THE TUCSON ADVANTAGE
I want to begin this week's Wildcat Wednesday email by thanking our tremendous fans and students for their outstanding support of all our programs. Arizona Athletics has seen incredible turnout for a number of our programs, including 7,717 fans at our WNIT Elite Eight game in McKale, a huge crowd for tonight's WNIT game, three consecutive sellouts at Hillenbrand Softball Stadium, record crowds for Arizona Men's and Women's Tennis matches and our men's basketball program leading the Pac-12 Conference in attendance for a 35th consecutive season.
Our dedicated and loyal supporters are key to what makes Tucson and the University of Arizona special. Our fans are truly one of a kind, and they make a difference in every way. It's a special moment when the U of A chant breaks out at games and you see smiles on the faces of our student-athletes. Those fans who wear the colors and bring energy truly inspire all of us. Thank you for everything you do and Bear Down!
INSPIRING WOMEN IN SPORTS
April 1 was an important day for Arizona Athletics as we welcomed an Inspiring Women luncheon and espnW's Campus Conversation series, hosted by our C.A.T.S. group (Commitment to an Athlete's Total Success). The University of Arizona is home to four NCAA Woman of the Year award winners, which leads the nation. A trio of those honorees were in attendance on Monday, including Tanya Hughes ('94), Lacey (Nymeyer) John ('09) and Justine Schluntz ('10).
Later that evening, all female student-athletes were invited to attend a special presentation called espnW's Campus Conversations, aimed at helping women student-athletes make the pivot from their collegiate sports career into a professional career. Panelists included ESPN's Sandy Nunez and Chiney Ogwumike from the WNBA's Connecticut Sun as well our Wildcat alumni Tanya Hughes (Track/Field), Sarah Landsman (Tennis) and Chelsea Suitos (Softball). This event was an incredible opportunity for student-athletes to connect and hear from women who used their foundation of being a student-athlete to build successful careers after college. It was a fantastic addition to our C.A.T.S. programming, which focuses on the personal development of Arizona student-athletes.
ANOTHER HONOR FOR COACH OLSON
I want to congratulate Coach Lute Olson on his upcoming official induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, which was announced on Tuesday. Coach Olson is part of the prestigious 2019 class as voted on by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Former Wildcat Sean Elliott was a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame's 2018 class.
Coach Olson's induction into another Hall of Fame is a testament to the tremendous impact he had as a coach and a leader of our campus. He is an icon in college basketball and spent decades as an extraordinary ambassador for Arizona Athletics, the University of Arizona and the city of Tucson. Congrats again on this honor and thank you for being the ultimate representative of what it means to be a Wildcat. Bear Down Coach O!
GET READY FOR ARIZONA FOOTBALL'S SPRING GAME
As we get closer to Arizona Football's Spring Game presented by DentalPros at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, we have released some more information for fans regarding this exciting day at Arizona Stadium. The day's festivities include a pregame Fan Fest on Bear Down Field for fans and an autograph session with Coach Sumlin and the Wildcats on the field after the game.
Admission is free for the game as we will open Gate 2 for entry, which is located adjacent to the Cherry Avenue Garage, at 4 p.m. All seating is general admission and will be in the eastside sections where concessions, beer sales and restrooms will all be open.
With a number of campus events being held that Saturday, fans are encouraged to arrive and park early. Parking lots and garages near Arizona Stadium will charge $5. Free parking is available in surface lots south of Sixth Street and north of Speedway. Arizona Athletics is encouraging fans attending the Spring Game to park in the Sixth Street garage ($5), the South Stadium garage ($5) or the lots south of Sixth Street and west of Highland.
Saturday, April 13 will be a fun-filled day with Arizona Football as we cap off spring practice. We can't wait to see everyone wearing the colors at Arizona Stadium and cheering on the Wildcats!
BEAR DOWN AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL
The first-ever Augusta Women's National Amateur will be played this week at the home of the Masters Tournament. A handful of Wildcats have been invited to play in the event, including senior Haley Moore, sophomore Yu-Sang Hou and incoming freshman Vivian Hou. The trio of Wildcats will be joined in attendance by Arizona and LPGA greats Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam.
In preparation for this week's Augusta Women's National Am, the Golf Channel released this terrific feature on Haley Moore. It's an inspirational look at this fearless Wildcat who clinched the program's national championship last season.
Play began today with Saturday's final round to be aired on NBC. Hats off to all of the Wildcats who will be proudly representing the University of Arizona at this tremendous event. It is a privilege to see so many Wildcats competing in this one-of-a-kind event. Let's go Cats!
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA SPORTS HALL OF FAME
The 2019 class of the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame has been announced, and we are proud to welcome seven new Wildcats from six different programs to this illustrious group. This class of outstanding Wildcats will be formally inducted at a ceremony and dinner later this year. Congratulations to this year's class of inductees and thank you for representing the Block A with distinction and pride.
- Joan Bonvicini – Women's Basketball – 1991 to 2008
- Antoine Cason – Football – 2005 to 2009
- Stephen Mikulic – Baseball – 1970 to 1971
- Taryne Mowatt – Softball – 2004 to 2008
- Dan Schneider – Baseball – 1961 to 1962
- Alison Walshe – Women's Golf – 2006 to 2008
- May Mickelsen – Rifle – 1961 to 1965
SPRING HOME SOCCER
While the 2019 Arizona Soccer season is still months away from starting, Coach Amato and the Wildcats are already wrapping up their spring season. Arizona downed Arizona State with five goals last week and will host New Mexico in their only home spring match on Sunday, April 7 at 11 a.m. at Mulcahy Stadium with free admission!
It's a great time for our soccer program after another strong season that included a NCAA Tournament appearance. We made the exciting announcement of Coach Amato's new contract, which builds on the enthusiasm surrounding the program as we head into the 2019 season in August. Sunday is a perfect time to Bear Down and catch Arizona Soccer in action.
GYMCATS TO NCAA REGIONALS
Coach Court and Arizona Gymnastics are off to Corvallis, Ore. this week for NCAA Regionals, which begin Thursday, April 4 at 3 p.m. The Wildcats will be competing to advance to the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas later this month. This week's action on the campus of Oregon State University will be live streamed by FloGymnastics. You can follow along at ArizonaWildcats.com as well as @ArizonaGymCats on Twitter.
WILDCAT NUGGETS
- Arizona Women's Basketball sophomore Aari McDonald earned AP All-America honorable mention honors. It's a great honor for her and the team during their WNIT run, and it's a testament to the special program Coach Barnes and the Wildcats are building.
- Taylor McQuillin was named NFCA National and Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week following her pair of shutouts of Arizona State over the weekend. The senior scattered only four hits in 12 innings of work with 15 strikeouts as the Wildcats swept the Sun Devils without surrendering a run.
- Arizona Track and Field is back in action for the Jim Click Multi Events and Shootout throughout the day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Roy P. Drachman Stadium. Wear the colors, Bear Down and cheer on the Wildcats.
- Bianca Pagdanganan is the Pac-12 Conference's Women's Golfer of the Month for March after finishing in first place at the El Tigre Invitational in Mexico by six strokes as Arizona took home the team title as well. She also posted a top-five finish at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational.
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