2010 Pima Graduation Ceremony

Former Pima coach Roderick Gary named men’s head basketball coach

Former Pima, USA Baseball and Foothills coach Jason Hisey named head baseball coach

Men’s soccer holding tryouts July 5 and July 7

Aztecs earn Academic All-American accolades

Three softball players selected to All-American teams

Japanese Speech Contest, Aikido and Anime Club Videos

Women’s track & field takes 13th at Nationals, the men finish 17th

Video of baseball coach’s last home game

Men’s golf team finishes 18th at Nationals

Two women’s golfers finish in top 42 at Nationals

Living the Dream: Pima Fashion Show video

Both track & field teams finish third at Regionals

Chloe' Nowell

Men’s tennis finishes 19th at Nationals

Women’s tennis finishes 19th at Nationals

Men’s basketball coach Karl Pieroway steps down, again

Yavapai finishes off softball

Softball bounces back, advances to Semifinals

Softball upset by bottom seed

The Pima Community College men’s golf team finished in 18th place at a rain-shortened National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship.

The Aztecs finished 18th at nationals, shooting a three-round total of 933. The final round at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail River Course, in Owens Crossroads, Ala., was canceled.

Pima finished 73 shots behind national champion McLennan (Waco, Texas) Community College.

Freshman Anthony Grijalva led the way with a 227, (74, 78, 75), good enough for 50th place overall.

Freshman Nolan Kovach and sophomore Joseph Molina tied for 79th place with a score of 235. Kovach’s scores were 75, 80, 80 and Molina shot 82, 77, 76.

Sophomore Matt Rubin was 95th with a score of 240, (82, 79, 79). Sophomore Shane Zimmerman finished 101st with a three-day total of 242, (85, 76, 81).

The Pima Community College women’s golf team’s stay at Nationals was cut short and players didn’t even get to compete as a team.

The first day of the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla., at the LPGA International Course was rained out and Pima was not able to field a team.

With only four team members, the Aztecs had to withdraw from the team competition when sophomore Nicole Gentry went down with an illness.

Sophomore Brianne Anderson led the way for the Aztecs with a 39th place finish, shooting 257, (80, 90, 85). Anderson was 10 shots back after the first day of the tournament.

Brianne Anderson

Freshman Jennifer Candanoza finished 42nd with 260 (83, 88, 89). Sophomore Elizabeth Livingston finished in 66th place with 276 (97, 86, 93).

Hometown player Mitsuki Katahira of Daytona State College won the tournament, shooting a 211. Daytona also won the team championship.

Last year the tournament was also shortened by rain.

The Pima Community College women’s golf team finished its regular season on a high note, as they earned a spot at nationals in Florida, while the men’s team is heading to regionals.

The Aztecs’ spot at the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship tournament was not really in doubt.

The top two teams in Arizona Community College Athletic Conference advance and Pima was second all year behind Mesa Community College.

“I’m really excited about nationals this year,” sophomore Brianne Anderson said. “I have actually been counting down the days for nationals since my family lives out there and I will get to see them all while I’m there.”

Even though Pima took a backseat to the Thunderbirds all year, the Aztecs were finally able to best Mesa.

Pima won the Gateway Community College Tournament, at the Kokopelli Golf Course in Gilbert. The Aztecs totaled 696 to beat Mesa by a slim five strokes.

Anderson finished third. She was Pima’s top scorer throughout the season and earned All-ACCAC first team and All-Region I first team honors.

Nicole Gentry

Freshman Jennifer Candanoza was named to the second team of the All-ACCAC.

The Aztecs’ second-place finish sends them to nationals on May 17-20 at the LPGA International Golf Course in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Anderson expects to better her 2009 nationals finish, where she was 23rd and was hampered by an injury and multiple rain delays.

“I am positive about doing a lot better than I did last year,” Anderson said. “With a sprained wrist last year, it was really difficult for me to play my game. Since my wrist is a lot better than the past couple tournaments, I know personally that I will beat my scores from last year. I will definitely do my best out on the course in Florida.”

Anderson will also get to play in the Ladies Professional Golf Association Legends tour stop in Tucson, The Womens Senior National Invitational April 24-25. The tourney will be at the Catalina Course of the Omni Tucson National Resort, where Anderson works.

“My boss at work, he asked me if I wanted to play in the senior’s LPGA tournament since there was one more spot open,” Anderson said. “I am very nervous but since I want to be on the LPGA one day, this is a good experience for me and I will see how it is with a lot of people watching.”

Men’s golf: The Aztecs closed the regular season with a fifth-place finish at the Eastern Arizona College Invite at Mount Graham Golf Course in Thatcher on April 19-20. Pima shot 290 on the first day and 299 on the second day.

On April 12-13, they went to the Gateway Community College tournament at the Kokapelli Golf Course in Gilbert, Ariz., where they finished fourth. Sophomore Matt Rubin finished fourth, at even par (72, 72).
Pima next heads to regionals, which will be held at the Palm Valley Golf Course in Litchfield from May 19-22.

After roughly five months away from golf, Tiger Woods finally made his long-awaited return on April 8.

It wasn’t easy getting back in smoothly. Woods stepped onto the first tee at Augusta National to play the most prestigious golf tournament in the world, The Masters.

After months of ridicule and criticism about his personal life, the best golfer on the planet returned to what he does best, hit a tiny ball with a stick of metal into a tiny hole that is hundreds of yards away.

Everyone had an opinion on how they wanted Tiger to fare. Some wanted him to crash and burn, while some wanted him to prevail and win the title.

In the end, he finished in a tie for fourth place, taking a backseat to a heartfelt victory by Phil Mickelson.

It was a perfect ending to a tournament plagued by the “Tiger-gate” scandal and all the negativity that came with it.

Instead of glorifying the world’s first billion-dollar athlete who famously cheated on his wife with a variety of women, a beautiful scene came together.

Mickelson, whose wife has been fighting breast cancer, strolled down the 18th fairway with a two-stroke lead and a putt for birdie. He sank that putt and ended the tournament, three strokes ahead of second-place Lee Westwood and five strokes ahead of Woods.

Mickelson walked to his wife, who had been bedridden for the previous three days, and gave her a long hug.

Instead of Woods having an awkward walk off the green, with no one to hug after his victory, Mickelson’s win captured a perfect picture of monogamous matrimony.

It may have been just about the most perfect ending to the most perfect golf tournament around. The people’s choice took home the green jacket and the disgraced No. 1 golfer making a comeback had a respectable outing with glimpses of his old self.

The question for Tiger is, what now?

Woods was accepted at The Masters, which is not a normal tournament. The committee at Augusta National prides itself on avoiding controversy and all the commotion that comes along with it.

The media played down the cheating scandal because of the tradition of the course and tournament. It was almost as if Tiger was given a pass because of the tournament’s prestige.

Woods will make his next appearance on April 26 at the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, N.C. It will be just his second tournament since the scandal erupted in late November, but this is where Tiger’s comeback will truly begin.

The main reason is that he will not have the backdrop of the most gorgeous course in all of golf. It is just another regular tournament.

At The Masters, Tiger proved he had his game back by posting a score worthy of fourth place, but his reputation was not tested in the way it will be in months to come.

To rebuild his reputation, Woods will not only need a squeaky-clean image, but he will need to win golf tournaments.

If he has one more slip-up, whether it is a speeding ticket or a photo lip-locked with a stripper in Vegas, Woods could be down for the count.

People will never forgive Tiger for another misstep and everyone will be watching closely for it. The tabloids will scrutinize his every move until they find something to call him on.

For the rest of his career, Woods will have to prove himself both on and off the course.

It is impossible to predict what his public image will be like a year from today, but one thing we do know is that the Tiger Woods’ saga needs an ending. It is up to him as to what the ending will be.

On March 29 and 30, the Aztecs will host a tournament at Silverbell Golf Course, 3600 N. Silverbell Road, starting at 11 a.m.

It is Pima’s only home tournament of the year. The men’s team does not host one.

In their last tournament, which ended on March 16, the Aztecs were unable to field a team because of illness but did have success individually.

Brianne Anderson placed fourth while Jennifer Candanoza took sixth for Pima in the tourney hosted by South Mountain Community College at Legacy Golf Course in Laveen, Ariz.

Mesa Community College won its tournament on March 14 at the Riverview/Dobson Golf Course, and Pima came in second. It was the third straight tournament that the Aztecs placed second. They scored 696, 36 shots above the Thunderbirds.

Candanoza took sixth, with a two-day total of 166.

The Aztecs shot 610, 34 shots over the winners, South Mountain Community College. The tournament was hosted by Glendale Community College in Litchfield.

Sophomore Joseph Molina led the way for Pima, shooting 149 over the two days, with scores of 74 and 75.

Freshman Anthony Grijalva was the second best Aztec, with 154 (80, 74).

PCC returns to action on March 29 when it heads to the Wild Fire Golf Course in Scottsdale, for an event hosted by Paradise Valley Community College.

The Pima Community College women’s golf team finished second at another tournament, while the men’s team opened its season with a tough result.

The women’s team finished second at a two-day tournament at the Toka Sticks Golf Course in Mesa on March 3-4.

Pima finished 17 shots behind Mesa Community College, the winner of the seven-team tournament.

Freshman Jennifer Candanoza finished second overall, with a two-day total of 165. Sophomore Brianne Anderson finished sixth, shooting 169.

The women’s next tournament will be March 13-14, hosted by Mesa Community College.

The men’s team opened the season March 3-4 by placing seventh out of 10 teams in a tournament hosted by Chandler-Gilbert Community College at the Toka Sticks Golf Course.

The Aztecs finished 46 shots behind the tournament winner, Scottsdale Community College.

Sophomore Joseph Molina was Pima’s low scorer, shooting 72 on the first day and 79 on the second. Sophomore Eric Briggs shot a 79 and then a 76.

The men hope to improve on March 15 when they travel to Glendale Community College’s tournament.

It is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. and run until the early evening at the West Campus track.

-Daniel Gaona

Women’s Tennis
The Pima Community College women’s tennis team is off to a bumpy start at 0-3.

“It is a rough start, we had to play the top three teams first,” head coach Gretchen Schantz said. “It is nice to have played the toughest schools first because now we know what we need to do to beat them.”
The Aztecs’ match at Paradise Valley Community College on March 9 was rained out. Schantz wasn’t sure when it would be rescheduled for but said it would be soon.

Pima opened the season with an 8-1 loss at conference power Eastern Arizona College on Feb. 25. The Aztecs lost 9-0 to Mesa Community College at home on March 2, then fell 6-3 at Glendale Community College.

The team is hoping to “gain confidence” in the next couple of matches. “We have a really good chance against the next couple schools,” Schantz said.

Pima is off until March 23, when it hosts Scottsdale Community College at the Tucson Racquet Club, located at 4001 N. Country Club Road.

-Daniel Gaona

Golf opens season
The Pima Community College women’s golf team finished second at another tournament, while the men’s team opened its season with a tough result.

The women’s team finished second at a two-day tournament at the Toka Sticks Golf Course in Mesa on March 3-4.

Pima finished 17 shots behind Mesa Community College, the winner of the seven-team tournament.

Freshman Jennifer Candanoza finished second overall, with a two-day total of 165. Sophomore Brianne Anderson finished sixth, shooting 169.

The women’s next tournament will be March 13-14, hosted by Mesa Community College.

The men’s team opened the season March 3-4 by placing seventh out of 10 teams in a tournament hosted by Chandler-Gilbert Community College at the Toka Sticks Golf Course.

The Aztecs finished 46 shots behind the tournament winner, Scottsdale Community College.

Sophomore Joseph Molina was Pima’s low scorer, shooting 72 on the first day and 79 on the second. Sophomore Eric Briggs shot a 79 and then a 76.

The men hope to improve on March 15 when they travel to Glendale Community College’s tournament.

-James Kelley