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SPRING FOOTBALL SATURDAY
As our exciting spring at Arizona Athletics continues, it's time for the Arizona Football Spring Game presented by DentalPros. Coach Sumlin and the Wildcats' 5 p.m. (MST) kick off, with free admission, on Saturday, April 13 will be an exciting culmination to their spring practices. It will be great to see our community buzzing this weekend as Arizona Stadium fills with energy.
Gate 2, which is located at the northeast corner of Arizona Stadium adjacent to the Cherry Avenue Garage, will be open for fan entrance beginning at 4 p.m. All seating will be general admission and located on the eastside of the facility where concessions, beer sales and restrooms will all be open in our newly-renovated space in Arizona Stadium. With other activities on campus also scheduled for Saturday, fans will be able to utilize lots and garages around Arizona Stadium for $5. The Spring Game promises to be a fun-filled day on campus with postgame autographs on the field and pregame festivities as well!
Saturday will be a day of celebration for all of our alumni, fans and supporters as we get a spring taste of the awesome atmosphere of Saturdays in the fall on campus. Come to campus, enjoy the pregame fan fest, wear the colors, Bear Down and renew your season tickets. I can't wait to see you all on Saturday!
WNIT TITLE
Coach Barnes and the Wildcats' victory in the WNIT Championship game was truly an extraordinary experience powered by the overwhelming support of our Southern Arizona community. Over 45,000 fans flocked to McKale Center for the team's postseason run, which included a program and Pac-12 record crowd of 14,644 for the sold out championship game versus Northwestern. The atmosphere in McKale was electric and highlighted the impact our community has on Arizona Athletics.
You can get your WNIT championship shirts at the A-Store at McKale Center or online through UA Bookstores who sold out their first shipment and now have more available.
With the team cutting down the nets and thousands of fans cheering them on, we were able to cap off a fantastic season in style. We all know that Arizona Women's Basketball is an outstanding program, and their future is bright and full of more great things. Many fans have already made their plans for the 2019-20 Arizona Women's Basketball season, and you can put down your deposit for season tickets today.
IN HONOR OF BILL WRIGHT
We are remembering former Arizona Men's Tennis head coach Bill Wright who passed away last weekend. The outpouring of support and messages from those whose lives were impacted by Coach Wright during his 19 years has been a special sight.
Former Arizona Men's Tennis student-athlete, and current Men's Tennis head coach at Loyola Marymount, Tom Lloyd, included this heartfelt message about his former coach.
"He resembled all that was good in the world, and he made you feel that he was a part of your life every single day. We competed, fought and went to battle not just because we were Wildcats, but because Coach Wright gave us the belief and confidence that we could do anything. It's that confidence and belief that made us who we are today, and for that, I am forever grateful for the man that asked nothing and gave us everything. He will always be remembered and never forgotten."
It is words like those that show just how much Coach Wright meant to our athletics department, our university and our community. His legacy continues to resonate with so many around the globe. We will always remember Coach Wright.
ARIZONA SOFTBALL IN PHOENIX
Coach Candrea and the Wildcats, fresh off their fourth consecutive sweep to open Pac-12 play, will head up to Phoenix for a weekend series at Grand Canyon. The final game of the series will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Arizona at 1 p.m. on Saturday as part of the network's Baseball Day Arizona celebration. There will be strong Arizona representation during the celebration with alumnus Kenzie Fowler calling the game and alumnus Todd Walsh airing his memorable Mike Candrea interview. Set those reminders to tune in and Bear Down!
TENNIS AND OUR GLOBAL COMMUNTIY
Our men's and women's tennis programs are continuing their partnership with Border Youth Tennis Exchange (BYTE) in collaboration with UA Global. BYTE is a youth development group that offers after-school programming of tennis and education throughout our border communities. Coach Shields and Arizona Men's Tennis welcomed a group of nearly 80 to the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center to watch the team take on Arizona State and for a youth clinic as well.
This is a terrific ongoing collaboration between Arizona Athletics and UA Global as we continue to harness the power of sports through education and service to communities around the world. We are excited for the future opportunities this partnership will bring to campus.
TENNIS SENIOR DAYS
Our men's and women's tennis programs wrap up their home schedules with a Senior Day doubleheader at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center on Friday, April 12 with free admission. Arizona Women's Tennis will get things started at 10 a.m. versus Oregon as they look to send off Taylor Tamblyn, Sophia Thomas, Camila Wesbrooks and Emma Wilson in style in their final home matches. Coach Stotland and the Wildcats entered the ITA Top 50 rankings this week for the first time since 2016 following their victory over nationally-ranked Denver.
Arizona Men's Tennis will cap off the doubleheader with their 2 p.m. match versus Utah as they will honor senior Jonas Maier from Hamburg, Germany. The program climbed up to No. 24 in the weekly ITA national rankings on the heels of an impressive streak of five wins in their last six matches. Those victories include wins over nationally-ranked Iowa and Oregon.
WILDCAT NUGGETS
- Arizona Softball has opened Pac-12 play with four consecutive sweeps, which included last week's trio of wins at Utah by a combined score of 48 to 3. The 48 runs scored were the most in program history since moving to the three-game series format in 2010. Juniors Jessie Harper, Dejah Mulipola and Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza all rank in the top 20 in the nation in home runs with Harper leading the country in that category heading into this week's games.
- With an impressive 17-4 record, Arizona Beach Volleyball moved up to No. 13 in the AVCA Coaches poll after a perfect 4-0 run over the weekend in Tempe. The Wildcats downed No. 7 Cal Poly before taking care of Arizona State to cap off their four-win weekend. The program will host Senior Day on Saturday, April 13 with a doubleheader versus New Mexico and Santa Clara beginning at 10:15 a.m. (MST) as they honor Jordan Abalos, Anise Havili, Madison Rigdon and Mia Mason playing their final matches at Bear Down Beach.
- Coach Johnson and the Wildcats return to the friendly confines of Hi Corbett Field for a weekend series against California. Arizona swept Washington in impressive fashion at home last weekend, scoring 30 runs in the three wins. Friday night will be the program's second annual STEM Night at the ballpark with booths set up along the third base side, in-game videos breaking down the science of baseball and postgame fireworks. You can get your tickets for this weekend's games by clicking here.
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:
- Bear Down with us today! Join the Wildcat Club to make an impact on our student-athletes' experience.
- Buy Season Tickets
- Wear the Colors (Especially on Friday)
- Encourage Others to Do the Same
Bear Down with Pride,
Dave Heeke
Director of Athletics
University of Arizona
uofaad@arizona.edu
