-sports
Runners hold key for men against UCLA
By STEVE GEIGER
Of the Emerald
Oregon head track coach Bill
Dellinger isn’t about to spend time
asking himself which events could
decide the outcome of his team’s
early season show-down with
UCLA at Hayward Field Saturday
at 1:15 p.m.
After all, it’s common know
ledge that, with the field events
somewhat even, Oregon breeds
distance runners while UCLA is
loaded with sprinters.
“When you talk about winning
or losing a meet by one or two
points, they’re all critical events,"
Dellinger says without singling out
any important match-ups.
The fact remains, however, the
winner could be decided by who
infringes on whom.
UCLA boasts Millard Hampton,
the 1976 Olympic 200 meter silver
medalist, in the I00 and 200 meter
races, plus the 400 meter relay.
Joining Hampton in one of the
nation’s best sprint teams is
James Owens, sixth in the 110
high hurdles at Montreal. He'll run
in that event, as well as the 100
meters and 400 relay with Hamp
ton.
The job of the Duck sprinters is
to infringe upon this territory.
“I’m not really looking to win or
anything," said Phil Bransom, a
JC transfer from Porterville, Calif.,
who will go up against Hampton
and Owens in the 100 meters and
400 relay. “What I’ll try to do is
break up that 1-2-3 sweep of
theirs and score some points for
us.”
Joining Bransom in the 100
meters will be Dale Warren, who is
just recovering from an injury, and
Robert Curry. Bransom’s
season's best 10.71 was recorded
in Oregon’s 101-60 thrashing of
As Cal schools decline invitation
Women head to Salem meet
By KIM SPIR
Of the Emerald
Lack of sunshine here in
Oregon isn’t why several Califor
nia schools will forego this year's
Oregon-California Invitational
Saturday in Salem.
Lack of money is.
“I’d been trying to get Chico
State, Berkeley and (University of
California at) Davis for this meet,"
said Jeannie Zumwalt, women's
track coach at host Willamette
University.
"But their regional commis
sioner, Sue Cummock, wrote that
all the schools in northern Califor
nia are limited to traveling to
meets within a 150-mile radius as
part of a budget cutback. They just
couldn't afford to come this year.
However, University of Red
lands is within that limitation and,
as California's lone representa
tive. it meets athletes from 18
Washington and Oregon schools
including Oregon State, Oregon
College of Education (OCE),
Spokane Falls Community Col
lege (SFCC) and the University of
Oregon.
Oregon coach Tom Heinonen
isn't worried about team scores
this week or how those missing
California squads might affect the
quality of competition.
"This meet won’t be pressure,
and it should give us a chance to
achieve some specific things," he
said. “We want to qualify a two
mile relay for nationals and I want
to give everyone on the team a
chance to compete."
Katie Mountain, Ellen Schmidt,
Kim Spir and Debbie Roth form
the two-mile relay aimed at meet
ing the national qualifying time of
9:22. Schmidt broke the school
800 meter record aginst Washing
ton last week with a 2:12.1, and
Roth, Spir and Mountain could
easily run under 2:17 in their re
spective relay legs.
The Oregon coaches will exper
iment with Carol Amaral in the
mile relay and Georgene Rose in
the 400 meter hurdles. Amaral re
places Mary Officer in that relay
because Officer is sidelined this
week with a foot injury.
In her first attempt at the 400
hurdles event, Rose faces
Redland s Pam Ashe and SFCC's
Mandy Keister who have both
clocked 65.0 this year.
Netters tip Portland, 5-4
Oregon's men s tennis team
improved its record to 5-3 Thurs
day with a 5-4, come-from-behind
win over University of Portland in
Eugene.
After the University's Tom
Greider won the final singles
match of the afternoon, 6-1, 6-4
over Portland's Bruce Baxter to
even the teams, 3-3, UP's doubles
team of Doug Menke and Tim Carr
upset the Ducks’ Steve Hard and
Jim Wilson, 6-3, 6-4 to take the
lead.
Oregon then came from behind
to win the day's final doubles
matches and defeat Portland
when Alan Lau and Conrad Lopes
beat UP s Rick Lenker and Jan
Muck, 5-7,7-5,6-4 and the Ducks’
team of Tom Benesar and Russ
Childers defeated Dave Cohen
and Dave Elliot, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Washington, the defending
Pac-8 Northern Division champ
ions will visit Eugene Saturday for
a 10 a.m. match at the University’s
15th Street courts.
Oregon sprinters Rose, Amaral
and Rose Ann Klingerman meet
Redland sprinters Denise Becton,
Lynn Jones and Kyong Ja Lee and
SFCC’s Kathy Utecht, each of
whom has run 11.4 or better for
100 yards this season. The
Oregon and Redland sprinters are
favored in the 200 meters along
with OSU's Robin Richards
(25.4).
In the 100 meter hurdles dark
horse Barradd Johnson (14.6)
from Clackamas tops the entries
in that event. Amaral, Mary Lou
Armstrong or Kori Hasselblad will
run for Oregon.
Willamette’s Sharon Canda is
favored in the 400 meter dash, but
according to coach Zumwalt,
“She’s only been training for a
week; she just finished basketball
season.” Canda finished seventh
in last year’s collegiate national
meet in 56.6, but ran a 54.8 in the
semi-finals in that race.
With Oregon's distance
strength in the two-mile relay,
Heinonen entered Cheryl Bates,
Robin Baker or Sandy Trowbridge
in the 800 while Mona McGriff,
Jennifer Daniell or Leslie Hillman
could run the 1,500.
Lesley Winbigler, Katie
McLaughlin and Lori Parsons en
counter OCE’s javeline duo of
Marcia Melvin (145-31/2) and
Renne Lambrecht (134-9), while
Mary Stevenson and Kathy Pick
nell are Oregon’s discus entries.
Although the Oregon univer
sities are well represented, Zum
walt expects to see individual
strengths in the srhaller teams that
could stifle any major event
sweeps. But the Ducks plan to
train right through this weekend
with their sights set on the next
co-ed double dual with Washing
ton State in Pullman next Satur
day.
Washington last weekend. All
three Bruins — Hampton, Owens
and Mark Jenkins — have better
times than Bransom, as is true
throughout the sprints with UCLA
having competed in five meets al
ready.
Despite the difference, one of
the closest races might be the 400
meter relay, pitting Bransom,
Curry and Canadian Olympians Al
Dukowski and Dacre Bowen,
against Owens, Hampton, Jim
Schaeffer and Gregory Foster.
Dukowski and Warren will also
run in the 200 meters, against
Hampton, Jenkins and Schaeffer.
Dukowski ran the race in 22.82
seconds last weekend, compared
to Hampton s season's best of
20.43.
Dellinger says the Bruins are
particularly strong in the relays,
hurdles and jumping events as
well as sprints, and calls Mike
Tully “probably the best pole vaul
ter in the world at this point."
Tully has vaulted a personal
best of 18.5 this season, com
pared to Oregon's Tom Hintnaus'
16 even against Washington.
UCLA began its season back on
February 26, and has beaten Cal
State Northridge, Long Beach
State, Tennessee and Stanford,
all at home, while losing to ASU in
Tempe.
“They’re farther along because
they’ve had warmer weather, so
we re at a disadvantage," Del
linger says. “It could become a
disadvantage to them, though,
because it’s hard to start in Feb
ruary and try to reach a peak for a
meet in June.”
That “meet in June," the NCAA
championships, will be in Cham
paign, III., May 31-June 4.
The question for the Ducks is
whether or not they can take some
points away from the UCLA sprin
ters, then dominate the distance
events.
Matt Centrowitz, Peter Spir and
Mark Perry head a trio of Ducks
who will try to sweep a slightly
faster UCLA group in the 800
meters.
Rudy Chapa, winner of the
5000 meters last week, had been
moved to the 1500 meters for the
UCLA meet, teaming with Randal
Markey and Centrowitz to form a
hopeful sweep in that event. Cen
trowitz leads the way with a
3:49.55 season’s best, and Brian
Russell leads UCLA with a 4:10.7
season’s best.
Dave Taylor, who has suffered
from leg problems for months, re
turns for his first meet and will help
Terry Williams and Alberto
Salazar try to sweep the 5000
meter run. Only Salazar has run
the race this spring, clocking a
14:13.60 against Washington.
Vicken Simonian, with a season
and personal best of 14:02.20 in
5000 meters will be the main man
for UCLA in the event.
Ducks trailing in tourney
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Scott
Tuttle remained in striking dis
tance for the tournament crown
but the University’s golfers were
still well back after the second
Baxter leads
softball victory
MONMOUTH — Shawna Bax
ter rapped out two hits and batted
in two runs to lead the women’s
softball squad to a season open
ing 6-3 win over Oregon College
of Education (OCE) here Thurs
day.
In addition to her work at the
plate, Baxter got the win on the
mound for the women, scattering
three runs and six hits over seven
innings.
Vicki Lesh and Jenny Hector
helped the women’s cause with
two hits each.
Oregon 011 400 0 — 6 8 5
Oregon College 001 011 0 — 3 6 3
Baxter and Blickle Adams and Ward. W — Bax
ter (1-0) L — Adams
round of the Western Intercol
legiate tourney here Thursday.
Tuttle, despite bogies on the
16th and 18th holes, still carded a
two over par 73 Thursday, which
placed him at 143 for the tourna
ment.
Lee Michaeles and Bill Loefer
from Arizona State lead the 24
team event with their 140 totals
following the second round.
Houston and Arizona State lead
the team competition in the tour
ney with 576 scores going into
Friday's play. Oregon is in 11th
place with a 601 total.
None of Oregon’s six golfers in
the tournament were under par in
Thursday's action. Aside from Tut
tle, Brent Murray was closest with
a four over par 75 that gave him a
149 total in the Western. Jon
Heselwood shot a 76 for a 154
total, while Dick Shafer stroked a
77 to end at 155 after two rounds.
Phil Currie and Scott Krieger
shot rounds of 78 and 79, respec
tively, for Oregon.
Powerful Cougars roar into Eugene this weekend
By DAN LINDAHL
Of the Emerald
• Washington State is the fifth ranked
college baseball team in the country.
• Washington State has eight men hitting
.300 or better.
• Washington State has won eight of the
last nine Pacific-8 Northern Division champ
ionships.
• Washington State is stealing bases at
an .840 clip.
• Washington State hit .322 as a team in
winning the prestigious Riverside tourna
ment.
• Washington State has six pitchers with
earned run averages (e.r.a.) of 3.80 or less.
• Washington State already has more
wins (19) than Oregon has played games.
Question: Can Oregon possibly stop the
Cougars when they invade Howe Field
today for the first of a three game weekend
series which opens league play?
Answer: Maybe.
Coach Bobo Brayton's Cougars come
into Eugene with one of the most impres
sive sets of credentials to be found any
where in college baseball. But Duck mentor
Mel Krause has a simple answer for the
sticky question of dealing with the Cougars,
who placed fifth in last year’s college world
series.
“I’m not concerned with what they do,
explained Krause. "I am only concerned
with what we do because that is all I can
control."
That by no means indicates any lack of
respect by Krause for the defending league
and district champions.
“They are an excellent team and have to
be favored to repeat as champions admit
ted the Duck leader. “They have great bal
ance and experience in all departments.
Indeed the Cougars are favored to repeat
its domination of Northwest baseball
this season, especially with a line-up as
strong as Dave Edler, Marty Maxwell and
Phil Westendorf.
Elder is a versatile performer who tops
the Cougars in hitting with a .417 average.
Maxwell is a shortstop, hitting a high .388,
while the 6-7 second baseman Westendorf
is a story in himself. Westendorf is more
than just big, however, as he also boasts a
.380 average and was named All-Northern
Division last year at first base.
WSU has plenty of other batters, includ
ing the leading hitter in the Pac-8 last sea
son, Gary Herrick. It is no wonder Brayton
considers hitting the Cougars’ strong suit.
Washington State isn't shy in pitching
either. Eric Wilkins, who is expected to start
on the mound today, is tops on the staff with
an unbeaten record and a 1.49 e.r.a. But
there is much more.
Tracy Harris (2.81), Edler (1.61) and
Chris Camp (3 01) are just a few of the
talented hurlers who might start on batur
day against the Ducks.
Krause acknowledges the power the
Cougars possess and admits Oregon “will
have to play good baseball to win.
But riding the crest of a four game win
ning skein, Oregon has some momentum of
its own and some talent to challenge WSU.
Mike Ritchey (.372), Tom Dodd (.356)
and Steve Elam (.353) will all have to keep
up their blistering hitting, but Krause sees
the real key to the series as the mound work
— where Glenn Fisher, Eric Gilmore and
Ray Paiement are expected to work — and
in the field.
“The pitchers will have to make them
swing the bat and the defense will have to
stand up,” stated Krause. “It's like any
sport, if you don’t play defense, you get
blown out."
But even if Oregon plays its best, it may
not be enough to prevent getting blown
away by the Cougar whirlwind.
P aao 17