Wildcat Orientation Guide • 55
Summer 2019
ORIENTATION | SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS
TOP 10 MOMENTS
31-24. Running back Nick Wilson scored three touchdowns, and backfield teammate Terris Jones-Grigsby had go-ahead touchdown run with 2:54 remaining in the fourth quarter. With 2:11 left, linebacker Scooby Wright III strip-sacked Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and recovered the football to help the Wildcats send the Ducks home with their first loss of the season. The win boosted Arizona all the way to No. 10 in the AP poll and was one of the many memorable wins of the 2014 season. It also marked back-to-back seasons Arizona defeated Oregon when the Ducks were ranked in the top five of the AP poll.
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the program record for dingers with 87, and the next night, she blasted another to pass two-time All-American Stacie Chambers. A month later, Mauga broke the Pac-12 record with her 91st long ball, passing UCLA’s Stacey Nuveman and putting her four behind the alltime leader Lauren Chamberlain. Mauga’s pursuit of history ended at 92 career home runs as Arizona was bounced from the NCAA Tournament in the Super Regionals. Had UA advanced in the Women’s College World Series, perhaps Mauga would have etched her name as the greatest power hitter of all time.
4. Dramatic single sends ‘Cats to CWS (2016) Who would have guessed that a first-year head coach would accomplish so much in one season? Jay Johnson was named the head coach of the Wildcats baseball program in 2016 and led the ‘Cats to 38 regular-season wins, tied for most in program history. In the NCAA Tournament, the UA won its regional 3-0 and then traveled across the country to play in the Super Regional at Mississippi State. After winning the first game of the best of three series, Arizona didn’t get out to a good start in game two. Mississippi State led 5-1 heading into the eighth inning before the Wildcats’ bats ignited. UA pulled within one run going into the bottom of the ninth, and then Alfonso Rivas singled to score Cody Ramer, sending the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th, Cesar Salazar delivered a walk-off single with two outs and the bases loaded to send the Wildcats to the College World Series in Omaha for the first time since 2012. Arizona kept the momentum going and advanced to the championship game, but eventually lost in a three-game series against Coastal Carolina.
8. Hungry for more (2019) Several historic moments took place during the 2019 WNIT, when Arizona women’s basketball took home the championship. It was its first WNIT title since 1996, when nowhead coach Adia Barnes was playing in an Arizona uniform. Attendance more than tripled in McKale Center over the six-game stretch, and the championship game turned in 14,644 fans, the largest crowd in program and Pac-12 women’s basketball history. Redshirt sophomore Aari McDonald earned WNIT MVP after averaging over 20 points in the tournament. Hosting all six games also helped Arizona earn a net profit of $106,051. After cutting down the nets in a thrilling win over Northwestern, Barnes said the program is “hungry for more” heading into the coming years. 7. “Guard Who?” (2017) Dec. 30, 2017. This was supposed to be the day ASU men’s basketball dethroned Sean Miller and the Wildcats. The No. 3-ranked Sun Devils were the talk of college hoops in the non-conference portion of the season, jumping out to an unprecedented 12-0 start and knocking off No. 2 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse along the way. The Sun Devils even branded themselves as “Guard U,” a knock at the UA’s “Point Guard U” theme. Meanwhile, Arizona entered the year ranked No. 3 in the preseason polls, bolstered by the arrival of top recruit – and future No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick – Deandre Ayton, but suffered three straight losses in November to briefly fall out of the top-25 poll. The rivalry game in McKale Center was dubbed as the day Bobby Hurley and the Sun Devils could prove they were the new force in the state of Arizona. Miller and company had other plans. The No. 17-ranked Wildcats led for the majority of the game, and Ayton couldn’t be stopped, as the 7-footer poured in 23 points and 19 rebounds, with an and-one dunk to put Arizona up double digits with four minutes left and then a tip-in with under 30 seconds to put the ‘Cats up four. From then on, the Sun Devils would not regain their non-conference magic, losing 9 of their next 17 games and dropping a First Four
SIMON ASHER | THE DAILY WILDCAT
ARIZONA’S DEANDRE AYTON POWERS the ball down against Arizona State University on Dec. 30, 2017. Ayton had 23 points and 19 rebounds in the game.
game in the NCAA Tournament. Arizona went on to win the Pac-12 Championship for the second-consecutive season. 6. Tate breaks rushing record (2017) In October 2017, Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate ran away with an NCAA record – quite literally. Entering the first quarter of a game at Colorado after starter Brandon Dawkins got hurt, Tate announced himself to the college football world with a mesmerizing 327 yards rushing for a new FBS record. The sophomore had touchdown runs of 25, 47, 58 and 75 yards, along with throwing for 154 yards and a touchdown. Tate’s video-game-like numbers propelled
Arizona to a 45-42 win in Boulder and paved the way for his name in the Heisman Trophy conversation. The quarterback was 40 rushing yards shy of the program single-game record held by running back Ka’Deem Carey. Tate went on to post a historic season for the Wildcats, becoming the first player to be Pac12 Offensive Player of the Week four-straight weeks. When talking about all-time performances in a single game, Tate’s is as good as any. 5. Down goes No. 2 (2014) 24-point underdogs? No problem. Unranked Arizona football stunned No. 2 Oregon in Eugene in October 2014, winning
3. Moore’s putt for the win (2018) Not all heroes wear capes, and women’s golfer Haley Moore is one of those heroes. In the championship match against Alabama, Moore sunk a birdie putt in a playoff on the 19th hole to win Arizona the 2018 National Championship. Tied with Alabama 2-2, it was down to Arizona’s Moore and ‘Bama’s Lakareber Abe to decide the championship. Moore and Abe were tied after 19 holes, forcing a winner-takeall playoff. Moore had a clean approach to the green and dramatically sunk the putt to end it. The No. 8-seeded Wildcats weren’t even considered serious championship contenders, yet they somehow pulled off a magical run to win the title that ended in Moore’s teammates racing across the greens of Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., to hug her. 2. Wildcats win 14 straight along with Pac-12 Tournament Championship (2015) Coming off an Elite Eight loss in 2014, Arizona returned a good chunk of its roster and added in top-10 recruit, Stanley Johnson.
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