AP Photo, Sun Devil Athletics
Riveting rivalries
Arizona vs. Arizona State
The Territorial Cup, played to determine college football bragging rights in Arizona, is the NCAA's oldest trophy game, dating back to 1899. So it was only a matter of time before the enduring rivalry spread beyond the gridiron. "Whether it's checkers or football or softball, the Cats want to beat the Devils and the Devils want to beat the Cats," says Arizona State softball coach Clint Myers. Arizona has dominated the head-to-head matchup on the diamond 86-42-1, at one point winning 29 straight times on its home turf against ASU, and piling up eight national championships between 1991 and 2007. (Jennie Finch, in the left photo, pitched the Wildcats to the crown in 2001; Sun Devils standout Phelan Wright led her team to the College World Series in 2002, when UCLA won it all.) Lately, though, the desert winds have shifted. ASU won its first NCAA title in 2008 and another one in 2011. The Sun Devils also swept the season series for the first time last year, then did it again this March. Still, Myers knows his team has some catching up to do. "We're the new kid on the block," he says. And in very fast company.
