Sports – Page 11 – Pima Post

12Dec

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

‘AP’-style basketball at Pima

Story by COREY MCMULLEN Photos by JOE GIDDENS For most teams, losing a leading scorer is a setback. With Pima’s all-time scoring leader Jacqulynn Nakai gone, the Aztecs were without a point guard unless you asked head coach Todd Holthaus, who knew he had someone ready to take over. That person is Aztecs’ point guard Alyssa “AP” Perez. Perez, entering her sophomore season for the Aztecs, has been the leader the Aztecs needed for this year’s young squad, which is returning only four players from last year’s No. 5-ranked team. Perez started playing basketball in the seventh grade. She wanted to try it out because her dad played in high school and they would go play at the park. Perez, an only child, was born and raised in Tucson. In her free time, Perez and her family love to go to...

27Nov

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Aztecs earned a second chance at NJCAA Division 1 Nationals

By COREY McMULLEN The Aztecs were given a new life with receiving one of four at-large bids to get into the NJCAA Division I National Tournament. In the second chance game, the Aztecs fell 1-0 to Eastern Florida State in double overtime. The Aztecs were eliminated from the regional tournament Nov. 2 to Arizona Western in a shootout. Thinking the season was over for the Aztecs, they received one of the four at-large bids for the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Tyler, Texas. The tournament went from Nov. 18 to Nov. 23. The Aztecs entered the tournament as the 9 seed. This was the Aztecs’ third straight year to the NJCAA tournament and their sixth appearance in nine years. Aztec sophomore goalie Nils Roth made some early game-saving stops. Roth made a diving stop in the first 1...

Women’s team nets 3-1 record; men’s team struggles

27Nov

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Sports

Women’s team nets 3-1 record; men’s team struggles

By COREY McMULLEN Women’s Basketball After opening the season with a dominant win over Park University, the Aztecs headed to Thatcher for the Eastern Arizona Classic. The Aztecs were overpowered in their first game of the tournament by Odessa College, falling 76 to 47. The Aztecs were quick to bounce back, and put a 69-point beat down on Southwestern College. The Aztecs got going early with the help of sophomore Haile Lawson, who put up 22 points, was 10 of 12 shooting and had 6 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Marlena Arroyo-Plata had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. She went 5 for 6 from the field. The Aztecs would dominate every quarter of the game, outscoring the Southwestern College 53-10 in the second and third quarters. The Aztecs’ third game of the tournament was canc...

27Nov

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Tippins takes the long way to Tucson

By COREY McMULLEN For most athletes to make it to the collegiate level, it took a lifetime of practicing their craft. Kaylon Tippins isn’t most collegiate athletes, however. At 6 feet, 8 inches, the Aztecs starting forward didn’t start playing basketball until his junior year of high school. Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Tippins was a football player who never thought about playing basketball. Tippins started high school in Fort Worth at North Crowley High School. He was 5 feet, 5 inches. By his sophomore year, he was standing 6 feet tall, and when he graduated, he was 6 feet, 5 inches. Tippins and his family moved to Tucson his junior year of high school to be closer to his mom’s side of the family. Tippins says the transition from Texas was a tough move. He d...

Adidas has a new teammate with Pima College

22Nov

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News, Sports

Adidas has a new teammate with Pima College

By JOE GIDDENS Adidas is now Pima Community College’s official outfitter for the next four years. The move is the second sponsorship this semester following the Chapman Automotive Group acquiring naming rights for the Chapman Automotive Sports Complex at the West Campus. These moves are following Acting Athletic Director Jim Monaco’s goal of branding the college. Monaco says he is not able to discuss the complete details of it at our press time, however “What it does is it saves us money on uniforms on supplies on shoes for the kids because they buy their own stuff,” Monaco said. “So we've been able to save money in our budget to try to help with other expenses because of this deal.” Monaco said that additional perks of the sponsorship will be Adidas brand flags...

21Nov

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Aztecs close out season as runners-up

By ANGEL CANEZ Pima Community College wrapped up the 2019 volleyball season on a positive note.. The Aztecs finished as runner ups at the NJCAA region I division II finals. Losing in straight sets to the fourth ranked team in the nation and conference rival the Scottsdale Community College Fighting Artichokes who are riding a 22 game win streak and the fourth seed in the Division II National Tournament. The Aztecs ended the season above .500 for the second season in a row with a record of 15-14 and a 8-7 in conference record. The aztecs mirrored last season with almost identical record as the team finished last season at 16-15 and was also came up short in the NJCAA Region I, Division II finals game last season. The Aztecs volleyball team will return six players next season hopef...

8Nov

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Sports

Season wraps up for Pima Women’s Soccer

By COREY McMULLEN The No. 5-ranked Aztecs’ season came to an end in a 1-0 loss to No. 4-ranked Arizona Western Community College in the Regional I quarterfinals. The first half ended with both teams scoreless as both teams put on a defensive clinic, but in the 77th minute of play, Arizona Western midfielder Tyra McKenzie scored the only goal of the match to eliminate the Aztecs. Coach Kendra Veliz admitted being disappointed in the season coming to an end, but she did say how they accomplished two of their goals: having a winning season and making the playoffs. “With two games left in the season, we had a chance to win the conference so that was exciting,” Veliz said. “Unfortunately, towards the end of our season, we tied and lost our final games, which is definitely not how I wanted t...

Aztec women start strong men look to follow

7Nov

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Sports

Aztec women start strong men look to follow

By COREY McMULLEN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL The No. 3-ranked Aztecs opened the season with a dominant 88-50 win Nov. 2 at home over Park University in Gilbert. Aztec sophomore forward Hallie Lawson led the charge, scoring 22 points. The Aztecs got going early, ending the first quarter up 25-6 and the first half 46-18. Lawson made a focus on her offense this off-season. “My offense is probably one of my struggles right now,” Lawson says. “Defensively, I’m pretty solid, but offensively I need to be a little better on helping the team with rebounding and scoring more.” The Aztecs are coming off finishing fifth in last year’s NJCAA Division II national tournament and finishing with a 24-12 overall record. This season, the team brought back four sophomores and have 13 freshmen. “This year’s te...

Coach Jim Rosborough: 41 years and counting

7Nov

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Sports

Coach Jim Rosborough: 41 years and counting

By KYLE KERSEY In 1974, Jim Rosborough ate breakfast with Lute Olson in Elgin, Illinois, an hour northwest of Chicago. A week later, he was hired as a Graduate Assistant to Olson's original staff at the University of Iowa, a job that would spark a college coaching career that’s lasted 41 years. “I was really a full time assistant,” Rosborough says. “You could do everything – recruit, coach, everything – but it was titled Graduate Assistant. 1,000 dollars for every year. I had some pension money left from teaching in Chicago. First two years I didn’t make much, but after that I had a good salary.” Rosborough currently serves as an assistant coach on the Pima Women’s Basketball team, a role he has held since 2015. However, ask around town and many Tucsonans know him simply as “Roz,” one of...

Call it a comeback: Marks rebounds from knee injury

24Oct

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Sports

Call it a comeback: Marks rebounds from knee injury

Story and photos By COREY McMULLEN To say you blew out your knee is one thing. For Aztec women’s soccer player Reilly Marks, a blown-out knee doesn’t even begin to describe what happened to her knee during a preseason practice in July 2018 at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. NMSU was where Marks was playing on a scholarship. She said it was a rainy day, and the field was very wet. Marks has been playing soccer since she was 3 years old. She’s the middle child with an older sister and one younger brother. Born and raised in Tucson, Marks is very family oriented. When not working on schoolwork or kicking game-winning goals, Marks loves to spend much of her free time with her family. “My brother’s a senior at Cienega (High School), and he plays football there,” she s...