Wright set the school record in the 200 butterfly twice at the NCAA Championships, earning All-America honors after finishing seventh … Gymnastics enters the NCAA Regional this weekend in Lincoln, Neb. With a season average of 195.880 … Soccer out shot UTEP in their spring match last weekend 24-1 en route to a 2-1 victory.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
To view the list of upcoming events, broadcast information, start times and stat links, click HERE. (Note: All times are listed as Mountain Standard Time, i.e. Tucson time.)
To access live stats from your desktop or mobile device, visit ArizonaLiveStats.com.
WEAR THE COLORS – SHARE THE PHOTOS
Thank you for wearing the colors and sharing your Arizona pride! If your photo submission did not make this week's edition of the Wildcat Wednesday, please check our "Wildcat Wednesday" album at facebook.com/ArizonaAthletics.
NOTE: Please submit photos for Wildcat Wednesday with an original email to uofaad@arizona.edu using the subject line 'Wildcat Wednesday photo.' Also, please ensure all submissions are clear and properly lit. We also ask that you identify everyone in the photo so we can highlight them accordingly.
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