DUCKS 9 JOHN TOPAR
Swimmers taking on N.M.
in 5-team meet at Utah
Oregon’s young swimming team is developing
fast. Further evidence should come when the Ducks
take on powerful New Mexico and three other
schools in a Championship meet at Utah which
starts Thursday night.
Don Van Rossen’s squad lost 66-47 to fifth-ranked
Stanford and belted the University of Alaska 97-15 in
the first two meets of the season at Leighton Pool.
The Cardinals weren’t ready for two Oregon
school records and Duck stars John Topar and Tony
Ciochetti.
Stanford trailed twice, once after Topar’s 1:55.91
in the 200-yard butterfly and again when Rich
ByPAULBUKER
Of the Emerald
Basford and Jon Ramey went two-three in the 200
yard backstroke. Ciocbetti set a school record in the
200-yard individual medley.
It was the Cardinal superstars—Olympic gold
medalist John Hencken and Brian Job—who
provided the difference when they swept the
breaststroke.
It may be that Van Rossen’s team is 20 points
away from being national calibre.
“Our guys were really ready for Stanford. They
worked hard for it,” he said Tuesday before a
practice at Leighton Pool.
But Oregon will be hurt at Salt LaCity by the
loss of distance man Steve Williams, out with a lung
infection.
And New Mexico figures to own the freestyle
events because of Rick Klatt—who has churned a
47.27 in the 100-yard freestyle and has an excellent
1:43.7 clocking over 200 yards.
“They’re really fast in those freestyle events,”
admitted Van Rossen. “We don’t have anything like
Klatt’s 47.2.”
Nationally, Oregon is doing well. The latest
Swimming World time listings have Topar third in
the U.S. for that fast 200-fly against Stanford.
Ciochetti, club record-holder in the 200 freestyle,
swam a fast 1:59.68 individual medley against the
Cardinals and right now that’s the second-best time,
in the country.
In the 400-yard medley relay Oregon ranks sixth
and Roy Clark—the man who had to face Hencken
ami Job last weekend—is sixth in the breaststroke
with a best of 2:14.4.
Brigham, Oregon State, and Utah are the other
schools who will swim three days in the plush Ute
natatorium.
The first final comes Thursday night in the 200
individual medley—where Basford, Gary Hidle,
Matt McCudden, and Ramey will swim for the
Ducks.
Van Rossen has placed Ciochetti in the 50-yard
freestyle, where his best is 22.32, the 409-yard in
dividual medley, and in the 109-yard freestyle—
where he’ll more than likely meet Matt in the
Saturday night final.
Topar is swimming the 109-yard fly, his best over
that distance is 54.4, and should be favored in the
209-yard fly final Friday.
Gary Devereux, who bested Stanford’s Hencken
in a spirited 200-yard freestyle duel last week, will
swim the 409-yard individual medley, the 500-yard
freestyle, and join Hidle and Topar in the 200 fly.
The Ducks leave for Salt Lake Thursday morning
and will return late Saturday night.
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Finely’s got
still another
shot at OSU
By MERLIN MANN
Of the Emerald
When Ron Finley was a collegian at Oregon State back in the
early sixties he was helping extend the OSU dominance in wrestling
over Oregon. Then after he graduated in 1964 he continued to help
clobber Oregon as assistant coach at Oregon State.
Over the years, Oregon State’s dominance has stretched to 28
straight dual match victories over the Ducks. Hie Ducks in the 19
year rivalry with the Beavers have won three matches out of 36. Hiat
last victory was 14-13 in 1967.
Now, Ron Finley, who is expected to be named coach of the United
States’s Greco-Roman team today, tries it again with his Ducks.
Oregon, 4-2, gets a chance to upset Oregon State this Thursday night at
Mac Court.
Chances of an upset seem as slight as ever, because OSU Coach
Dale Thomas has crane up with one of the strongest wrestling teams in
the nation.
Undefeated this year, Oregon State has shackled 13 opponents this
year. Even third-ranked Oklahoma, perennial wrestling power,
couldn't handle the Beavers. The Oklahomans fell 30-11 to the
Beavers, ranked second.
“I definitely feel they will have a good chance of winning the
NCAA title this year in Seattle,” Finley said. “Hiey have five
tremendous wrestlers, all NCAA place winners.”
The five have combined individual dual meet records of 59 wins,
one loss, and one tie.
Oregon’s upset hopes obviously rest on its strengths vs. OSU’s
weaknesses. Dave Luke and Mike Oilar, Oregon’s winningest grap
plers will not have to face favored opponents.
Luke, Oregon’s career record holder with 23 pins, will have his
hands full with Beaver Joe Bold at l!)4 pounds. Bold has compiled an 8
2 record. Luke, while unbeaten in dual matches and coming off
currently on a pinning streak of four, is coming off a bout with the flu.
Luke sat out of action last weekend.
Oilar, at 126 pounds, hasn’t been beaten this season although
Washington wrestler Brad Jaquet managed a 10-10 tie last Saturday.
Oilar was whistled for stalling at the final buzzer in Seattle to give
Jaquet the tie. Other than the tie, Oilar hasn’t been threatened this
season. He’ll meet either Ron Boucher, 3-2, or Mike A. Jones 3-3-1.
Wes Hines, Oregon’s sophomore 190-pounder, will square off with
OSU’s Greg Strobel in the night’s feature bout. Hines has been facing
some of the top 190-pound wrestlers on the west coast his last few times
out.
A possible key weight is the 167 pound bracket where Pac-8
Champion Mark Purkey may return to action. Sidelined by a knee
injury that required surgery last spring, Purkey was wrestling full
blast this week in practice.
‘‘We put him through a hard practice Monday,” Finley said, “the
hardest he’s had all year, but we don’t want to put him out before he’s
ready. His future is more important than a dual match victory for the
team.”
With or without Purkey, Oregon will be hard pressed to mount a
strong upset bid against the powerful Beavers, but then Oregon
Oregon State competition rarely goes entirely as expected. Finley
likes to point to Oregon’s first match with the Beavers last year when
the Ducks led through most of the match until OSU wrapped up the
victory in the final weight.
JVs try to snap
3-game loss skid
The Oregon J V basketball club will attempt to break a three game
losing skein tonight when they travel to Vancouver, Washington to
take on Clark College. The encounter with the small college varsity
will tip-off at 8 p.m.
Hie game with Clark College is a throwback to the days when the
freshmen basketball team& of yesteryear would regularly play small
college squads. With the advent of freshmen graduating to varsity
rosters and sophomores conversely being allowed to play on the JV
teams, Coach Jim Haney of Oregon has scheduled tougher opponents
for his JV forces. Two of Oregon’s losses have come from the shooting
hands of Claudia’s AAU team, a band of former college players with a '
myriad of experience. “It certainly is rougher playing these teams,”
said Haney, “But the competition is better for us.”
During the weekend the JV’s dropped a pair of decisions, one to
the Washington JV’s and Claudia’s. “We didn’t play particularly well
over the weekend. We didn’t have patience or poise, and we started to
rush some of our shots when we got behind,” said Haney.
Despite the losses, several players had outstanding games. Bob
Catchings tallied 30 points in a loss Saturday night. Two other players,
Mike Adams and Mark Carver, turned in strong games in substitute
roles. “Mark played good defense, and bounced back well Saturday
night. Mike played some excellent defense, and he is being asked to
have poise just as all the other players,” said Haney.
After tonight’s action with Clark College, the junior Ducks will
face three straight weeks of Oregon Beaver, JV style. They host the
JV’s from Corvallis as a preliminary game to the Oregon-Cal Poly
game on Saturday. They play them again on the following Saturday in
Corvallis as a prelude before the basketball Civil War on January 27.
Then the entourage travels to Memorial Coliseum in Portland on
February 2. If that isn’t enough, there will be a fourth and final contest
on March 10 to end the season. “I like those games with Oregon State,”
said Haney. “Itgives you poise and patience.”