Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 17, 1978)
tennis By R.D. UN DAHL For the Emerald In the future when Russ Chil ders takes time from his wander ings to look back at all the places he has been, Pullman, Washing ton, won’t be among the cities he most fondly remembers. Plagued by bronchitis and some stiff competition, Childers was able to win only one of his six matches at the Northern Division tennis championships last weekend in the eastern Washing ton town. But when you’ve been around as much as Childers, the Most Valuable Player on the 1977 Oregon tennis team, you come to accept the bad along with the good. Childers has found in his stay in Eugene mostly the latter. “I like Eugene in the same ways I liked Florida. It's slower paced than other places and the people are pretty cool,” smiled the Uni versity sophomore. “I’d rate it right at the top of the places I’ve been." When Childers takes it upon himself to rate cities, he has more than a little experience to rely on. Practically since he was born he has been moving around so much that he makes a band of roving gypsies look sedentary. In his 20 years since his birth in Tallahas see, Florida, he has lived in 11 different cities ranging from Lex ington, Kentucky, to Cincinnati, Ohio, to Prescott, Arizona, to Carmel, California. And like many travelers, Chil ders harbors mixed emotions about his unstable youth. “In some ways it has been good. I’ve been able to visit 42 states and see a lot of different life styles and cultures,” said Chil ders, whose moves followed the restless temptations of his father. "But when I reached junior high I would have liked to stay in one place and be with my friends.” It’s fitting that Childers, whose friends call him “Bump” because of his resemblance to professional baseball player Bump Wills, should have become involved in a life of constant travel. His unruly, curly, carmel-colored hair and spotty beard combined with his penchant for wearing clothes that give him a permanent underdres sed appearance (“I’ve never worn a suit,” he says. “Don’t have any use for one ”) make him look like someone more at home leaning against an interstate sign than sit 's Photo by Neil Qruenfelder "Bump” Childers dreamed of making a junior college team coming out of high school, but it appears his estimation of his own talent was low, as evidenced by the Duck tennis MVP award he won last year, his freshman year. Canadians beat Bruins MONTREAL (AP) — Guy La fleur blasted a 40-foot shot past goalie Gerry Cheevers at 13:09 of overtime Tuesday night, powering the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 victory in the second game of the National Hockey League final playoff series. Lafleur took a pass from de fenseman Larry Robindon, wound up at the top of the faceoff circle to Cheevers’ left, and fired the shot that gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. • Domestic 8c Imported Beers • Delicious Soups 8c Sandwiches • Pool, Backgammon • Foosball, Pinball • Friendly Barmaids • Comfortable Booths • Great Conversation fla FflCrAC IN THE ATRIUM Uv 1 WVVT) DOWNTOWN Childer’s life on the road brings him to Eugene stop ting in a university library. Like any vagabond, Childers remembers well the experiences of his travels. '“I really liked Roseburg (Oregon), ” recalled Childers. “I always liked it the best of any place I lived. We would go camp ing or over to Coos Bay or out on the Umpqua (River). “Roseburg has always stood out. People say that it is red but it wasn 't as bad as some of the other places.’’ The worst resistance Childers encountered from locals in regard to his family’s liberal lifestyle came in Grand Forks, North Dakota. “In Grand Forks, or Great Spoons as we called it, I was al ways being bugged about my long hair and they would call me a communist," said Childers, who lived there from fifth to seventh grades. “It hasn’t been like that here. Times have changed everywhere I guess, but.... ” Childers’ most recent home be fore coming to Eugene was the California coastal town of Carmel, a city noted for its beauty and wealthy inhabitants. “The town is beautiful,” admit ted Childers, who lived there dur ing his senior year of high school. “But it is just too artificial a culture. There is too much money and a lot of kids have everything they want and it shows. There isn’t a town like it anywhere else.” When it came time to go to col lege, Childers snubbed the California schools wanting to re turn to the state of which he has such pleasant memories. “I wrote Oregon and told them I was interested in coming to school and playing tennis," said Childers. His Carmel High School team finished second in Northern California his senior season while he won the California In terscholastic Federation Central Coast Section doubles champ ionship. “Coach (Oregon tennis coach Buzz Summers) wrote back and that started things.” Just coming to a major univer sity to play tennis was an accom plishment for Childers who had “dreamed” two years earlier of just making a junior college team. But once he arrived his fortunes continued to ascend. As a freshman, Childers finished 17-5 in singles competi tion to register the second winningest season ever by a Duck. To culminate it all, he was awarded the team’s MVP honor. “I had dreamed of playing for a JC,” said Childers. “To play for a college and do something was really great.” 1978 wasn’t quite the banner year 1977 was, but much of Chil ders' failure to win as many matches as last season is at tributable to an increase in the level of competition. While he played mostly as the number five man in 1977, this year he has occupied the numbers one and two slots for the majority of the season. And he and teammate Tom Greider have formed the Ducks’ top doubles team all year. All of which isn't bad for a guy who never played tennis at all until he was a freshman in high school and who skipped playing his junior year to work at a Port Charlotte, Florida, McDonald’s restaurant. Childers’ rapid mastery of the game can be traced to his extra ordinary speed and quickness. “My strength is my speed. I’m not a power player so I have to go for finesse shots and control,” said Childers, who stands 5-6. “I’m not big enough to blast any one off the court.” While his first two years of ten nis at Oregon have been success ful , not everything off the court has been as easy as beating his op ponents on it. The two stickiest problems are Oregon’s continu ing money woes and a residency battle he waged last fall. Because the Duck tennis prog ram is not funded by the athletic department, the team must raise all its own money. That involves off-season duties such as clean ing up McArthur Court after bas ketball games, parking cars at Autzen Stadium and selling hot dogs at football games. Childers feels the sacrifices are worth the pleasures of playing but (Continued on p. 6B) r 1940 FRANK UK HVI EOCENE. ORECON OKU PAHTR DEUUIES5EH f YOU'LL ENJOY THE VARIETY AND A QUALITY YOU'LL FIND AT TNI OPEN PANTRY INSIDE YOUR FRIENDLY McKAY'S MARKET 1960 FRANKLIN BLVD. ONE STOP SHOPPING FOR TASTE BUD DELIGHTS.
