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REMEMBERING KARL ELLER
Our University of Arizona family and the state of Arizona lost one of the great Wildcats this week. Karl Eller was a trailblazer and icon who impacted numerous lives through his leadership, generosity and dedication. A letter winner for Arizona Football who grew up in our Southern Arizona community, Karl went on to a tremendous career in business that changed the landscape of our state and beyond.
His pursuit of entrepreneurial excellence has changed the lives of students, including many Arizona student-athletes, through the world-class Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona. Karl is the embodiment of what it means to be a Wildcat, and how the University of Arizona educates and develops the future leaders of the world. We will always remember Karl's legacy as inspiration to pursue and achieve excellence in everything we do.
FOOTBALL SPRING PRACTICE
Starting Monday, head coach Kevin Sumlin and his staff will lead the Wildcats in the first of 15 official spring practices that will culminate with the annual Arizona Football Spring Game Presented by DentalPros on Saturday, April 13 at Arizona Stadium at 5 p.m. (MST).
While it may seem like a quiet couple of months for the program, the student-athletes have putting in the work in the weight room, the classroom and numerous community service projects. Excitement around the program has continued to build since our Commitment Day Celebration, and spring practice is finally here!
It's a great time to remind everyone to renew their season tickets and Wildcat Club memberships, and we're about halfway through our 30 Prizes in 30 Days campaign that rewards fans who have already renewed. Click here to purchase or renew your Arizona Football tickets.
SOFTBALL ALUMNI
With eight national championships and 100 All-America honors, Arizona Softball has among the most impressive groups of alumni of any program in the country. We were honored to welcome about 100 of them back for our Alumni Weekend at Hillenbrand Stadium last week as we hosted defending national champion Florida State. It was a privilege to be able to show off renovated Hillenbrand Stadium to the players that built the program's tradition and excellence, which paved the way for one of the nation's premiere softball facilities. We are so grateful for this amazing group of women who created the legacy that ultimately led to the renovation and the many who helped to fund the project as well.
It was a special weekend for our program, and it was exciting to be able to feel the energy in Hillenbrand for the stadium's first ever three-game series. We had nearly 9,000 fans come out over the three days and it was an incredible atmosphere at Hillenbrand.
Coach Candrea and the program welcome Oregon to Hillenbrand for the opening weekend of Pac-12 Softball, and you can join us by clicking here.
HOME GOLF
Arizona Men's Golf will host their second and final home tournament of the season with the N.I.T at Omni Tucson National on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Sophomore Trevor Werbylo has finished in the top-ten in five of his last six events with four of those coming as top five finishes while Ethan Marcus, David Laskin, Brad Reeves and Briggs Duce have also notched quality finishes this season. Best of luck to Coach Anderson and the Wildcats next week and Bear Down at Omni Tucson National.
GYMNASTICS SENIOR DAY
Coach Court and Arizona Gymnastics will host their final home meet of the season when they host nationally-ranked LSU at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 15 in McKale Center. It's Senior Night for the program as they will honor Haylie Hendrickson, Danielle Spencer and Lauryn Mattson. Haylie, Danielle and Lauryn are wrapping up outstanding careers as Wildcats, and we can't wait to see everyone in McKale to send these seniors off in style. Join us on Friday night by clicking here.
BEAR DOWN SWIMMING & DIVING
Congratulations to our men's swimmers for their strong showing at the Pac-12 Championships last week in Washington. The Wildcats finished in third place, which was the men's program's best performance at the conference championships since placing third at the 2012 Pac-12 Championships.
It was another terrific meet in an excellent season for Coach Busch and the Wildcats that has built on all the excitement surrounding the brand new Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. Our men's and women's teams are building a special swimming and diving program, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.
WILDCAT NUGGETS
- Arizona Women's Basketball had a very strong showing at the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas, which included the program's largest margin of victory ever in a conference tournament with a 76-48 win over USC. With postseason play on the horizon, Coach Barnes and the Wildcats posted a banner year at McKale Center. With an average home attendance of 2,203, the program posted its best year in attendance in 14 seasons. Thank you to all our fans for your support of Arizona Women's Basketball this season!
- Our athletics department gets to add some All-Americans to its history after Arizona Track and Field's Carlos Villarreal and Lillian Lowe earned First Team All-American honors in the mile and the high jump last week at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Congratulations to Carlos, Lillian and all the Wildcats who made the indoor season one for the record books.
- Junior Chase Jeter was named to the Pac-12's All-Academic First Team this week, earning one of the conference's top academic honors. The Las Vegas native has completed his undergraduate degree this year and has begun work on his graduate studies. Bear Down Chase!
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
