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.