The fall semester is a time full of new beginnings and opportunities. Students old and new start with a clean slate in both their schedules and their social lives. The same goes for Arizona Athletics. Teams look to do better than the year before, and coaches work with a new cast of players. Here is a look at the upcoming season for some of the fall sports.
Football:
Arizona football head coach Rich Rodriguez and the Wildcats fell just short of winning last year’s VIZIO Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., and will be looking to repeat what was a strong 2014 season for the UA.
The Wildcats won the Pac-12 South championship and posted a 10-2 regular season record, upsetting then-No. 2 Oregon in October. Arizona earned a spot in the Pac-12 Conference Championship and a rematch against Oregon after defeating ASU.
Junior linebacker Scooby Wright III leads a group of key returners for the Wildcats, including redshirt sophomore quarterback Anu Solomon, redshirt junior receiver Cayleb Jones and sophomore running back Nick Wilson.
ESPN’s preseason AP Top 25 has the Wildcats sitting at No. 22 in the country. Five other Pac-12 teams cracked the poll, four of which the Wildcats will play this year. Arizona has a tough road schedule this year and will travel to play USC, Stanford and ASU, while UCLA will travel to Tucson on Sept. 26. Oregon, the top preseason Pac-12 team, will not play the Wildcats this regular season. The Wildcats play their first game at Arizona Stadium when UTSA comes to town on Sept. 3.
Soccer:
Arizona soccer opened the season with a 4-0 victory over Abilene Christian on Friday. Sophomore Gabi Stoian, who was a 2014 second team All-Pac-12 player as a freshman, scored two goals to get the season started for the Wildcats. The Wildcats also faced Santa Clara on Sunday night and emerged victorious, 2-1. Stoian and sophomore Cece Bilginer each scored a goal.
Last year, Arizona posted an 11-8-2 record while making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Volleyball:
Arizona volleyball is set to kick off their regular season this weekend in Dallas. The Wildcats will play at the SMU Invitational and begin by playing SMU on Friday, then continue Saturday against Texas State and Abilene Christian.
The Wildcats will be without Madi Kingdon, a two-time All-Pac-12 first team player who graduated last year. The Wildcats will be returning with junior Penina Snuka, who joined Kingdon on the All-Pac-12 team.
The Wildcats finished last season with a 24-10 regular season record and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Volleyball head coach Dave Rubio will lead the Wildcats in his 24th season. Arizona will play its first home games in McKale Center when they host the Arizona Invitational on Sept. 4 and 5.
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