ARIZONA
The Arizona men’s basketball team climbed back into the national rankings this week for the first time since the 2008-09 postseason coaches’ poll. The Wildcats (15-3, 4-1 Pac-10) came in at No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll released on Monday, receiving 60 total votes. Through five conference games, Arizona ranks second in the league in scoring offense (77.7 points per game), scoring defense (62.9), scoring margin (+14.8), while ranking first in free throw percentage (75.7 percent) and field goal percentages (48.7). Arizona is set to take on the only other ranked Pac-10 team when they travel north to No. 20 Washington Thursday night.
ARIZONA STATE
The 2011 Lone Star Dual ended with a one-point loss for the Arizona State men’s wrestling team. The Sun Devils fell to Central Oklahoma, 23-22, which is the ninth-ranked team in NCAA Division II. Though Anthony Robles (125), Te Edwards (165), Jake Meredith (184), Luke Macchiaroli (197), and Levi Cooper (heavyweight) each collected wins on the day, ASU needed 14 points to tie the score but was only able to gain 13 over the final three matches. For the season, the Sun Devils are 5-7 in the team standings with six meets remaining before the Pac-10 Championships on Feb. 27.
CALIFORNIA
California’s men’s rugby team continued to show its dominance at the UCLA Tournament by winning the event for the sixth year in a row. The Golden Bears defeated the hosting Bruins by a score of 53-5, the fifth straight year UCLA has fallen in the final match. Cal (8-0) tallied 253 points over the two-day event, scoring on 38 tries, while allowing just 20 points and three tries during the seven-match weekend. Senior Blaine Scully and sophomore Seamus Kelly scored twice each in the decisive final match.
OREGON
The Oregon men’s tennis team improved to 2-0 in the early season with a 6-1 victory over Gonzaga this weekend. The Ducks won all but one match, and freshman Alex Rovello continued to impress as he took home a victory in the top singles match. He also teamed up with fellow freshman Robin Cambier for a win in the top doubles spot. Cambier, Jose Izquierdo, Douglas Mayeda, and Sho Higuchi each won their singles matches. Oregon will be back in action this Friday when Portland State comes to town for a 10 a.m. dual match.
OREGON STATE
The No. 8 Oregon State women’s gymnastics team narrowly defeated No. 15 Ohio State in a dual meet at Gill Coliseum this weekend. The Beavers knocked off the Buckeyes 195.925-193.300, to give head coach Tanya Chaplin her 200th regular season win of her career. In the beam event, Oregon State reached the 49.000 mark for the first time all season, which was key in the close victory. OSU takes on No. 7 Oklahoma Friday afternoon in Norman.
STANFORD
For her efforts in leading the Cardinal to two dominant victories over Washington and Washington State, junior forward Nnemkadi Ogumike was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week the conference announced Monday. The honor was the fourth of her impressive career and first this season. During No. 4 Stanford’s blowouts of the Huskies (80-51) and Cougars (94-50), Ogumike averaged 18 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting a mind-numbing 64.5 percent from the floor.
UCLA
UCLA freshman Courtney Dolehide and Andrea Remynse began the National Collegiate Tennis Classic as the tournament’s fourth-seeded double team, but pulled off a string of upsets en route to a doubles title Sunday afternoon. The pair started the day with an 8-6 upset over second-seeded USC, followed by knocking off the top-seeded Stanford duo 9-7 in the final. UCLA opens the 2011 dual-match season at home Wednesday when St. Mary’s arrives at 1:30 p.m.
USC
A pair of USC athletes were tabbed USC Credit Union Student-Athletes of the Week on Tuesday, with Cassie Harberts (women’s basketball) and Vladimir Morozov (men’s swimming) taking home the award. Harberts earned the honor after 12-point, 18-rebound performance against Oregon over the weekend. Morozov, a freshman, took home individual titles in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, and contributed to the Trojans 200-yard freestyle relay win at the SMU Invite.
WASHINGTON
The No. 20 Washington men’s basketball team split its weekend series in the Bay Area with a 58-56 loss to Stanford and a 92-71 win over Cal. In the Huskies rout of the Golden Bears, junior guard Isaiah Thomas scored 18 of his season-high 27 points in the first half to go along with a career high 13 assists. As a team, UW shot better than 52 percent from behind the three-point line, going 13 of 29 from distance. Washington will need that hot shooting touch when No. 25 Arizona and Arizona State head to Seattle this weekend.
WASHINGTON STATE
The Washington State swim team earned four finalist victories at the USA Swimming Austin Gran Prix over the weekend. The Cougars took home victories in both the 400-and 800-meter relays. Shelbi Luchini, Talor Whitaker, and Danielle Palumbo each took home individual titles. The Cougars will be back in the pool Friday when they host Boise State.
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