Wildcat Wrap: Basketball begins practice, volleyball sweeps Oregon schools, and more

Let’s recap the week that was in Arizona Athletics

It’s Monday and that means it’s time to catch up on last week’s happenings with the Arizona Wildcats.

As always, let us know in the comments if we missed anything.

Volleyball

Someone must’ve told the team to just Bear Down, because it did just that on Friday night on the road against Oregon.

Needing all five sets, Arizona put away the 12th-ranked Ducks 3-2.

The win on Friday marked the first time this season UA defeated a ranked opponent. UA has defeated the Ducks in six straight seasons.

Senior outside hitter Kendra Dahlke led the way in kills with 26 and in points with 28. Junior setter Julia Patterson had 58 assists. Junior libero Makenna Martin had two aces and 17 digs. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Shardonee Hayes had five blocks.

On Sunday, UA did something it hadn’t done in eight years: Sweep the Oregon schools on the road. The ‘Cats defeated Oregon State, 3-0.

Sophomore outside hitter Paige Whipple tied her season-high in kills with 18. She also had 19.5 points and an ace.

The ‘Cats entered the week ranked 24th in the AVCA poll, and with wins over the weekend, it’s easy to assume they’ll move up.

UA (14-2, 3-1 Pac-12) is back on its home court this weekend when the Washington schools visit McKale Center. The ‘Cats start things off with the Washington Huskies on Friday.

Soccer

Arizona picked up four points this weekend, beating Utah 2-1 before a 1-1 draw against Colorado to improve to 8-2-1 and 1-1-1 in the Pac-12. Both games went to double overtime and were fascinating in their own right.

Against the Utes, UA’s Jill Aguilera netted a shot from roughly 25 yards out for the golden goal, earning the No. 1 moment in the Pac-12 this weekend. It was her second goal of the game, too.

Taking the top spot with the @OpusBank #12Best Moment of the Week is @ArizonaSoccer's Jill Aguilera.#Pac12Soccer pic.twitter.com/JfXPaTc05M

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 1, 2018

The Colorado game was strange because both teams scored within 14 seconds of each other in the 12th minute of the game, and those wound up being the only goals all match.

While Arizona could not get the sweep, a win and draw against the Mountain Schools is an acceptable result. Things will be even more difficult next weekend, when the Wildcats will be in Los Angeles to take on No. 2 USC and No. 13 UCLA.

Did you know that two of UA’s starting midfielders led Columbine High School to a state title in 2014? Now you do. They are Amanda Porter and Kelcey Cavarra. We profiled them this week.

Women’s Basketball

The team held its first practice on Friday, and we caught up Coach Adia Barnes afterwards. Here’s what she had to say. Bonus clips of sophomore Sam Thomas and senior Destiny Graham are included.

Baseball

The 2018 recruiting class is being highly regarded by many media outlets. On Monday, Collegiate Baseball ranked Arizona’s class third in the nation.

Six signees who were drafted in the MLB Draft in June opted to come play for coach Jay Johnson and UA. Those players are outfielder Ryan Holgate, pitcher (and Tucson native) George Arias Jr., pitcher Ian Mejia, catcher Austin Wells, pitcher Bryce Collins and pitcher Andrew Nardi.

The class was ranked 13th by Baseball America earlier this month.

Softball

Former Arizona All-American Hallie Wilson announced her retirement from National Pro Fastpitch team USSSA Pride last Monday.

Wilson is ranked 10th all-time in Arizona history in both doubles (48) and runs scored (211) and sixth in career walks with 136. She was the 2015 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Wilson was drafted 28th overall in the 2015 NPF College Draft. She had a career .319 average and 134 hit and was a three-time All NPF Selection.

Sunday marked UA’s first day of practice. The team has its first fall ball game on Oct. 19th.

First official team practice of fall ball!

It starts today. #BearDown pic.twitter.com/bfPTqc52Gp

— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) September 30, 2018

We’re hearing All-American first baseman Alyssa Palomino is moving back to the outfield — or at least that’s the plan as of now.

Hockey

The Wildcats on ice have started their season 3-0 after wins over Grand Canyon and Arizona State. UA swept ASU over the weekend. Bayley Marshall leads the ‘Cats in points with nine.

UA begins a month-long road trip on Thursday when it heads to face Missouri State. UA’s next home game is Nov. 3.

Men’s Tennis

Junior Alejandro Reguant and sophomore Filip Malbasic were in Tulsa, Okla. over the weekend at the ITA All-American Championships.

The trip marked the first time the duo has competed this fall. Malbasic won his four matches at the event.

UA hits the courts on Friday on the road at the San Diego State Invitational.

Women’s Tennis

Senior Emma Wilson was in Los Angeles for the ITA All-American Championships. She defeated third-seeded Chloe Ouelette-Pizer of North Carolina on Saturday and followed it up with a win on Sunday. Wilson has won five straight matches .

UA will be in Southern California on Oct. 12 for the USC Invite.

Track and Field

The discus might be traveling a little less in the upcoming season for UA. Reports broke on Tuesday that sophomore Turner Washington had transferred to Arizona State.

Turner, a graduate of Canyon del Oro High School, placed fourth in the Pac-12 Championships last season and was one of five Wildcats to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Cross Country

Arizona was on the move again, this time in Chicago for the Loyola Lakefront Invitational on Saturday. Wildcats Addi Zerrenner and Jennie Baragar-Petrash were the top runners for the UA women in the 5K. Senior Zerrenner placed sixth with a time of 17:00:49 and Baragar-Petrash, a redshirt sophomore, was eighth (17:02:32).

In the men’s 8K, redshirt junior Carlos Villarreal took third with a time of 23:54.77, which netted him his second top-three finish of the year. Senior Hunter Davila placed 15th with a time of 24:54:77.

Up next for the team is the Pre-NCAA Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 13 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Football

A fourth-quarter surge wasn’t enough for the Wildcats to overcome a lackadaisical first-half as UA lost 24-20 to USC on Saturday night.

The ‘Cats (2-3, 1-1 Pac-12) were led by junior quarterback Khalil Tate who threw for 232 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Stanley Berryhill had a 33-yard TD, the first of his career.

As always, check out our football section for a ton of coverage.

Men’s Basketball

Former Wildcat Derrick Williams, the second overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, agreed to sign with German team Bayern Munich on Thursday.

Williams played two games last season with the Lakers after a stint in China. The Arizona alum has played on six NBA teams in his seven-year career.

The 2018-19 Pac-12 schedule was released this week.

As an appetizer, we have our six questions heading into the season for readers to take in before the Red-Blue game.

The Wildcats held their first day of practice Sunday, and media day is Monday, beginning at 1 p.m. MST. Stay tuned.

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