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
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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