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University of Arizona: A thumbnail look at the 2009-10 Wildcat year in sports

by on Jun. 22, 2010, under Sports

With the end of the 2009-10 collegiate season less than a week from being done, it’s as good a time as any to look back on how well all 18 of University of Arizona’s varsity teams fared this school year.

BASEBALL

OVERALL: 34-24 (12-15 PAC-10)     PAC-10 FINISH: 7th     NATIONAL RANK: 24th

KURT HEYER, RHP: Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American; Pro-Line Athletic NCBWA Division I Freshman All-American Team

All PAC-10 TEAM: Jett Bandy, SO; Steve Selsky, JR; & Kurt Heyer, FR

ALL PAC-10 TEAM HONORABLE MENTION: Bryce Bandilla, SO; Alex Mejia, FR; Seth Mejias-Brean, FR; Robert Refsnyder, FR; Joey Rickard, FR; Kyle Simon, SO; and Rafael Valenzuela, SR

THE SKINNY: Arizona reached the postseason for the sixth time in the last eight years, but a young Wildcat squad lost early to Baylor in the NCAA World Series Regionals.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

OVERALL: 16-15 (10-8 PAC-10)     PAC-10 FINISH: 4th     NATIONAL RANK: 100th

NABC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM: Nic Wise, SR; and Derrick Williams, FR

SPORTING NEWS ALL-AMERICAN FRESHMAN TEAM: Derrick Williams

PAC-10 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Derrick Williams

ALL PAC-10 TEAM: Nic Wise and Derrick Williams

THE SKINNY: The Wildcats failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in 25 years, ending the longest streak in the nation.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Duke

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

OVERALL: 14-17 (6-12 PAC-10)     PAC-10 FINISH: 8th     NATIONAL RANK: 124th

PAC-10 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Dayellyn Whyte

ALL PAC-10 SCHOLASTIC TEAM HONORABLE MENTION: Reiko Thomas, SO

THE SKINNY: Arizona’s 14-win season — the most in a single campaign since 2005 — was highlighted by Dayellyn Whyte’s school-record 39-point-performance on Jan. 16. The 119-112 win over the Ducks was also a program record for points in a game.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Connecticut

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

PAC-10 FINISH: 8th               NATIONAL RANK: N/R

ALL-AMERICAN: Mohamud Ige, JR

THE SKINNY: Ige saved his personal best 10K time of 30:20.2 for the NCAA National Championships, finishing 38th overall in the nation.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Oklahoma State

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

PAC-10 FINISH: 6th               NATIONAL RANK: 28th

SECOND TEAM All PAC-10: Maggie Callahan JR

THE SKINNY: After an eight-year hiatus, the Wildcats returned to the NCAA National Championships.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Villanova

FOOTBALL

OVERALL: 8-5 (6-3 PAC-10)     PAC-10 FINISH: 2nd     NATIONAL RANK: 20th*

*Rank before Bowl Game

BOWL GAME: Lost to Nebraska, 33-0, in the Holiday Bowl

ALL PAC-10 SECOND TEAM: Cam Nelson, SR; Earl Mitchell, SR; Xavier Kelley, SR; Trevin Wade, JR; Colin Baxter, SR; Evan Grant, Grad Student

ALL PAC-10 TEAM HONORABLE MENTION: Nick Foles, JR; Ricky Elmore, SR; Devin Ross, SR; Vuna Tuihalamaka, SR

DRAFTED INTO NFL: Rob Gronkowski (Rd. 2, Patriots); Earl Mitchell (Rd. 3, Texans)

THE SKINNY: One of the most promising seasons in recent memory ended on sour note with Holiday Bowl thrashing at the hands of the Cornhuskers.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Alabama

MEN’S GOLF

PAC-10 FINISH: 9th               NATIONAL RANK: 40th

HONORABLE MENTION ALL PAC-10 TEAM: Tarquin MacManus, JR

THE SKINNY: The Wildcats are one of only four programs to appear in 22 or more national championship events since head coach Rick LaRose first guided Arizona to the postseason in 1987.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Augusta State

WOMEN’S GOLF

PAC-10 FINISH: 1st               NATIONAL RANK: 5th

2010 NCAA West Regional Champs

PAC-10 Champs

Las Vegas Collegiate Throwdown Team Champs

Las Vegas Collegiate Throwdown Individual Champ: Sherlyn Popelka

PAC-10 COACH OF THE YEAR: Laura Ianello

All PAC-10 FIRST TEAM: Margarita Ramos, SO

All PAC-10 SECOND TEAM: Isabelle Boineau, SO

ALL PAC-10 HONORABLE MENTION: Alejandra Llaneza, JR and Sherlyn Popelka, FR

THE SKINNY: Margarita Ramos tied for the 7th highest individual finish for Arizona at the NCAA Championships since the late Erica Blasberg placed 3rd in 2003. Arizona also picked up its first regular-season tournament win since 2003.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Purdue

GYMNASTICS

PAC-10 FINISH: 4th               NATIONAL RANK: 21

ALL PAC-10 FIRST TEAM ALL-AROUND: Aubree Cristello, SO; DeAnna Graham, JR; Molly Quirk, SO

SARAH TOMCZYK, SR: 2nd Place Floor Exercise – NCAA Regionals

THE SKINNY: Arizona returned to the NCAA tournament for its 24th consecutive year. Despite finishing third at the regional tournament, the Wildcats did not advance to the NCAA finals.

NATIONAL CHAMP: UCLA

WOMEN’S SOCCER

OVERALL: 4-15-1 (1-8 PAC-10)     PAC-10 FINISH: 10th     NATIONAL RANK: N/R

ALL PAC-10 HONORABLE MENTION: Renae Cuellar, SO

ALL PAC-10 ACADEMIC SECOND TEAM: Samantha Drees, SR; Jasmin Namdar, SR

ALL PAC-10 ACADEMIC TEAM HONORABLE MENTION: Analisa Marquez, SR; and Macke Mutz, SR

THE SKINNY: Arizona bids a fond adieu to five of its seniors, including:

  1. Devon Wharf, goalie
  2. Samantha Drees, midfielder/defender
  3. Jasmine Namdar, forward/midfielder
  4. Macke Mutz, midfielder
  5. Analisa Marquez, forward/defender

NATIONAL CHAMP: North Carolina

SOFTBALL

OVERALL: 50-11 (13-8 PAC-10)     PAC-10 FINISH: 3rd     NATIONAL RANK: 2nd

FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS: Kenzie Fowler and Brittany Lastrapes

SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICANS: Stacie Chambers and K’Lee Arredondo

ALL PAC-10 FIRST TEAM: Stacie Chambers, JR; Kenzie Fowler, FR; Brittany Lastrapes, JR

ALL PAC-10 SECOND TEAM: K’Lee Arredondo, SR; Laura Schutzler, JR; Brigette Del Ponte, FR

THE SKINNY: Arizona finished runner-up in the College Softball World Series finals for the fifth time in program history. Next season, the Wildcats will return eight starters, including freshman starting pitcher Kenzie Fowler.

NATIONAL CHAMP: UCLA

MEN’S SWIMMING

PAC-10 FINISH: 3rd               NATIONAL RANK: 3rd

INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL TITLES:

Cory Chitwood, SO; 200 Back Stroke

Clark Burckle, SR; 200 Breast Stroke

ALL PAC-10 ACADEMIC FIRST TEAM: Jack Brown, SR; Cory Chitwood, SO; Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or, SO; and Austen Thompson, SO.

ALL PAC-10 ACADEMIC SECOND TEAM HONORABLE MENTION: A.J. Tipton, SO

2009-10 Pacific-10 Tom Hansen (Top Seniors) Conference Medal winners: Jean Basson

THE SKINNY: Arizona entered the NCAA Swim and Dive Championship as the country’s No. 1 seed. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, a crippling stomach bug swept through the team in Indiana and Arizona fell to third in the nation.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Texas

WOMEN’S SWIMMING

PAC-10 FINISH: 4th               NATIONAL RANK: 4th

INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL TITLES:

Annie Chandler, 100 Breast Stroke*

200 Medley Relay: Ana Agy, Erin Campbell, Annie Chandler and Justine Schluntz

400 Medley Relay: Ana Agy, Annie Chandler, Whitney Lopus and Justine Schluntz

ALL-AMERICANS: Ana Agy, SR; Alyssa Anderson, SO; Ellyn Baumgardner, FR; Andrea Boritzke, SR; Erin Campbell, SR; Annie Chandler, SR; Emma Darlington, JR; Jenny Forster, SR; Caitlin Iversen, SR; Joni Keith, SR; Whitney Lopus, JR; Hannah Ross, SO; Justine Schluntz, SR; and Leone Vorster, SR

2009-10 Pacific-10 Tom Hansen (Top Seniors) Conference Medal winners: Justine Schluntz

THE SKINNY: The 100 breast-stroke record that Annie Chandler’s set at the NCAA Championships means that Arizona swimmers now own five of the possible 18 NCAA swim records.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Florida

MEN’S TENNIS

OVERALL: 13-11 (2-4 PAC-10)     PAC-10 FINISH: 6th     NATIONAL RANK: 31st

ALL PAC-10 TEAM HONORABLE MENTION: Andres Arango, SR; and Andres Carrasco, JR

PAC-10 ALL ACADEMIC TEAM: Ravid Hazi, SR (First Team); Andres Carrasco, JR (Honorable Mention) and Jason Zafiros, SO (Honorable Mention)

THE SKINNY: Arizona failed to advance to the NCAA tournament, but finished the season ranked fourth overall in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Southwest Division.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Southern California

WOMEN’S TENNIS

OVERALL: 13-9 (1-7 PAC-10)     PAC-10 FINISH: 7th     NATIONAL RANK: 51st

ALL PAC-10 TEAM HONORABLE MENTION: Natasha Marks, SO; and Sarah Landsman, SO

ALL PAC-10 ACADEMIC TEAM: Sarah Landsman (First Team); Natasha Marks (Second Team); Debora Castany, SO (Honorable Mention); Jane Huh, JR (Honorable Mention); Claire Rietsch, SR (Honorable Mention)

THE SKINNY: Natasha Marks and Sarah Landsman finished 92nd and 113th respectively in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association individual rankings, guiding Arizona to sixth overall in the ITA Southwest Division.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Stanford

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD

PAC-10 FINISH: 9th               NATIONAL RANK: N/R

ALL-AMERICAN: Nick Ross, FR

PAC-10 NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Nick Ross

THE SKINNY: Nick Ross proved to be invaluable to the Wildcats, who struggled through a rebuilding year. Ross earned All-American honors in the high jump.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Texas A&M

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD

PAC-10 FINISH: 2nd               NATIONAL RANK: 13th

ALL-AMERICANS: Liz Patterson, SR; Brigetta Barrett, FR; Christina Rodgers, JR; Julie Labonte, FR; Hannah Moen, SO

PAC-10 NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Julie Labonte

THE SKINNY: The Wildcats’ 13th place showing was Arizona’s highest finish at the NCAA Championships since 2001.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Texas A&M

VOLLEYBALL

OVERALL: 19-11 (8-10 PAC-10)     PAC-10 FINISH: 7th     NATIONAL RANK: 19th

USA A2 NATIONAL TEAM: Whitney Dosty, RS SR; and Paige Weber, SR

THE SKINNY: The Wildcats returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time in four seasons. The postseason was short lived, however, as unranked Texas A&M bounced Arizona from the first round.

NATIONAL CHAMP: Penn State



  • Christopher C. Wuensch

    Every year (to no avail) I look for a side-by-side comparison on how all the UA sports programs did in a school year. I’ve never found one. This year, I said ‘the heck with it.” I made my own.