ASU News - Uncategorized

Top experts to deliver 2010 economic forecasts

djfreem1 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:11:17 -0700

Though the recession may officially be over, Americans are still worried about unemployment, debt and making it through continued tough times. Top economic experts will offer up their 2010 forecasts for Arizona and the nation at the Valley's largest and most trusted economic event. The 46th Annual Economic Forecast Luncheon, co-sponsored by Arizona State University's W. P. Carey School of Business Department of Economics and JPMorgan Chase, will be held Dec. 2.

More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the event, which is always popular with both the public and the media. This year, a lot of attention will focus on when the Arizona economy will start to recover from its recent freefall.

"In past downturns, we were often able to say the Arizona economy was still doing better than most states," says Professor Lee McPheters, director of the W. P. Carey School of Business' JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center. "However, in this recession, Arizona has been hit harder than other states, and we are looking down a long, twisted road before we can say the economy has recovered here."

Attendees will learn more from the experts about how and when recovery is expected. Luncheon presentations will include the outlooks for:

1. The Arizona and regional economies - from W. P. Carey School of Business Professor Lee McPheters, editor of the Arizona and Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast publications
2. The United States and the financial sector - from Anthony Chan, managing director and chief economist for JPMorgan Chase Private Client Services
3. Real estate and construction - from Elliott D. Pollack, president of Elliott D. Pollack and Company

The 46th Annual Economic Forecast Luncheon will be held in the Phoenix Convention Center's South Ballroom from 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2. Admission is $75 per person. Proceeds from the luncheon are used to support student scholarships, faculty research, and other academic and professional activities at the W. P. Carey School of Business Department of Economics. For more information, including registration details, go to http://wpcarey.asu.edu/ecn/efl.

Women's basketball faces Xavier in Cincinnati

ckussala — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:13:16 -0700

Up next
The No. 14/7 Arizona State women’s basketball team continues its current road trip when it travels Cincinnati, Ohio, to face the No. 9/13 Xavier Musketeers on Saturday (2 p.m. ET/noon MT). Saturday’s game is the second of four consecutive contests the Sun Devils are playing away from home. ASU began its current road trip with an 82-46 win at Yale on Thursday.

Xaiver represents the second of five 2009 NCAA Tournament teams the Sun Devils have or will face during the non-conference portion of their schedule. ASU defeated 32-game winner and 2009 NCAA participant South Dakota State in its opener, 73-64. Over the next several weeks the Sun Devils will also face East Tennessee State (Nov. 28 at Hawaii Tournament), No. 15/8 Texas A&M (Dec. 19 in Las Vegas) and No. 8/9 Baylor (Dec. 20 in Las Vegas).

On the air
Arizona State’s game at Xavier can be heard live on 1440 KAZG. Pre-game coverage will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Valley. Veteran broadcaster Jeff Munn is in his sixth season as the voice of ASU women’s basketball.

Preseason rankings
Throughout much of the preseason, Sun Devil head coach Charli Turner Thorne has made it a point to stress that the Sun Devils are about ‘reloading’ and not ‘rebuilding’ after losing six seniors from last year’s Elite Eight squad.

If preseason polls are any indication, it appears that media and coaches alike have taken notice that the Sun Devils intend to be among the nation’s best despite the number of losses from last season. After finishing 19th in the final 2008-09 Associated Press regular season poll, the Sun Devils opened at No. 16 in the AP’s 2009-10 preseason poll. ASU also opened higher in the preseason coaches poll, coming in at No. 11 after finishing 12th in the final coaches poll of the 2008-09 season. ASU’s No. 11 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 coaches’ preseason poll represents the highest preseason ranking it has ever received in either poll.

The highest ranking ASU had received in a preseason poll prior to this season came two years ago when it opened No. 12 in both polls. This year represents the fifth straight season that ASU has been ranked in both preseason polls.

In the latest polls the Sun Devils moved up to No. 14 in the AP and No. 7 in the coaches’ poll following their win over South Dakota State on Sunday. ASU’s No. 7 ranking ties the ASU’s highest in school history. ASU was also ranked No. 7 prior to facing Stanford in the 2007 Pac-10 Tournament championship game.

Preseason predictions
The Pac-10’s coaches picked the Sun Devils to finish second in the conference this season, which is exactly where it finished last season when it tied California for the league’s runner-up spot. The media that cover the conference had the Sun Devils in third. Worth noting is the Sun Devils received a first-place vote in the coaches poll.

Both the league’s coaches and media were in agreement in picking Stanford to win the conference.

Scouting Xavier
Saturday’s game will be Xavier’s second contest of the season. The Musketeers opened the season with an 81-71 overtime win at USC. Xavier was picked to repeat as champions of the Atlantic 10 Conference, receiving 12 of 14 first-place votes. Junior forward Amber Harris (19 points and 12 rebounds at USC) and junior center Ta’Shia Phillips (14 points and 11 rebounds at USC) were both named to the Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team and the All-Defensive Team.

ASU and USC are the only Pac-10 schools the Musketeers have ever faced with each meeting coming within the last calendar year.

If the Sun Devils are able to come out on top on Saturday, they will do it against a program that has won its last 17 home openers dating back to 1992.

Sun Devils look to remain among the best
During ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne’s stint leading the Sun Devil program, ASU has developed into one of the most successful programs not only in the Pac-10, but around the country as well. Since 2000, the Sun Devils have finished first or second in the Pac-10 a combined six times, and have finished lower than third only once. Nationally, ASU is one of 20 schools whose current streak of NCAA appearances is 5 or more, one of 15 schools that has qualified for the Sweet 16 three or more times in the last five seasons and one of 9 schools that has qualified for the Elite Eight at least two times in the last three years.

Always feeling at home
Something else the Sun Devils have come to be known for under Turner Thorne is having one of the best success rates in the country when they play on their home floor. Since 2004 the Sun Devils have won 87 percent (67-10) of the games they have played at Wells Fargo Arena. In addition, under Turner Thorne ASU has also proven to be nearly as effective when it is playing away from home. In the last three seasons the Sun Devils have won more than nearly 71 percent of their games when they were the visiting team or made a trip to a neutral site.

Who is returnng?
#13 Danielle Orsillo - Sr. - G - Returns as ASU’s most experienced player in the backcourt... Started all 35 games last season after missing all but one game of the 2007-08 season with a knee injury... Scored in double figures 17 times last season, including 11 times in ASU’s last 15 games... Named to the 2009 Trenton Regional All-Tournament Team after she averaged 12.5 points and 2.5 assists while making all 10 of her free throws in ASU’s four NCAA Tournament games... Has averaged 9.0 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals in ASU’s first two games of 2009-10.

#21 Kayli Murphy - Sr. - F/C - Returns as ASU’s most experienced player in the frontcourt... Played in every game her first two years before a hand injury caused her to miss the first six games last season... Would go on to start in 27 of the 29 games she played in... Made 58 percent of her field goal attempts in Pac-10 play and was successful on 64 percent of her shots (32-50) in ASU’s last nine games of the season... Had the best all-around game of her career in ASU’s first round NCAA Tournament win over Georgia (Mar. 21). Made all six of her field goal attempts and scored a career-high 12 points for the second consecutive game. Also grabbed season-best 11 rebounds (one short of her career high) to account for the first double-double of her career... Through two games in 2009-10 has averaged 10.5 points and 9.5 rebounds while connecting on 60 percent of her shots... Had the second double-double of her career in the 2009-10 season opener against South Dakota State in which she scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.

#30 Gabby Fage - Sr. - G - Reserve guard who has played in 67 games over the last three seasons... Will look to pick up where she left off at the end of the 2008-09 season as she played a big role in helping the Sun Devils qualify for the Elite Eight for the second time in three years... After averaging 5.8 minutes in her first 24 games of the season, averaged 22.8 minutes in ASU’s four NCAA Tournament contests... Came through with clutch effort in ASU’s 63-58 win over Florida State to help send the Sun Devils to the Sweet 16 as she played a career-high 26 minutes and tied her career high in points (6) and set a new career best with six rebounds. Hit back-to-back 3-pointers over a 31-second span to cut Florida State’s once nine-point lead to a single point, 46-45, with 6:12 left in the game... Is averaging 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 2009-10 (18.5 mpg).

#32 Becca Tobin - Jr. - F/C - Skilled post who will have a more prominent role in 2009-10... Came into the 2009-10 season having played in 66 games her first two seasons... In 2008-09 led or tied for the team lead in rebounds nine times and blocks 10 times... Was successful on 55.4 percent of her shot attempts (67-121) and 72 percent of her free throws (33-46) last season... Connected on 62 percent (31-50) of her shot attempts during ASU’s school record 15-game winning streak last season and hit 53 percent of her shots (10-19) in ASU’s four NCAA Tournament games... Has been ASU’s top offensive threat through two games in 2009-10, averaging 16.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while connecting on 65 percent of her shots... Made the first start of her career in ASU’s 2009-10 season opening win against South Dakota State and scored a career-best 18 points to go along with six rebounds.

#25 Kimberly Brandon - So. - G/F - Had a tremendous offseason and figures to play an ever bigger role in 2009-10 after playing in 30 games last season (5.8 minutes per game)... Recorded career-best numbers in points (11), rebounds (6) and steals (2) in win at Oregon (Jan. 10, 2009)... Led ASU in its exhibition win over Vanguard as she scored 19 points to go along with seven rebounds... Sister Gennifer is a freshman on the California women’s basketball team... Is currently averaging 8.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists... Made the first start of her career in ASU’s 2009-10 season opener against South Dakota State (Nov. 15).

#12 Alex Earl - So. - G - Will have a much bigger role this season following the graduation of three guards from last year’s team when she played in 23 games (4.3 minutes per game)... Has excellent perimeter shooting skills... Missed ASU’s 2009-10 season opener and she recovered from a foot injury... Made all four of her field goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers, and scored a career-high 12 points in ASU’s win over Yale (Nov. 19).

New cast members
#35 Tenaya Watson - Jr. - G - Transfer from Central Arizona who is one of the candidates to take over as the team’s starting point guard... At Central Arizona was part of NJCAA national runner-up (2008) and NJCAA champion (2009) where she was a teammate of fellow ASU newcomer Markisha Patterson... As a freshman in 2008 was named a NJCAA Division I First Team All-American following a freshman campaign in which she averaged 16.6 points and finished first in the nation in field goal percentage (.646), second in assists (8.4 apg) and 11th in steals (3.8 spg)... Turned in another outstanding campaign in 2009 as she averaged 13.8 points, 5.4 assists (13th in the nation) and 3.9 steals (fourth in the nation) per game in helping lead Central Arizona to a perfect 35-0 season and the NJCAA title.. Was named the MVP of the 2009 NJCAA Tournament after averaging 16.8 points in Central Arizona’s four tournament games. In the NJCAA championship game she scored a career-best 30 points and grabbed six rebounds to help Central Arizona defeat Missouri Jefferson College 78-77... Has started both games in 2009-10 and has averaged 5.0 points and 5.5 assists... Scored 8 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out seven assists in her Sun Devil debut against South Dakota State (Nov. 15).

#11 Kali Bennett - So. - F/C - Transfer from the University of Washington who figures to play a big role this season after sitting out the 2008-09 season because of NCAA transfer rules... Averaged 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds for the Huskies while tying for the team lead in blocked shots with 15... Is currently averaging 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 steals... Scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds in season opener vs. South Dakota State (Nov. 19), her first official game as a Sun Devil... Solid outing at Yale (Nov. 19) included 6 points, eight rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

#22 Janae Fulcher - RS-Fr. - F/C - Redshirted last year... Will have a big role this season after ASU graduated three post players from last year’s team... Helped lead her high school basketball team, La Jolla Country Day, to four league championships... Scored two points and grabbed a pair of rebounds in her Sun Devil debut vs. South Dakota State (Nov. 15)... Is currently averaging 6.5 points and 6.0 rebounds while connecting on 67 percent of her shots... Had the first double-double of her career with 11 points (5-6 FGs) and 10 rebounds in 12 minutes of play at Yale (Nov. 19).

#4 Haley Parsons - RS-Fr. - G - Redshirted last season... Has been slowed by injury in preseason.

#3 Joy Burke - Fr. - F/C - Extremely talented post who has outstanding range and versatility... Local product (Tempe Marco de Niza), who was McDonald’s All-American nominee and was also named to the Arizona Republic’s All-Arizona Team and earned all-city accolades three times... Connected on 63 percent of her field goal attempts as a senior while averaging 23.3 points, 17.8 rebounds, 7.5 blocks and 3.9 steals per game... Has averaged 7.0 minutes in ASU’s first two games... Scored 4 points and had 5 rebounds in ASU’s win at Yale (Nov. 19).

#5 Deja Mann - Fr. - G - A 2009 graduate of Merced High School in Merced, Calif., where she earned first-team All-Central California Conference honors each of her first two seasons, including being named the conference’s MVP her sophomore season... Savvy, hardworking, and dynamic combo guard who is both a prolific shooter and great decision-maker... Scored five points and had one assist in 16 minutes of play in season opener vs. South Dakota State (Nov. 15)... Has played 16 minutes in each of ASU’s first two games and has averaged 3.5 points.

#2 Sabrina McKinney - Fr. - G - Is also in the mix to assume the starting point guard role... Outstanding defender who was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year for Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas... Is currently averaging 2.5 points and 3.0 assists (20.5 mpg).

Adrianne Thomas signs with ASU
Charli Turner Thorne today announced on November 11 that Adrianne Thomas signed a national letter of intent to study and play basketball at Arizona State.

“I could not be more excited about the addition of Adrianne Thomas,” Turner Thorne said. “She is a powerful, explosive scoring combo guard who will fit in perfectly with our up-tempo offense and aggressive pressuring defense.

“Adrianne is an extremely tough and smart competitor who has had outstanding coaching through her high school and club programs. I predict she will adapt to the college game very quickly. Besides being one of the top guards in the country, Adrianne comes from an amazing family who has instilled in her great core values including impeccable character and strong leadership. She will be a great Sun Devil.”

A 5-9 guard, Thomas will be coming to ASU from Summit High School in Fontana, Calif., where she has earned Sunkist League MVP honors three times. In 2009 Thomas, who has scored in double figures 32 times the last two seasons, earned All-Sunkist League First-Team and All-CIF Southern Section First-Team recognition after leading her team to the state semifinals.

As a sophomore in 2008, Thomas helped Summit to its first CIF sectional championship game and the state quarterfinals. With her FBC club team she was named to the All-Tournament Teams of the adidas Womanhood National Championships, Summertime Invitational and adidas Super 64.

“Adrianne is a superstar on the court, off the court, in the classroom and in the community,” said Summit girls basketball coach Alexis Barile. “On the court she’s the type of player that won’t allow our team to lose. In crunch situations she’s the one that pulls us together and makes sure we win. She has a refuse-to-lose mentally. She’s going to fit into the ASU program very well as a person first and then as a basketball player.”

Up next
The Sun Devils travel to Honolulu, Hawaii, for the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic where they will face Hawaii (Fri., Nov. 27) and East Tennessee State (Sat., Nov. 28).

ASU head baseball coach Pat Murphy resigns

ckussala — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:06:50 -0700

Arizona State University head baseball coach Pat Murphy announced his resignation today. An interim head coach will assume responsibility for the program until his replacement is selected.

"Coach Murphy has an outstanding record of success on the playing field," said Lisa Love, university vice president for athletics. "I thank him for 16 years of hard work and service to the university and the sport."

Pat Murphy became ASU's head baseball coach in August 1994. During his tenure, he was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times, his teams took three straight Pac-10 titles, four overall, and four World Series berths, and in 1998 he was named the National Coach of the Year.

Since the 2000 season, no other Pac-10 school has won as many games as ASU, in both overall and conference games. Murphy also has had more players drafted by Major League Baseball since 1995 than any other coach in the nation.

ASU will immediately begin a national search for a new head baseball coach.

ASU, UAE partner for global decision-making platform

gpuente — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:01:41 -0700

Arizona State University is partnering with the United Arab Emirates on a decision platform designed to provide real-world, knowledge-driven decision support, planning and action-oriented outcomes to some of the most critical challenges confronting our nations and the world today.

A delegation of high-ranking officials from Abu Dhabi, UAE, came to ASU's Tempe campus in November as a follow-up to a series of recent of meetings in the UAE with ASU President Michael Crow, Vice President for Research and Economic Affairs R.F. “Rick” Shangraw and other ASU representatives. During that visit, the ASU delegation offered a series of proposals for collaborative projects, including creation of a Global Decision Network located in the UAE. The network would be based on the ASU Decision Theater, an innovative research facility designed to address shared challenges and explore a new decision-making landscape through the application of focused research within a flexible platform.

“The UAE is positioned among the most important countries in a critical region of the world,” said Crow. “A cutting-edge initiative like the Global Decision Network will create and advance a set of innovative processes and tools to help regional leaders and decision makers in both the UAE and Arizona address some of the most complex economic, social and environmental challenges we face today while building toward a more sustainable global future.”

The Global Decision Network will move beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries to link science, technology and principles of objectivity to the process of decision-making through the design and application of advanced analytic and systems-modeling tools and the integration of decision makers’ needs at all levels of the process. With founding centers and hubs in Abu Dhabi and Arizona, the network can expand to incorporate new partners, talents and creativity in regions across the globe.

“This is really about the application of state-of-the-art scientific knowledge to real-world problem-solving,” said Shangraw. “We live in a complex world. The Decision Network not only will be a means of finding the best solutions to manage current problems, but also will function as an international learning center to train the next generation of leaders and decision makers and build future decision-making capacity on a global scale.”

The UAE delegation had the opportunity to view ASU’s Decision Theater in action with presentations focused on university efforts in the areas of sustainability, urban planning, water resource management and public health crisis preparation.

The group also met with President Crow and Vice President Rick Shangraw to discuss next steps to move the initiative forward. ASU will work directly with the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council to develop a plan and time frame for advancing the Global Decision Network.

The ASU team will include the Office of Research and Economic Affairs, the Global Institute of Sustainability, Decision Theater and Decision Center for a Desert City.

Gitzel Puente, Gitzel.Puente@asu.edu
ASU Research and Economic Affairs

Baby’s sleep position is major factor in ‘flat-headedness’

chughes3 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:49:00 -0700

A baby's sleep position is the best predictor of a misshapen skull condition known as deformational plagiocephaly – or the development of flat spots on an infant's head – according to findings reported by Arizona State University scientists in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Analyzing the largest database to date, more than 20,000 children, the ASU researchers found that the number of babies who have developed flat-headedness has dramatically increased since 1992. The increase coincides with the American Academy of Pediatrics launch of a "Back to Sleep" educational campaign that recommended parents place their infants on their backs to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

"We looked at a number of risk factors, but the largest factor was the sleep position of the baby," said Brian Verrelli, an assistant professor in ASU's School of Life Sciences and researcher in the Center for Evolutionary Functional Genomics at the Biodesign Institute.

The condition is thought to occur when babies spend too much time in one position. The research team found that sleep position, and specifically, head position, are linked to flat-headedness. Babies who slept on their right-side or left-side tended to have right-side and left-side flat spots, respectively.

The study, "Risk Factors Associated With Deformational Plagiocephaly," also found that boys were twice as likely as girls to have the condition (a nearly perfect 2-to-1 ratio) and also more common in firstborn infants, babies with low birth weight, in breech and transverse positions in the womb, and in multiple births, specifically fraternal twins.

The study was designed to statistically evaluate the independent and interacting effects of biological and environmental risk factors that lead to deformational plagiocephaly, in an attempt to provide future guidance for clinical treatment.

"The unprecedented size of the sample in our study allowed us to identify potential factors, such as maternal prenatal conditions and low birth weight, that were previously unrecognized in smaller cohort studies. These other factors need to be explored further before we can begin to piece together the entire puzzle," said Jessica Joganic, who was an ASU undergraduate student at the time. She is the lead author on the study.

However, independent of the biological and environmental factors, the findings showed that sleep position was the best predictor of deformational plagiocephaly, and one that could be addressed by altering behavior, according to Verrelli.

The research was part of Joganic's undergraduate honors thesis as a student in ASU's Barrett, the Honors College. Joganic earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology in 2008 from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She currently is pursuing a doctorate in physical anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis.

Also collaborating in the study, which appeared online this week, were John Lynch, an ASU evolutionary biologist, and Timothy Littlefield with Cranial Technologies, Inc., in Phoenix, which supplied the database of more than 20,000 children who were treated for deformational plagiocephaly between 1990 and 2007.

Stay healthy. Get the vaccine against H1N1 flu.

lccampb — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:37:00 -0700

The H1N1 vaccine will now be given to people in high-priority groups as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during normal business hours at health centers on all four campuses.

For more information visit http://www.asu.edu/uagc/EHS/pandemic.

ASU scientists honored with Innovator of the Year award

lambraki — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:11:35 -0700

Two Arizona State University scientists who started their work with algae more than 25 years ago were recognized with the Innovator of the Year-Academia award at the 2009 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation event held Nov. 19 at the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix.

Professors Qiang Hu and Milton Sommerfeld in the College of Technology and Innovation at ASU’s Polytechnic campus received Arizona’s highest honor for technology innovation for their work with the process of converting algae into fuel. Last year, Time magazine named the process one of the top innovations in 2008.

“We are very honored to receive the Innovator of the Year award for our lab’s work on developing a renewable and sustainable fuel source from algae, and are very proud of our team of students, research associates and staff who are committed to developing solutions to our nation’s energy problems," Sommerfeld said.

Sommerfeld and Hu have been working on algae as a source of renewable fuel for more than 25 years. The technology they developed uses sunlight, waste materials like carbon dioxide in flue gas, and nitrates and phosphates in waste waters as nutrients for growing a renewable algae feedstock that yields oil. The algae biomass residuals yield carbohydrates for ethanol production and proteins for animal feed or organic fertilizer.

The researchers recently received significant funding for their algae projects and already two spin-off companies have been created from technologies developed in their laboratory.

“Milt and Qiang are two faculty members who exemplify the spirit of technology innovation that is the core mission of our college,” said Keith Hjelmstad, university vice president and dean of the College of Technology and Innovation.

“This award is a fantastic spotlight to shine on their achievement. I am proud of them and even more pleased by what it means to others who will now be inspired to innovate.”

The Governor’s Celebration of Innovation has become a premier community gathering in Arizona. Three teams, two of which were from ASU, competed for the coveted award in the Academia category. The award – given to a department or office within an accredited higher education institution that has achieved success through innovation in the past calendar year – is presented by the Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Department of Commerce.

'State Press' reports on Iran panel event

shibner — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:19:11 -0700

Reporter Scarlett Heydt of the ASU State Press reported on a Nov. 17 panel discussion at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law about the state of human rights in Iran since the June election was discussed.

In the article, "Panel gives perspective on Iran," Heydt quoted panelist Shahla Talebi, an ASU assistant professor who was in Iran during the 1979 revolution. People there are still silenced, Talebi said. "Every single human rights violation that you can imagine is happening," she said.

The event, presented by the College's Center for Law and Global Affairs, was moderated by Laura Dickinson, Foundation Professor of Law and the Center's Faculty Director. Other panelists were law Professor Orde Kittrie and Renee Redman, Executive Director of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center.

To read the full article, click here.

Janie Magruder, Jane.Magruder@asu.edu
(480) 727-9052
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

ASU volleyball against Cal and Stanford

ckussala — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:10:07 -0700

The Sun Devil Women’s Volleyball Team (13-13 overall, 3-11 Pac-10) will take to their home court one last time in the 2009 regular season as they set to take on No. 11 Cal Golden Bears (17-8, 10-5 Pac-10) and the No. 6 Stanford Cardinal (18-7, 11-4 Pac-10) this Friday and Saturday night in Tempe. Friday’s match against Cal will kick-off at 7:30 p.m. or following the conclusion of the 4:30 ASU Men’s Basketball game, while Saturday’s match against Stanford will be held at 7 p.m.

Extra, Extra This Weekend!
Due to the men’s basketball game Friday afternoon prior to the women’s volleyball match, ASU wants to make fans aware that they will start selling volleyball tickets during the second half of the basketball game, at which time, volleyball fans are welcome to stay and watch the end of the basketball game.

Parking will also be available in both parking structures for volleyball fans, just inform the attendants that you are there for the volleyball match.

Follow The Sun Devils Live!:
ASU’s fans can follow all of ASU’s home matches, as well as some road matches, via the free statistical GameTracker system at www.thesundevils.com. Just click on the Women’s Volleyball schedule and click on the live stats link!

Recapping Last Weekend:
Against No. 18 Arizona: The Sun Devils came out a bit lackluster in their rivalry match-up last Friday night in Tucson as they forced eight tie scores in the first set, but a 7-1 scoring run by the ‘Cats who feasted off of costly errors to take the first set 25-19.

Set two saw better offensive production from the Sun Devils with Sofie Schlagintweit leading the assault as well pushing eight tie scores on the ‘Cats again, but the Wildcats were able to pull away in the end as the Sun Devils stumbled to a 25-21 loss.

Three was all the ‘Cats needed on the evening though not without seeing some life from the Sun Devils as they blazed out to a 17-13 lead in the set. Another 7-1 run by the ‘Cats took the lead from ASU though and the match as UA finished out the set and the sweep with a 25-20 win.

Scouting This Weekend’s Competition/Series History:
No. 11 Cal: The Sun Devils will face the Cal Golden Bears for the 50th time in program history where they lead the series 27-22. In Pac-10 history, the teams have met 47 times with ASU leading 24-23 with a 13-10 lead at home in Tempe. Earlier this season in Berkeley, the Sun Devils fell in a tough 3-0 loss to the Bears.

No. 6 Stanford:
The Sun Devils will take to the floor Saturday for their 57th match-up against the powerful Stanford Cardinal program who hold a 4-52 record all-time against ASU. In Pac-10 history, Stanford leads ASU 44-2 overall and 21-2 when playing in Tempe.

Former Sun Devil slugger Barry Bonds visits ASU Baseball Camp

ckussala — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:52:45 -0700

ttendees of the recent ASU Baseball camp got the surprise of a lifetime when former Sun Devil star and Major League Baseball Home Run King Barry Bonds stopped by to speak with the campers.

Bonds visited his old stomping grounds of Packard Stadium to see Coach Pat Murphy and impart some wisdom on the campers. Bonds played at Arizona State from 1983 to 1985, hitting .347 and slugging 45 career home runs. He was an All-American and All-Pac-10 performer, helping lead the Sun Devils to the College World Series in 1983 and 1984.

He was a first round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1985 draft and played 22 seasons for the Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He won an unprecedented seven National League Most Valuable Player awards, including four straight from 2001 to 2004. He finished his career with 762 career home runs, most in baseball history.

In 2009, freshman shortstop Drew Maggi broke two of Bonds' school records for stolen bases and runs scored by a freshman. Maggi stole 21 bases, topping the 16 by Bonds in 1983 and Steve Garrabrants in 2001. Maggi scored 63 runs, besting the 60 scored by Bonds in 1983. Bonds still holds the ASU freshman record for home runs with 11.