The swim coach for Caitlin Leverenz, above, left the El Dorado Aquatics Club for a similar position in Portland, Ore., last week. He had been her coach for 10 years.

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Coming off a super-regional season in which the Arizona Wildcats spent some of the year ranked No. 1, Andy Lopez had a curiously modest recruiting year.

Collegiate Baseball magazine last week ranked the Wildcats' incoming class No. 34 in the nation, a number that belies Lopez's remarkable history as a mega-recruiter. For instance, he got a commitment last week from perhaps the nation's No. 1 pitcher of the 2009 class, left-hander Ian Krol of Nequa Valley High School in Naperville, Ill., beating Top 10 programs Miami and LSU for his signature.

As for this year's freshman class, here's what happened: Arizona was unable to sign any junior college players over the off-season. By comparison, the UA's chief rivals in the western region signed (gulp) a cumulative 51 JC players. ASU signed five, NCAA champ Fresno State and powerhouse Fullerton six each. Oregon, which will field a baseball team for the first time since 1981, had the nation's No. 2-ranked recruiting class, one filled with 12 JC transfers.

The UA does not accept PE classes (nor offer a PE major) as part of a JC player's academic transcript. Nor does it accept a player with a D in his JC academic history. That virtually eliminates the UA from the JC market and seems to doom Lopez to an awkward, down season every three or four years.

"I'm not going to succumb to that type of thinking," Lopez said. "I have already told our (10) freshmen this fall that 'you can't play like a freshman.' "

Many of the star-level players in the tradition of UA baseball excellence were JC transfers, including Scott Erickson, Trevor Hoffman, Gil Heredia and George Arias.

Now Lopez must take the longer route, developing his younger players rather than bringing in difference-making JC transfers.

A month after perhaps the most high-profile swimming competition in Olympics history, Nike announced it has withdrawn from the swimming market.

It will no longer pay swimmers to endorse its products. It will no longer compete with Speedo in the equipment market. Tucsonan Lacey Nymeyer, a silver medalist in Beijing, understands how this can impact the swimming community.

"From my perspective," she said, "it's sad to see such a major contributor to worldwide athletics, and specifically the Arizona swim team, drop our beloved sport at such a positive and popular time for the sport. With this move, the USA is now limited to only two major sponsors for competitive swimsuits, Speedo and TYR.

"I hope that Nike's change does not mean less sponsorship opportunities for swimmers trying to continue their careers beyond college." Nymeyer is sponsored by Speedo.

When Sahuaro High School senior Caitlin Leverenz traveled to Atlanta last week as a youth delegate for USA Swimming's national convention, it came with some uncertainty.

For the first time in almost 10 years, Leverenz is without her coach, Franz Resseguie. He suddenly and unexpectedly left the El Dorado Aquatics Club last week to accept a position with the Thunderbolts Swim Club in Portland, Ore.

With Amanda Beard's retirement, Leverenz joins USC's Rebecca Soni as one of America's leading women's breast strokers and a leading contender for the 2012 London Olympics.

After finishing fourth at the Olympic trials in two medley events this summer, Leverenz spoke of how proud she was that she could "swim this fast with coach Franz." Indeed, she was one of the rare USA National Team swimmers whose coach didn't come from a much larger, mainstream club program.

While she goes through the recruiting process, and it's not unlikely Leverenz will swim at Cal, she must now find a coach to keep her at world-class level in the year before she enters a college program.

Former UA All-Pac-10 linebacker Spencer Larsen is making an impact in his first season with the Denver Broncos. To open last week's victory over New Orleans, Larsen delivered an epic hit/tackle that was played, re-played and re-replayed on sports highlight shows all week. "I don't think I've ever seen somebody get hit as hard as Spencer delivered on one of those backs on the kickoff return," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan told reporters. "That's the hardest hit I've seen since I've been in the National Football League. It looked like he decapitated him." … With center Blake Kerley's devastating knee injury against UCLA, the UA needs some more quality depth on the offensive line. Unfortunately, the JC transfer it targeted for that purpose, former Texas Longhorns letterman J'Marcus Webb, didn't qualify academically. Webb is starting for West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas, the team that employs ex-NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf on its staff. … The changes in Mike Stoops' demeanor and approach — he is clearly more at peace with himself this season — was never more noticeable than in the aftermath of last week's victory at UCLA. Stoops jogged to the end zone to join UA fans in a celebration. Then, while walking into the locker room, he was cheered by a group of fans that yelled for him to give them his "A" visor. Stoops whipped it off and happily flipped it into the mob of fans.

Tucsonan Jake Rogers won the Sierra Vista Open last weekend, earning $22,000. The former Canyon del Oro golfer shot 69-68-68 to win by two strokes. He has won $50,077 on the Gateway Tour this year, with six top-10 finishes. Rogers qualified for and played in the 2007 U.S. Open and remains the youngest player ever to qualify for the Tucson Open, when he did so as a CDO student. … After former Wildcat Jim Furyk dropped a putt that clinched the USA's victory at last week's Ryder Cup, he became emotional, shed a few tears and exhibited why he is one of golf's most respected performers. Rather than crow about the USA victory, or his personal redemption, he spoke about how much he respected opponent Miguel Angel Jimenez. "I think so much of Miguel," said Furyk. "I am sorry he has to go through this." … Tucson sports-talk host Glenn Parker is emerging as an elite-level college football analyst on the Versus network, working Mountain West Conference games. The former UA All-Pac-10 tackle is witty and insightful. He tells you "why" and doesn't just repeat obvious details, nor is he afraid to be critical. I sense that Parker has worked with a voice specialist or coach; his natural voice is perhaps a pitch too high, and it no longer is much of an issue. The Pac-10's TV carriers, especially Fox Sports Net, should be all over him. … In his first three college football games, Aaron Tevis has made a mark at Boise State. The CDO grad, a backup linebacker and special teams player, made nine tackles (two sacks) and recovered a fumble as the Broncos roared past Oregon and into the Top 25.

Arizona Wildcats Hall of Fame linebacker Ricky Hunley will be in Tucson next weekend to be honored by the Southern Arizona chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. On Friday, Hunley will speak at a Tucson Convention Center luncheon. Ticket information: 777-1238. … Former Sahuaro High School and NFL quarterback Rodney Peete will return to his hometown Nov. 1 to be inducted into the Sahuaro High School Cougar Foundation. Peete and former SHS wrestling coach Tom Pierson will be honored at an 8 a.m. breakfast at the Hilton East. … First baseman Jordan Brown, who completed his first Class AAA season this month, returned to Tucson for a few weeks before departing for the Dominican Republic winter league. Brown, who helped Arizona to the 2004 College World Series, is expected to contend for Cleveland's first base job in spring training. … Marana's Ryan Perry, first-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers in June, also got a few weeks off after pitching for the Class A Lakeland Flying Tigers this summer. The ex-UA relief pitcher has returned to Florida for the Tigers' fall instructional league. … Rather than play baseball for Edgar Soto at Pima College, Sabino High School grad Travis Jones has signed with the Kansas City Royals. Drafted in the 50th round by K.C. in June, Jones played so well during summer competition that the Royals ultimately offered him about $100,000 to bypass college.

Tucsonan Jack Rickard was the sports editor of the Gazette-Times in 1967 when Oregon State stunned O.J. Simpson's No. 1-ranked USC Trojans 3-0 on a rainy day in Corvallis.

"The one thing I remember about that day was a party at (coach) Dee Andros' house," said Rickard, who is retired after a 30-year career as a golf writer and sports editor at the Tucson Citizen. "He always had a post-game party, but this one was overflowing. Hundreds of people.

"I was crowded up against a phone and had to answer calls. The governor of Oregon called. A senator from Oregon called. I couldn't find Dee, so I just talked to them and said I'd pass on their congratulations."

So when the Beavers shocked No. 1 USC on Thursday night, Rickard was prepared for people who called OSU the "Giant Killers." The real Giant Killers (who finished 7-2-1) played 41 years earlier.

Rickard covered 1967 games when the Beavers stunned No. 2 Purdue and followed it with a similarly shocking tie against No. 2 UCLA. The victory over No. 1 USC followed.

"Andros had one of the great quotes," Rickard remembers. "He said, we're tired of No. 2. Bring on No. 1."

Classic.