All Entries Tagged With: "Tennis"

Online Extra: Summer Updates

Photo by James Kelley

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

Online Extra: Men’s tennis finishes 19th at Nationals

By James Kelley
Photo by Steve Choice

Just like the women’s team, the Pima Community College men’s tennis team finished 19th at Nationals, but the men did so in Texas, not at home.

The Aztecs scored 9.5 points, also like the women, at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Tennis National Championships at Plano, Texas.

Andrew Barnett

Freshman Andrew Barnett made it to the quarterfinals of the Flight 1 Singles consolation bracket. Freshman Matt Lancaster also made it to the consolation quarterfinals, in Flight 5.

The sophomore doubles team of Raphael Sepulveda and David Tellez made it to the quarterfinals of Flight 2.

Online Extra: Women’s tennis finishes 19th at Nationals

By Steve Choice and James Kelley
Photo by Daniel Gaona

The Pima Community College women’s tennis team finished 19th at Nationals.

The Aztecs scored 9.5 points at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Tennis National Championships at Reffkin Tennis Center in Tucson.

“I was very happy with a top-20 finish in DI nationals,” head coach Gretchen Schantz said. “This year’s team had the most overall improvement I’ve seen in one season.”

Freshman Gabriela Rodriguez made it to the semifinals of the singles No. 1 consolation bracket. Sophomore Lori Cinnamond made it to the finals of the singles No. 3 consolation bracket.

Gabriela Rodriguez

Cinnamond and sophomore Ana Gallardo made it to the semifinals of the doubles No. 2 consolation bracket.

“We finished the year ahead of teams we had lost to early in the season,” Schantz said. “I’m looking forward to continuing that same improvement next year with the returning freshmen and with some new talented players.”

Last year the Aztecs finished 18th at Nationals.

Moustafa confident for success in the long-run

By Chris Beck
Photo by Daniel Gaona

As the Pima Community College men’s tennis team earned its place at nationals, head coach Sharif Moustafa was named coach of the year in the Arizona region.

Originally born in Minnesota, Moustafa moved to Arizona as a child and quickly picked up tennis. Even from a young age, it was clear that the game was his calling.

“I was recruited to go to Phoenix when I was 16 to play for a junior tennis program,” Moustafa said. “I was the top-ranked southwest player.”

His skill took him to the University of Arizona, where he played for the tennis team. Unfortunately an injury ended his collegiate career.

Sharif Moustafa

Although his career at UA was cut short, his time there proved to be helpful and maybe even critical to his recent coaching success.

“I was coached by guys who coached top-25 players in the world,” Moustafa said. “I was very fortunate to have them as head coaches.”

While the 2010 season was his first at PCC, Moustafa had plenty of coaching experience before he arrived on campus.

He served as head pro at Club Yuma Fitness Center and as a pro for the Ron Smith Tennis Academy in Tucson. He has been a pro at the Tucson Racquet & Fitness Club since 2007.

“I had been coaching top juniors in the nation for four years,” Moustafa said. “When I heard the Pima job was open, I felt like I could bring what I knew about the community and what I knew about tennis into Pima and make it a national team.”

After a single season, Moustafa has no doubt achieved his goal. The team will head to Plano, Texas, on May 10-14 to compete for the national title.

In preparations for nationals, Moustafa is putting his team through grueling training in order to stay in top shape. His techniques prove that being coach of the year is not about babying players.

“The kids knew coming in that I was going to be one of the toughest coaches they ever had to face,” Moustafa said. “Especially with nationals coming in, they have been running three miles in the sand every day so I can get them prepared.”

“We are playing in Texas, which has the highest humidity, so I have to be able to strategize and get my players to not cramp out there.”

These strategies, among many others, have boosted PCC onto the national scene and earned Moustafa coach of the year honors. While the league recognizes his coaching excellence, he acknowledges that he could not do it without his players.

“I couldn’t be here without these players,” Moustafa said. “Without their heart and talent and the will that they put in for me. They are the ones, I just assisted them.”

In a single year at Pima, Moustafa has had incredible success with the team and only has higher expectations for seasons to come.

“My future plan is to build Pima to be a top-ranked team nationally,” he said.

Men’s Tennis Nationals lineup
Singles
No. 1 Andrew Barnett
No. 2 Alan Barrios
No. 3 David Tellez
No. 4 Default
No. 5 Rafael Sepulveda
No. 6 Matt Lancaster
Doubles
No. 1 Default
No. 2 Barrios/Sepulveda
No. 3 Lancaster/Tellez

Women’s tennis on late-season hot streak

By Steve Choice
Photo by Steve Choice

The Pima Community College women’s tennis team capped off its late-season surge with a strong showing at the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament, held May 2-6 at the Reffkin Tennis Center in Tucson.

“I am very happy how the season is ending,” head coach Gretchen Schantz said. “This year’s team improved after every match and peaked exactly when we needed to, at regionals and nationals. We are now beating teams that we lost to in the beginning of the season with authority.”

The national tourney had not concluded at press time, but a top-20 finish for Pima was all but assured, according to Schantz.

Three Aztecs were still alive in their respective draws as play wrapped up on Day Three of the competition.

Freshman Gabriela Rodriguez and sophomore Lori Cinnamond punched their tickets to the consolation draw semifinals in singles play, while Cinnamond and sophomore Ana Gallardo advanced in the doubles consolation bracket.

The tournament is double-elimination, which means a player that loses early can still rack up victories in the “back draw”.

Freshman Lucy Gaynor continued her flair for the dramatic at No. 5 singles against Marley Myers from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Day Two.

Gaynor spotted the visitor from Georgia a 5-2 lead in both sets, but mounted furious comebacks in each one. Gaynor frustrated the lanky southerner with her effective defensive game, and Myers’ impatience led her to commit numerous unforced errors.

Gaynor also sent many well-placed passing shots past her opponent, to the delight of her teammates eating lunch courtside and cheering her on. Despite her spirited effort, she fell short, 7-5, 6-4.

Lucy Gaynor and Daisy Quezada

“I always have hope that I’m going to come back,” the native of San Carlos, Mexico said. “I never give up.”

Gaynor is already primed for next season, especially since she will be able to get in a whole year’s worth of training with the team.
“I didn’t start on the team until January this past year, so I was a little behind,” said Gaynor, who has only been playing tennis for five years. “I’m going to start in August this time, so I’m going to rock. I’m going to come with the big guns next year.”

The Aztecs will be without the services of Cinnamond, Gallardo and Ashley Oesterle in 2011, but Schantz remains optimistic about the squad’s future.

“I have half the team returning next year, and I am looking forward to seeing them continue to improve.”

With an almost certain top-20 showing at nationals as their springboard, the whole Aztec team will look to level their sights on their opponents next year.

Visit AztecPressOnline.com for updates.

Men’s tennis prepares for Nationals

By Chris Beck
Photo by Steve Choice

After an outstanding regular season, the Pima Community College men’s tennis team will cap that journey by making a trip to nationals.

The team secured its spot in the national tournament in the first day of the regional tournament, which was held April 19-20.

“We had a great day,” head coach Sharif Moustafa said after the first day of matches. “My No. 3 and 5 singles are in the finals and all three doubles teams are in the semifinals tomorrow.”

With this impressive outing, the team was able to lock down one of the three spots at nationals given to the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference.

The second day at regionals was not chock full of victories, but the coach was still confident in his team.

“We didn’t do as well as I wanted to,” Moustafa said. “We lost the matches we were in. My No. 3 almost beat the No. 3 from Scottsdale. He took him to three sets. My three doubles lost in three sets. Overall it was some very high quality tennis I saw today.”

Andrew Barnett

Fortunately, the losses on the second day did not affect Pima’s place at nationals, as the rankings will be decided closer to the tournament.

The national tournament will be held in Plano, Texas, May 10-14. There will be 36 teams from around the nation competing for the championship.

“The goal at the beginning of the season was to get to Plano,” Moustafa said. “We achieved it all as a team and I couldn’t be happier for the sophomores and the freshmen as well.”

In order to prepare, there will be no time for the Aztecs to celebrate their accomplishments.

“We start tomorrow,” Moustafa said. “We are going to get out there tomorrow and work at all we need to work at. No breaks.”

This attitude from the coach may provide a little insight as to why he was recently named the regional coach of the year in his first year at Pima.

While this is an impressive honor, Moustafa remains humble in an effort not to take away from the team’s achievement.

“When I came in here, we set a bunch of goals,” Moustafa said. “For me to see the kids go through and condition and deal with a first-year coach and still achieve all of our goals, I couldn’t be more content with that.”

In a season full of goals being successfully completed, the team most likely has a few more goals for the upcoming weeks. With nationals only a couple weeks away, the thought of national glory is no doubt in the players’ minds.

“This is on a national level so there are not going to be any easy matches,” Moustafa said. “There is not going to be an easy draw.”

With only one tournament to go, the team no doubt is looking for victory. These matches in Texas will be the sophomores’ last at Pima, so the team will be focused on the trophy. But coming home without one wouldn’t be disappointing either.

“Just to get out there, just to know we are top 36 in the country is a good feeling,” Moustafa said. “Now we would like to know we are even better than that.”

Women’s tennis ready for nationals

Story and photos by Steve Choice

The Pima Community College women’s tennis team will get a little something extra in its May Day basket this year. That would be an invite to NJCAA Championships, which kick off May 1 at the Randolph Tennis Center in Tucson.

As the host school, the Aztecs receive an automatic bid to the six-day national championship tournament.

The steadily improving squad will look to end its year on a memorable note on the biggest stage any junior college athlete can hope to reach.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” head coach Gretchen Schantz said of nationals. “You want to peak late, and my team is doing that.”

Pima started off the year with some frustrating losses, but has come on strong in the latter half of the season. The squad stormed back from a 1-5 beginning to finish a very respectable 4-6.

Included in those three late-season victories were two thrashings of conference opponents on the road. On April 8, Pima dismantled Scottsdale Community College, 9-0. The Aztecs also paid a visit to Paradise Valley on April 15, resulting in an 8-1 demolition of the Pumas.

The one frustrating late-year outing for PCC took place on April 13, as Eastern Arizona College came to town. The Aztecs had difficulty finding their rhythm against the Gila Monsters, dropping a 7-2 decision.

The tilt against EAU did showcase one of the most exciting matches of the year, however, as the No. 3 doubles team of freshmen Lucy Gaynor and Daisy Quezada turned in a gutty comeback performance that had the crowd at the Tucson Racquet Club hanging on every shot by the time it finished.

The Pima pair drew EAU’s previously once-beaten team of Brinlee Goodman and Natalie Young. The Pima players came back from repeated deficits to claim a thrilling 9-8 (8-6) victory.

The Aztec duo dug themselves out of an early 6-3 hole to forge ahead 7-6. Doubles teams play to eight in the “pro set” format used at the college level.

Lucy Gaynor and Daisy Quezada

The seesaw affair eventually went to a tiebreaker, and there Gaynor and Quezada once again had to claw back from behind.

The EAU pair jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead in the deciding game, setting the stage for Gaynor’s and Quezada’s heroics.

Following some stellar net play by Gaynor, Quezada served for the victory, up 7-6 in the tiebreak.

“It was exciting, and kind of scary,” Quezada said of serving for the match. “We both tensed up a little bit in the tiebreaker, but I know we’re both excellent players, so we just tried to relax and play like we know we can. It was really cool to beat them, because we had lost to them the first time we played.”

Did any panic creep in when the pair fell behind midway through the contest?

“Oh no, you don’t get too up or too down at any point in the match,” said Quezada, a product of Desert View High School. “It’s not right to get too down. You just keep on pushing.”

Schantz’s team will look to push far into the bracket when the best in the country come to town on May Day.

The smart money for Aztec fans would be to stay until the end of each match, because these women aren’t going to stop swinging until the final point is decided.

Women’s tennis looking to win out

Story and photo by Steve Choice

Though they didn’t get the payback they sought, a determined Pima Community College women’s tennis team looked strong in their April 1 showdown with Glendale Community College.

The Aztecs put up a spirited fight at the Tucson Racquet Club, but fell 6-3. PCC was seeking to avenge a March 4 defeat by the Gauchos.

The loss, coupled with a forfeit victory against Paradise Valley on April 6, leaves the Aztecs’ record at 2-5 on the year.

“This was by far the best match of the season,” head coach Gretchen Schantz said of the defeat by Glendale. “Everyone raised their level and fought hard in both singles and doubles.”

Being contested on April Fools’ Day, it appeared that Mother Nature would be the one pulling the prank. Luckily, the threatening skies never produced rain.

However, conditions were windy and chilly, which has been the story for the Aztecs recently.

“The weather didn’t want to cooperate again today,” Schantz said. “But that’s OK, we’re used to it.”

The No. 1 doubles team of freshmen Gabriela Rodriguez and Mary Croswell started the day off on a victorious note for Pima, crushing their counterparts, 8-1.

Croswell exuded satisfaction after the win, which saw the Glendale players chasing Pima winners from one sideline to the other.

“It felt really good out there today,” said the native of Denver, Colo. “I’m very happy with the way we played. Gabriela and I had it all working, and we definitely took it to them.”

PCC’s other two doubles teams had a tougher go of it, and the Aztecs trailed 2-1 at the outset of singles play.

Croswell again shone for the squad, as she exacted a measure of revenge for a loss to Glendale’s Julie Kerr in their first go-round.

Schantz was fired up about her player’s turnaround against the familiar foe.

“Mary played her best match of the season, demolishing her opponent that she had lost to the previous time,” Schantz said.

Lori Cinnamond and Ana Gallardo

Lori Cinnamond also chalked up a victory for the home team, thumping Adriana Medina, 6-4, 6-0.

The hard-serving Rodriguez, who hails from Hermosillo, Mexico, went toe to toe with Vanessa Green, ultimately falling 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Lydia Carlson also pushed her opponent to the third set before bowing, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

Despite game efforts by Lucy Gaynor and Ashley Oesterle, they were both defeated in straight sets.

The Aztecs hope to get back in the win column against Scottsdale Community College on April 8. Pima made quick work of the Fighting Artichokes earlier this season, blanking them in a rain-shortened encounter, 6-0.

“The team is heading in the right direction, and we are looking forward to finishing what we started against Scottsdale,” Schantz said.

Despite the slight dip in the road they hit against Glendale, the Aztecs have their sights set high for the home stretch, with three more regular season matches left to play.

Men’s tennis seeking revenge

By Chris Beck
Photo by Daniel Gaona

As the regular season winds down, the Pima Community College men’s tennis team is stepping up play and looking toward the playoffs.

“We are pretty much securing our spots for regionals,” head coach Sharif Moustafa said. “We have some players becoming No. 1 seeds and No. 2 seeds for the region tournament right now so we are looking pretty good.”

Currently the Aztecs are 8-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play. They are ranked third in the conference and are assured a spot in the tournament.

Pima beat Paradise Valley Community College 8-1 on April 6 for its most recent win.

Andrew Barnett

“It wasn’t close,” Moustafa said. “We just went in there and did our thing. We beat them pretty well last time too, so we just kept our pace and did the same thing again this time.”

The win poises the Aztecs for their season finale on April 8. The team will take on regional powerhouse Scottsdale Community College at 1:30 p.m.

Earlier this month, Scottsdale’s Fighting Artichokes handed the Aztecs their worst loss of the year, beating the squad 9-0.

“We have to play as consistent as we possibly can,” Moustafa said about playing Scottsdale. “Even though we lost 9-0 to them last time, we were pretty much up in almost every single match. We just have to close out those matches and fight for our right to beat them.”

The match will be at the Tucson Racquet Club, located at 4001 N. Country Club. Admission is free.

There will be a 12-day break after the team plays Scottsdale. The region tournament is April 19-20.

“After the Scottsdale match, we’ve got to get ready for regionals,” Moustafa said. “We’re looking good. We are definitely a top three team in the conference right now, for sure.”

On April 1, Glendale Community College beat Pima 5-4 in one of the closest contests of the season. The loss came on the third straight day of matches for the Pima team.

The Glendale Gauchos are the No. 2 team in the conference and swept Pima in the regular season.

The Aztecs ended March with a shutout victory over non-conference opponent San Diego City Community College, 9-0.

Just the day before, on March 30, Pima claimed another convincing victory over Mesa Community College, 8-1.

Nationals begin on May 10 and Moustafa is optimistic about all that will lead up to it.

“I really do like our chances right now,” the first-year coach said. “We just got to go out there and make sure we get our seeds situated.”

-Daniel Gaona contributed to this report.

Women’s tennis dominant in first win of season

By Steve Choice
Photo by Daniel Gaona

The Scottsdale Community College women’s tennis team probably would’ve been happy if strong winds and a light rain had been all they had to deal with in their match on March 23 at the Tucson Racquet Club.
Unfortunately for them, a hungry Pima Community College women’s squad was there to finish them off.

The Aztecs were dominant from start to finish in their clash with the Fighting Artichokes, coasting to a convincing 6-0 triumph over the visitors from Maricopa County. The home team seemed unfazed by the inclement weather, improving their record to 1-3 on the season.

“We’re definitely very happy to get that first victory under our belts,” head coach Gretchen Schantz said. “We had a tough beginning to our schedule, and wanted to make up some ground. We looked very confident today, and it showed in the results.”

PCC’s No. 1 doubles team of freshmen Mary Croswell and Gabriela Rodriguez got the blowout started by smashing Scottsdale’s top pair, 8-3.

Gabriela Rodriguez

Sophomores Lori Cinnamond and Ashley Oesterle followed suit, blanking SCC’s Rima Reddy and Sarah Robertson, 8-0.

Freshmen Daisy Quezeda and Lucy Gaynor won by default, as Scottsdale had to forfeit the No. 3 doubles match because they only have five members on their squad. With that, the Aztecs were already out to a comfortable 3-0 lead heading into singles play.

From there, Pima’s winners just kept raining down on Scottsdale’s heads.

In fact, the precipitation was all that prevented a possible 9-0 team victory, as three singles matches were halted in the middle of play.

“Unfortunately, the rain came and we weren’t able to get all the singles matches completed,” Schantz said. “It’s too bad, because we were either ahead or tied in all three. I wish we could’ve finished them out, but of course you can’t control the weather.”

However, the Aztecs’ Cinnamond did control Scottsdale’s Reddy in their match, cruising to an easy 6-0, 6-1 win.

Schantz playfully refers to Cinnamond as a “legend” because she is a non-traditional student taking advantage of the no age-limit rule in junior college athletics.

Also able to finish singles play was Gaynor, who trounced SCC’s Julia Anglin, 6-0, 6-0.

Freshman Lydia Carlson got out to a quick lead against Robertson, but her match was called early as she led 6-4, 1-0 in the second set. Rodriguez’s singles match was also interrupted by the weather.

Schantz’s squad hopes to continue its winning ways March 30, as Pima hits the road to take on the Mesa Community College Thunderbirds.

Following that will be a much-anticipated rematch with Glendale Community College, which bested the Aztecs 6-3 earlier this season.

“We felt like we could’ve won that day,” Schantz said. “We were in it the whole way, and lost a few close matches,” she added. “We definitely want another chance at them, this time at home.”

PCC will also look to prevent Scottsdale from getting redemption on April 8.

Considering how things played out in Tucson, the Artichokes may be hoping for rain that day.

Men’s tennis team moving on after tough loss

Story and photo by Daniel Gaona

After starting close to perfect, the Pima Community College men’s tennis team hit a speed bump it didn’t want to navigate.

Pima lost 9-0 to conference power Scottsdale Community College on March 23, the worst loss of the season yet.

“It was not the best day for Pima,” head coach Shariff Moustafa said. “There were some close matches.”

Moustafa wasn’t pleased with the loss but still did see some good in it.

“Obviously I am a little disappointed but at the same time I think it is a good experience for the kids,” he said. “The best thing is that they see that they can’t beat those guys but they just have to perform at a higher level.”

Andrew Barnett

Moustafa expects the team to benefit from the loss in the future.

“I think it’s going to make us step up and start playing,” he said. “We are in the second half of the conference, we’re still tied for second and we’re still pretty much guaranteed for Nationals so those are all positive things.”

He was also happy that the Aztecs could compete with the Fighting Artichokes.

“It’s good to know that Pima can finally take out Scottsdale, it’s just a matter of us actually playing to a level that we are capable of,” Moustafa said.

The first-year coach said competitiveness was the biggest factor in the loss.

“In tennis you have to come out strong and you have to finish strong,” he said. “We started off strong and then we just didn’t finish it out but that’s how it goes.”

Pima returns to the Tucson Racquet Club on March 30 after a road stretch. The TRC is located at 4001 N. Country Club Road. The Aztecs will also host San Diego City College on March 31.

“I’d like to take the second half of the season and actually be able to go into Regionals with a lot of No. 1 and No. 2 seeds,” Moustafa said on March 22. “The second half is what counts in this region so hopefully we can pull out some more victories by the end of next week.”

After that, the Aztecs will have only three remaining matches. Two of those will be on the road and then the Aztecs host Scottsdale for the season finale on April 8.

Online Extra: Women’s tennis off to rough start

Story and Photo by Daniel Gaona

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.

Gabriela Rodriguez

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.

Men’s tennis off to near-perfect start

Story and photo by Daniel Gaona

Five matches into the season, the Pima Community College men’s tennis team has only one blemish on its record: a 5-4 loss to Glendale Community College.

However, that blemish isn’t so bad when the young team also has four wins. Head coach Sharif Moustafa sees the loss as a learning experience.

“We’ve got a lot of young players and I think we are off to a great start,” Moustafa said. “I thought the Glendale loss was really important for us. It was a hard loss because we should have actually won the match 6-3. We had a couple matches that went down to the wire.”

The lesson learned? “They realized that they have to go out and earn it and they can’t go out and play sloppy tennis from the beginning and hope for a win,” Moustafa said.

Pima beat Paradise Valley Community College 8-0 on March 9 and Mesa Community College 7-2 on March 2. The Aztecs are 2-1 in conference play.

Andrew Barnett

Heavy winds didn’t slow the Aztecs against Paradise Valley. It was the team’s first time back in play since losing to Glendale. No. 1 singles player Andrew Barnett won 6-2, 6-3. He also won with Josh Sandman 8-4 in the No. 1 doubles spot.

“It’s a starting point in my career and I want to play at the University of Arizona next year,” Barnett said. “I’m just trying to get to the top of every match I can play. I’m trying to up my game every moment.”

Moustafa emphasized that the team needs to take everything “one match at a time,” going all the way down to individual matches. He felt that would be essential for the team to win the region.

“Winning the region is our bigger goal but I think our biggest goal is getting to nationals,” Moustafa said. “My goal was to come in here and get this team to nationals and hopefully be a really strong team in the conference.”

The first-year coach is happy with his team’s chemistry.

“This team has a lot of courage and they show a lot of heart,” Moustafa said. “It’s pretty amazing as a coach to see a bond that we have and they work really hard. I couldn’t be any more proud of them.”

The Aztecs host New Mexico Military Institute on March 18 at 1:30 p.m. at the Tucson Racquet Club, located at 4001 N. Country Club Road.

Sports Shorts

Track and Field
The Pima Community College men’s and women’s track and field teams host the first Arizona Community College Athletic Conference meet of the season on March 13.

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

Online Extra: Men’s Tennis 2010 Results

Photo by Daniel Gaona

Mar 2 @ *Mesa CC W 7-2
MAR 4 vs. *GLENDALE CC L 5-4
MAR 9 vs. *PARADISE VALLEY CC W 8-0
Mar 18 vs. NEW MEXICO MILITARY INST.
Mar 19-21 @ Univ. of W. New Mexico
Mar 23 @ *Scottsdale CC L 9-0
MAR 30 vs. *MESA CC W 8-1
Apr 1 @ *Glendale CC L 5-4
Apr 6 @ *Paradise Valley CC W 8-1
APR 8 vs. *SCOTTSDALE CC L 9-0
Apr 19-20 Region 1 Tournament (Paseo Racquet Club, Glendale)
May 10-14 NJCAA Championships Plano, Texas 19th

*ACCAC Conference Match

Alan Barrios

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