Sports

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...

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...

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...

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...

Story and photo by KYLE KERSEY Last year, the Pima Community College Women’s Basketball team finished strong, achieving victory in the fifth-place game of the NJCAA Division II tournament.  The win came after a tough loss to Kansas City (Kansas) Community College in the quarterfinals, the team that would eventually win the championship. Entering his 13th season with the Aztecs, Todd Holthaus has been the coach of Pima’s Women’s Basketball team since 2007. His teams have enjoyed a large amount of success, finishing as high as the runner-up in the NJCAA Division II tournament in 2011. His teams have finished with at least 20 wins over the past four seasons. Working alongside him is a mix of four assistant coaches, including newcomer and Tucson native Nalani Hernandez, as well as returning...

By ANGEL CANEZ The Aztec Volleyball team finally seems to be getting on the right track.  The team has won two of its last three matches over the past two weeks after dropping four in a row and seven of its last eight, thus bringing its total record to 6-10.  Pima’s play this season has mirrored last season, as the Aztecs’ record at the same time last year was (7-11). Oct. 4 (3-1) Pima over Phoenix College The Aztecs would go on to beat the Phoenix College Bears 3 sets to 1 after dropping the first set.  The win marked Pima’s first road win of the season. Madi Nash had 16 kills, and she leads the team in that category this year.  Nash and Jade Romine both posted double-doubles in kills and digs to bring home the win against the Bears. Kaleigh Hockett led the Aztecs with an impressive...