Athletics Director Greg Byrne's weekly email discussing Wildcat Athletics
Athletics Director Greg Byrne
May 18, 2011
This is a reposting of the Wildcat Wednesday weekly email sent by Athletic Director Greg Byrne to all the wildcat fans around the country. If you would like to sign up to receive the email directly please sign up here.
TRACKING THE CATS
The Pac-10 Track & Field Championships held last weekend at our Drachman Stadium -- when we had a great showing by our men's and women's squads in second-place finishes, matching our best ever -- will be shown in tape delay on FS Arizona at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 21. We had a number of superior performances including individual league championships by Brigetta Barrett (high jump), Margaret Callahan (steeplechase), Julie LaBonte (shot put), Lawi Lalang (5000m run), Stephen Sambu (10000m run) and Nick Ross (high jump). It was a great meet! Our finish also gave us the final points in the State Farm Territorial Cup Series, ending the year with 11.5 points to 6.5 by ASU. Some of our throwers will be in action at the Tucson Elite Throwers Classic this weekend at Drachman Stadium in a tune-up for the preliminaries of the NCAA Outdoor Championships May 26-28 in Eugene, Ore.
ENTERING THE HALL
Former UA defensive tackle Rob Waldrop, winner of the Outland Trophy and Bronco Nagurski Trophy following his senior year in 1993, was elected to the prestigious National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame on Tuesday. He joins former Wildcat players Ricky Hunley (1998 inductee) and Chuck Cecil (2009 inductee), plus former UA coaches Jim Young (1999) and Darrell Mudra (2000). Rob prowled the middle during Arizona's "Desert Swarm" defense heyday and earned unanimous All-America honors in 1993 and consensus first-team honors in 1992. Rob was on the ballot along with teammate Tedy Bruschi, who also one day should make the prestigious Hall. Congratulations to Rob and to all former Cats! Below are a few shots of Rob during his time at the UA.
SUMMER WORKOUTS
Speaking of football, it won't be long before some of our incoming players report for summer school. They're able to get a solid foundation in academic matters, plus strength coach Corey Edmond has plenty of opportunities for them to participate in voluntary conditioning workouts. Believe it or not, the football season opener is just about three months away...
WILDCAT NATION
I got a lot of great photos from last week’s photo challenge. Keep it up. Send photos and descriptions to facebook@arizona.edu. This week we are looking for Wildcats on ice. As the temperature is rising here in Tucson, I’m trying to stay cool and want to see some inspiration. Send your “coolest” Wildcat photo to facebook@arizona.edu. We will choose a winner and feature their photo in next week’s Wildcat Wednesday. Be sure to submit photos as select winners will also receive a special ticket prize to an upcoming Arizona Athletic event. This week I am giving away a pair of tickets for the football home opener vs. NAU.
Last week, Mike Schwartzer sent us a photo from his trip to Japan. He traveled to Shin-Urayasu, Japan in the Chiba Prefecture.
KOLD COMMENTARY ON SEAN MILLER
A few days after Coach Sean Miller announced he was staying at The University of Arizona; he attended the Carondelet Foundation Annual Dinner as a guest speaker. Here is a great insert on what Sean had to say at the dinner about the 2010-11 men’s basketball team and just how much they meant to him.
DOUBLE DIPPING IN CHAMPIONSHIPS
We play host to the NCAA Regional in both men's golf and softball this week. Golf is under way at Tucson National Thursday-Saturday, while the NCAA Softball Championships regional is slated at Hillenbrand Stadium Friday through Sunday. It's an honor to be hosts for such events, something we've done quite a number of times in our Division I history. Attending the golf tournament is free, while limited remaining tickets for the softball tournament may be purchased through the McKale Center Ticket Office. The men have to finish among the top five in the Regional to continue on to the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Okla., May 25-30, while softball will battle for a chance to host a Super Regional next week at Hillenbrand. In other championship competition, our women's golf team is in the NCAA Championships final rounds at College Station, Texas, today through Saturday after a solid showing in Regional action. Live results and coverage are available online… Our women's tennis team handled itself well in an NCAA Regional in Gainesville, Fla., last week, capping its year at 15-7 overall in head-to-head competition. Nice job, Wildcats!
NOTES...
We've nominated another Wildcat swimmer for NCAA Woman of the Year, one of the top competitive and scholastic honors a collegian can garner and won in recent years by Whitney Myers, Lacey Nymeyer and Justine Schluntz of Arizona. It's hard to imagine one program having such a succession of outstanding student-athletes, but those are the facts. Win or not, kudos to Annie Chandler for her 2011 nomination and here's hoping new swimming coach Eric Hansen helps us continue the superior recruiting and coaching that enabled those ladies to join former UA track star Tanya Hughes as an NCAA Woman of the Year winner. And, to be sure, hats off to the C.A.T.S. Academics staff for its work with all of our student-athletes in year-round guidance... We're picking up worldwide members of the Wildcat Club, last week adding more supporters from Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Japan. The Wildcat Movement recognizes no international boundaries!
Continue to do what you can to help Arizona Athletics and:
Tickets
Roster
Schedule
