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WOMEN'S GOLF CLAIMS THIRD NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
 
They did it. Our women's golf team claimed the program's third National Championship and the 22nd for Arizona Athletics. Congratulations to head coach Laura Ianello, associate head coach Derek Radley, our student-athletes, and everyone involved in this tremendous accomplishment. I especially want to recognize the five ladies, Yu-Sang Hou, Haley Moore, Sandra Nordaas, Bianca Pagdanganan, and Gigi Stoll, who competed in the NCAA Championship.
 
I was so impressed with the way this team battled throughout the tournament. We got off to a strong start over the first three rounds of stroke play and were in good position to qualify for match play heading into the fourth and final round. We struggled a little bit in that fourth round, but continued to persevere, and thanks to a long eagle putt from Bianca on the final hole, we moved into a tie for the final qualifying spot. We still needed to defeat Baylor in a playoff for that eighth position, and our ladies got it done. In addition, Bianca's eagle putt helped her finish in a tie for second on the individual leaderboard, which is an outstanding accomplishment in and of itself.
 
Entering match play, we were paired with one seed UCLA in the quarterfinals, and got past the Bruins 3-2 to advance to the semifinals against Stanford. Our ladies continued their hot streak and dominated the Cardinal, taking the match 4-1, which set up the final against Alabama. Once again, we found a way to come out on top and took down the Crimson Tide, ?-?.
 
I can't begin to explain how proud we are of this team. We knew they had a chance to compete for the title as we entered the NCAA Championships as the ninth-ranked team in the country, but anything can happen at this tournament. Fortunately, our ladies stuck to their game plans all week, made clutch shots when they needed them, and ended up raising the trophy.
 
Again, congratulations to everyone involved and thank you for showing the nation what it means to Bear Down.
 
TERRITORIAL CUP SERIES TROPHY HEADED BACK TO TUCSON
 
With our baseball team earning the final point by taking two of three against ASU last weekend, we secured the Territorial Cup Series trophy by a score of 11-10. We're excited to bring the trophy back to Tucson and will look to keep it here for the foreseeable future.
 
Here is a look at the 11 points we earned this year:
 
Baseball
Men's Basketball
Beach Volleyball
Men's Cross Country
Women's Cross Country
Women's Golf
Soccer
Softball
Men's Indoor Track & Field
Men's Outdoor Track & Field
Volleyball
 
Great job everyone and congratulations on earning the Territorial Cup Series trophy.
 

 
ARIZONA USING LOCAL VENDORS FOR FACILITY PROJECTS
 
With our facility projects underway, we thought you'd be interested to know that local vendors are playing a huge role. For projects currently underway, including the east side of Arizona Stadium, Hillenbrand Aquatic Center, and McKale locker rooms, 82 percent of project budgets are contracted with local Arizona vendors. We anticipate that number increasing as we move through the Indoor Sports Center and Hillenbrand Softball Stadium projects. We're striving to take that number to 86 percent or above once all project details are finalized.
 
We think it's extremely important to utilize our local resources in these projects and we're thrilled to have so many great partners to work with in the area.
 
As a reminder, you can watch the progress of some of these projects thanks to live feeds provided by the UA's Planning, Design and Construction department. If you'd like to take a look, you can do so by clicking HERE.
 
WOMEN'S TENNIS HEADED TO JAPAN FOR ATHLETIC, ACADEMIC TOUR
 
Our women's tennis team is headed to Japan for a foreign tour next week, but this tour has an added component to the standard versions. Not only will our ladies have the opportunity to practice and compete, but we've also worked with our campus partners in UA Study Abroad to integrate a study abroad element to the trip. I also want to thank the Pac-12 for their assistance in making this tour a reality.
 
The trip will begin on May 30 with stops in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Hiroshima before returning to Arizona on June 9. While on the trip, we're scheduled to compete three times against Japanese teams. We'll also have the chance to visit a number of cultural sites, including the Tsukiji Fish Market, which is the largest and oldest in the world; the Sensoji Temple, which is the oldest religious site in Tokyo; Hiroshima's Atomic Bomb Dome, which is one of the few buildings to remain standing after the atomic bomb was dropped; and many other temples and historical landmarks throughout the country.
 
For the study abroad portion, the student-athletes will take part in a three-unit course over four weeks entitled Intercultural Competence: Culture, Identity, Adaptation, and Intercultural Relations. The course comes out of the Department of Public and Applied Humanities within the College of Humanities. Prior to traveling, there is a two-week, online requirement followed by week three in Japan. Then, our team members will finish a week-long online portion of the class post travel. The course is being taught by two instructors, Professor Veronika Williams, who will cover the online portion of the course, and Professor Shiho Yamamato, a Japanese native who will join our group on the trip for the cultural part of the course.
 
We're going to do our best to provide updates and social coverage from the trip so make sure to follow our tennis program on Twitter (@ArizonaWTennis), Instagram (@ArizonaWTennis), and Snapchat (@ArizonaWTennis). Each day, one student-athlete will take over the social accounts and produce a recap/blog of that day's events to help keep us updated back here in Tucson. It should be an amazing experience for those involved and we're looking forward to following them as they move through the tour.
 
SOFTBALL HEADING TO UCLA FOR SUPER REGIONAL
 
Our softball program went 3-0 over the weekend in the NCAA Regional and advanced to the Super Regional, where we'll visit UCLA in the most historic rivalry in college softball. The regional title was our 29th in program history and we've now advanced to Super Regionals 13 times since the Super-Regional format was implemented 14 years ago.
 
We'll kick off the Super Regional on Thursday at 6 p.m. MST (ESPN). Game two is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. (ESPN2) with game three, if necessary, set for Saturday at 4 p.m. (ESPN).
 
For Wildcats in the Southern California area, we could use your support this weekend. Head on out to Easton Stadium to support our ladies as they attempt to reach the Women's College World Series for the 23rd time in program history. You can purchase tickets for the Super Regional by clicking HERE.
 
COMING TO FLAGSTAFF
 
We had a fantastic crowd at the Phoenix Road Tour event on Monday. Thank you to all of our fans from the Valley that attended. Now, we're looking forward to our next, and final, Road Tour event on June 8 in Flagstaff. We'll be at the High Country Conference Center on the NAU campus. UA President Dr. Robert Robbins, men's basketball head coach Sean Miller, football head coach Kevin Sumlin, women's basketball head coach Adia Barnes, and soccer head coach Tony Amato are all scheduled to appear. We'd love to see all of our fans and alumni from northern Arizona and surrounding areas like Las Vegas and Gallup, N.M. join us on June 8. The event is free to attend. Click HERE to RSVP.
 
CONCESSIONS AT ARIZONA STADIUM
 
Some of the gameday experience improvements we've covered in Wildcat Wednesday include lower ticket prices, stadium renovations, and public address announcer. Another area we want to focus on is the variety of food and beverage items offered at Arizona Stadium. We're working with the University's Student Unions team on a request for proposals (RFP) for the 2018 season. Specifically, we are looking for food vendors from the following food categories: shaved/frozen ice, Italian/pizza, Mexican, BBQ, and sub sandwiches. These categories were determined by the feedback we received from a survey of football season ticket holders. We're hoping some of Tucson's popular restaurants will submit. Click HERE if you are an owner/general manager and you have interest. And to our fans, feel free to send this RFP Opportunities website link to your favorite restaurants and let them know you'd like to see them in Arizona Stadium. 
 
ARIZONA NUGGETS
 
Softball's Taylor McQuillin threw 19.2 scoreless innings during the Tucson Regional and now leads the nation with 15 shutouts … Baseball's Nick Quintana has hit 14 home runs at Hi Corbett during his career, which is the most for any Arizona player, surpassing Bobby Dalbec's 13 home runs … George Cunningham will represent Men's Golf at the NCAA Championships, which begin on Friday … Lauri Markkanen from Men's Basketball was named NBA All-Rookie First Team after averaging 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds this season … David Laskin from Men's Golf claimed first-team Academic All-Pac-12 honors, while Brad Reeves was named honorable mention … Sandra Nordaas from Women's Golf earned second-team Academic All-Pac-12 honors … Beach Volleyball produced six Pac-12 All-Academic honorees. Caroline Cordes was named to the first team, while Natalie Anselmo and Olivia Hallaran earned second-team honors. Brooke Burling, Hailey Devlin, and Mia Mason claimed honorable mention recognition.


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 "Wear the Colors" album at facebook.com/ArizonaAthletics on Fridays.
 
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.
 
 
 
 
 
Continue to do what you can to help Arizona Athletics and: 

1. Buy Season Tickets
2. Wear the Colors (Especially on Friday)
3. Encourage Others to Do the Same

 
Bear Down with Pride,

Dave Heeke
Director of Athletics
University of Arizona
uofaad@arizona.edu