Tucson’s big three of the week in sports:
1. Luis Gonzalez, outfielder: A sophomore from Catalina Foothills High School, Gonzalez was the Mountain West Conference’s co-MVP of the league tournament as New Mexico won the MWC championship. In Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener, Gonzalez was even better: he was 4 for 4 with five RBIs (and three doubles) in a victory over Dallas Baptist. Gonzalez was hitting .379 through Friday.
2. Bill Kinneberg, coach. The Pac-12’s baseball coach of the year guided Utah to the Pac-12 title (the Utes swept Arizona) and an NCAA Tournament victory Friday at favored Ole Miss. Few in the game have a more intriguing background than the son of a mining engineer from Douglas. Kinneberg pitched for Morenci’s state championship team, was a reliever for Arizona’s 1979 NCAA team, has been the head coach at Wyoming and UTEP, and the pitching coach at ASU and Arizona. He also was a pitching instructor in the White Sox system. Kinneberg’s closest friend is probably ex-Wildcat Terry Francona, manager of the Cleveland Indians.
3. Delaney Schnell, diving. The 17-year-old diver from Tucson High will spend 11 days at the U.S. Olympic Trials June 18-26 in Indianapolis. Schnell has been so good — a two-time National Junior platform diving champion — that if she makes it to Rio as part of the USA synchronized diving team, few will be surprised. Her coach is the UA’s Omar Ojeda, who is attempting to get Schnell and former UA All-American Samantha Pickens into the Olympics opposite UA standout Rafael Quintero, who has already qualified. Getting to the Trials isn’t uncomplicated. Schnell has had to raise about $2,500 to cover travel and living expenses, and, as one of the nation’s top prospects, has monitored her training and fundraising endeavors through the NCAA’s compliance system. Schnell has already competed at the Pan American Games and an impressive list of international competitions.
