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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1981)
sports Stuebing hopes to add another laurel By MIKE RIPLINGER Of the Emerald Oregon senior Jeff Stuebing, who has already left the Pac-10 in style, will reach for another laurel in the NCAA wrestling tournament. The competition in Princeton, N.J., will be the .last in an Oregon uniform for Stuebing, who was named the most out standing wrestler of the Pac-10 Photo by David W. Zahn Oregon senior Jeff Stuebing won the Pac-10 title at 167, but is expecting a tougher time at the nationals. Wrestlers shoot for top 10, send 9 to championships Oregon's wrestling team aims for unfamiliar territory as the Ducks try for their best finish ever at the NCAA championship tournament. The three-day meet begins today in Princeton, N.J. Oregon, the Pacific-10 cham pions, will take nine wrestlers to the tournament in their bid to reach the nation’s top 10. “I think we could place any where from eighth to 15th, depending on how we per form,” says Oregon coach Ron Finley. “I would really be tickled to death if we could make the top 10.” Tracksters await test at three weekend meets Two Oregon runners will face a tough challenge this weekend as they travel to the AIAW In door National Championships. Melanie Batiste and Lexie Miller will represent Oregon at Tennis squad faces tourneys on trip south Paced by number-one singles player Lindsay Bartlett, the women’s tennis team travels south for two competitions. The Ducks face Nevada-Reno today, then travel to Sacramen to for a 32-team invitational March 13-15. The top two teams from last season, Cal-State Northridge and Cal-State Ful lerton, are the top-seeded teams at the tournament. Oregon will be without its number-two singles player, Lynn Haeckler, who has a frac tured thumb. the two-day meet in Pocatello, Id., Friday and Saturday. Batiste, a two-time AIAW All-American in the mile relay, will compete in the 300 meters, where she has a best of 39.3. Miller, the Northwest’s 100 hur dle and long jump champion, will compete in the 60 hurdles. She has an indoor best of 8.05 in the event. Duck pentathalete Jeanne Borchardt will have her first shot at the heptathlon Saturday and Sunday at the Track and Field Association/USA Heptathlon at Oregon State. The javelin and 200 meters were added to the five-event pentathlon beginning this year. Other heptathlon events include the 100 hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot and 800. Oregon also will send a con tingent of runners to compete in a 10,000 at OSU Saturday. Ten tative Duck entries include Eryn Forbes, Alice Munz, Susie Niedermeyer and Mimi Carlo. The Ducks are led by Bill Nugent, ranked sixth nationally, Jeff Stuebing, ranked eighth, and Dan Cook ranked sixth. Nugent, Stuebing, Mike Erb and Ryan Kelly all were in dividual champions at the Pac-10 meet. Cook, Cliff Porter and Rick O’Shea placed second, while Barry Boyles and Mike Miller won wild card berths to the NCAA meet. “I think we have a good chance of placing high," says Finley. "All of our wrestlers have been consistent scorers in every tournament we’ve wres tled in this year.” But Oregon will need a big effort to finish higher than last year’s 11th-place finish, Finley says. “We’ll need a couple of wrestlers who place,’’ Finley says. "Last year Scott Bliss scored most of our points in getting second place. We’ll need some kind of effort like that if we are going to do as well.” Despite Oregon’s finish last year, most people expected a poor performance from Oregon this season, says Finley. “We have really had a great year. That record we got for team wins demonstrates what we achieved this year." The Ducks, who are ranked eighth nationally, set a school record for wins with their 23-3 mark. "They thought we would have a rebuilding year, but we sure surprised them," says Finley. Senior takes Pac-10 title to NCAAs championship meet. “I have big expectations for this tournament,” says Stueb ing, who has compiled a 27-3 record in the 167-pound class. "I've been looking forward to this for a long, long time." Stuebing had problems at the 1980 NCAA meet after winning the Pac-10 title. He won his opening-round match, but didn’t fare too well in the rest of the tournament. "That initial shock is pretty bad your first year if you're not ready for it. This year I'm a little older and hopefully a little more prepared,” says the nation's eighth-ranked wrestler at 167. "Jeff has a very good chance to place in the tournament," says his coach, Ron Finley. "He has so much more confidence than ever before He had some really excellent practices after the Pac-10 championships, and seems well prepared for the na tionals. “He has worked hard all year and I really hope he does well to finish out his career.” Stuebing, fifth on the all-time Oregon win list with 80, sound ed remorseful when asked how he felt going into his last tour nament as a Duck. "My goal in wrestliing is to perform to the best of my capabilities. If you lose, you can always go back and work harder to try and get better for the next time But now I don't have that chance any more. This is it for me at Oregon. I don’t have next year to come back and improve. “I’m not looking forward to it being all over. I hate to leave here because it has been so nice. I’ve had such a good time,” he says. "But you’ve got to grow and go on with your life. There is always wrestlers coming along all the time. You just have to do the best you can and then move on." "I always hate to see them go,” Finley says. “You’re al ways sad when you lose one to graduation. Jeff is especially a hard one to lose. He is such a tough competitor — a very ten acious wrestler who never gives up. A very classy performer.” Stuebing plans to continue wrestling after college in freestyle and Greco-Roman t6 F W *WWW duxi we met tHxeuq& <m ad i* tit Smenald 'Pex&MtaU. . . , STRETCH YOUR TRAVEL DOLLARS TO EUROPE Contact EUGENE TRAVEL for details 687-2825 1 J CHINA BLUE RESTAURANT FISH WITH HOT BEAN SAUCE Fresh Fish cooked with spices and bean sauce $5.35 China Blue 879 E. 13th Ave. 343-2832 Hours Mon-Thurs. 11 am-10 pm Fri 11 am-11 pm Sat 5-11 pm Sun. 5-10 pm -AVIATION TRAINEES— WANTED! The U.S. Navy is looking for highly motivated sophomores, juniors and seniors to become pilots, air tactical coordinators and electronic/computer operators. There is no affiliation with a ROTC Unit, nor do you need to have 20/20 vision. If you qualify, we can guarantee you aviation training. Sound too good to be true? Contact: Lyn Robertson in Portland (503) 221-3041 Collect FLY NAVY - THE BEST ALWAYS HAVE tournaments. In addition, the AAU championships are coming up in about a month and Stueb ing hopes to do well there. “I’m going to continue wres tling with all of it pointed for a berth on the 1984 Olympic team," Stuebing says. “I'm going to try and keep on improving to see how well I can do. That’s all you can do is try to become the best you can, and if you’re not good enough, well, you’ll just have to settle for that.” Luckily for Stuebing, he has been able to settle for that which other wrestlers can only dream
