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BEAR DOWN IN OMAHA
Arizona Baseball has punched their ticket to the
College World Series for an 18th time in program history after an impressive defeat of Ole Miss at Hi Corbett Field in Super Regional action. This is an incredible testament to our student-athletes, coaches, staff and our wonderful fans as an outstanding season continues at the epicenter of college baseball this weekend.
We had an electric atmosphere with over 18,000 fans in the stands at Hi Corbett Field during the entire three-game series. A big thank you to all who turned out to cheer on the Wildcats and witness numerous lifelong memories. The environment was exceptional!
Coach Johnson and the Wildcats are off to Omaha this week ahead of their first game, which is scheduled for Saturday, June 19 at 4 p.m. (MST) versus Vanderbilt on ESPN.
Brian Jeffries, the voice of the Wildcats, will also be making the trip to broadcast games for Arizona IMG Learfield Sports Network on 1290 AM in Tucson and 1100 AM in Phoenix. Fans should utilize
our College World Series Central Page for all ticket, schedule, game and broadcast information. Bear Down and Go Cats!
DELANEY SCHNELL IS TOKYO BOUND
The historic career of Delaney Schnell of Arizona Swimming & Diving added another prestigious chapter when she qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games in a pair of events over the weekend.
Delaney will represent Team USA in the 10-meter Synchronized Platform and the Platform dives.
What a tremendous season already for our proud Wildcat diver who was named Pac-12 Diver of the Year, won a pair of individual Pac-12 championships and earned All-America honors in several events. By qualifying for the Olympics, the Tucson native will be representing the United States, the University of Arizona and the city of Tucson on the biggest of competitive stages.
Delaney joins the prestigious company of
Wildcats who have participated in the Olympics, and you can follow all the Wildcats looking to join her in Japan at
ArizonaWildcats.com/Tokyo. Congratulations Delaney! The entire Wildcat Family is incredibly proud of you, and we wish you the best of luck at the Olympic games.
WELCOME COACH BECCA MOROS
Earlier today we made the exciting announcement that
Becca Moros will be the new head coach of our soccer program. Becca has a tremendous pedigree as an All-American student-athlete and standout professional player and coach, most recently as an assistant coach with Gotham FC in the NWSL.
Please join me in welcoming Coach Moros to the Wildcat Family. We can't wait to see her lead Arizona Soccer to more chapters of excellence in the program record books as she coaches and develops the next generations of athletic, academic and life champions. Bear Down Coach Moros!
TRACK AND FIELD ALL-AMERICANS
Arizona Track & Field racked up the All-American honors
at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon last week. The program earned All-America or All-American Honorable Mention accolades in 11 different events, including
Jordan Geist who was a First Team All-American in the shotput AND hammer throw. Shannon Meisberger also finished as the national runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles to cap the Wildcats' strong week at the championships.
Here are the Wildcats who earned All-America honors this outdoor season:
- Shannon Meisberger (Women's Outdoor Track & Field) – First Team, 400-Meter Hurdles
- Samantha Noennig (Women's Outdoor Track & Field) – First Team, Shot Put
- Jordan Geist (Men's Outdoor Track & Field) – First Team, Shotput
- Jordan Geist (Men's Outdoor Track & Field) – First Team, Hammer Throw
- Men's 4 x 400 Meter Relay Team (Men's Outdoor Track & Field) – First Team
- Lillian Lowe (Women's Outdoor Track & Field) – Second Team, High Jump
- Justice Summerset (Men's Outdoor Track & Field) – Second Team, High Jump
- Israel Oloyede (Men's Outdoor Track & Field) – Second Team, Hammer Throw
- Johnnie Blockburger (Men's Outdoor Track & Field) – Second Team, 400 Meters
- UMajesty Williams (Men's Outdoor Track & Field) – Honorable Mention, 400 meters
- Skylar Sieben (Women's Outdoor Track & Field) – Honorable Mention, Heptathalon
A handful of these All-American Wildcats will be heading to the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials in Eugene, beginning Friday, June 18. The 2020-21 competition year has been terrific for our track and field programs, both indoor and outdoor. A total of 15 All-America honors have been earned by our student-athletes alongside four individual conference championships. We've seen well-earned awards received by these outstanding student-athletes, and we want to congratulate all of them on terrific seasons.
CLANCY SHIELDS CONTRACT EXTENSION
Arizona Athletics is excited to announce that Head Coach
Clancy Shields has signed an
extension to lead Arizona Men's Tennis through the 2026 season. Clancy, who has been named Pac-12 Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons, has done an incredible job building and developing our men's tennis program into a nationally-recognized power. That ascension of Arizona Men's Tennis saw the Wildcats reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever this season.
We look forward to a bright future for the program under Clancy's leadership as he continues to
fulfill our Wildcat Way mission with honor and distinction as he develops and guides his student-athletes into becoming athletic, academic and life champions.
A YEAR OF HISTORIC SUCCESS
With summer approaching, I'd like to take time in this Wildcat Wednesday email to reflect on the spectacular success of this entire year at Arizona Athletics. We've seen true championship excellence achieved on the field, court, course, pool and track as highlighted by deep postseason runs by our women's basketball, women's golf, softball and baseball programs who made history and captivated the country in their quests for national championships.
We've seen Wildcats earn All-America honors over 30 times this year and over 60 All-Conference honors from the Pac-12. Arizona has won nine total team and individual Pac-12 championships this year with former and current student-athletes qualifying for the
2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Our unrivaled academic success also continued this year with a new all-time high graduate success rate (GSR) and the eclipsing of our all-time overall semester GPA record with our impressive 3.172 this spring.
Arizona student-athletes also achieved our standard of excellence in our robust #CommunityCats program that helps our Wildcats give back to our Southern Arizona community. Our C.A.T.S. Student-Athlete Development program continued its first-class work of preparing all student-athletes for success outside of sports after they graduate.
To achieve all these terrific accomplishments in any year would qualify as a resounding success. However,
to fulfill our Wildcat Way mission with this across-the-board excellence during the COVID-19 global pandemic is truly an amazing feat. This year's successes could not have been made possible without the unwavering support and commitment from the Wildcat Family.
Arizona Athletics' ability to overcome obstacles and unforeseen challenges was powered by our fans, donors, alumni and supporters who stood by us through an extremely challenging year and helped our athletics department achieve at the highest level. We can't thank you enough for your steadfast support, incredible generosity and commitment to the Wildcat Way. You are key in our fulfillment of our mission to provide opportunities for student-athletes to become athletic, academic and life champions. Thank you again for making Arizona Athletics the special department to be a part of.
WEAR THE COLORS – SHARE THE PHOTOS
Send us your photos of you wearing the colors while staying safe!
Thank you for wearing the colors and sharing your Arizona pride! Make sure to take a picture the next time you are wearing the colors and send it to us, we just might include it in next week's Wildcat Wednesday! And even if your photo submission doesn't make next week's edition, 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.
Stay Safe, Bear Down and Mask Up!
Dave Heeke
Director of Athletics
University of Arizona
uofaad@arizona.edu
