emerald
sports
Sara Gustafson — Ducks’
holdover from greatness
By Scott Coe
Ofthu En—rakl
It used to be that the terms
“University of Oregon” and
“national-class gymnastics”
went together like salt and
pepper.
Whether it was the men's or
the women's teams, the flying
Ducks could consistently hold
their own against anyone in the
country, with the Sara Gustaf
son’s and Randy Beard's com
peting against the best
But those were the good ol’
days
Last year's athletic budget
cuts, which, among other
things, eliminated mens’ gym
nastics at the University al
together, started a destructive
snowball rolling that may com
pletely wipe out Oregon gym
nastics before it is finished.
Both Gustafson and Beard
remain on the Oregon gymnas
tics scene, but in slightly differ
ent capacities. Gustafson is the
brightest star on this year’s
scaled-down women’s team,
and Beard, now graduated, is an
assistant coach of the squad.
This summer the women's
team seemed destined for a
similar fate as the men, but the
eleventh-hour hiring of new
head coach Gary Vanderhoef
saved the team for at least one
more season. Vanderhoef is
operating under a one-year,
half-time salary, however, and
has only one-and-a-half new
scholarships to offer next year.
And if that's not enough,
Vanderhoef was flat on his back
in bed with muscle spasms for
three weeks early in the season,
and had to coach the team via
his wife, Sue He's back at
practice now, although he must
wear a back brace
Despite all of the setbacks
that have eaten away at what
was once a national-class gym
nastics program, there is cur
rently some outstanding talent
that remains intact for the lady
gymnasts. Undoubtable the
best Duck holdover is is Gustaf
son, the lone senior on this
year's team
During the four years she has
competed for the Ducks, Gus
tafson has seen the good as well
as the bad
“It’s really been funny to sit
back and look at the situation,
especially this year, because
we've been through so much,"
she says "The athletic depart
ment says we’ve got to win, and
that we've got to raise money to
go to away meets all for our
sport to survive Those things
shouldn’t be a gymnast’s
worry."
The situation is an interesting
one, according to Gustafson,
because all of this season's tur
moil — including the abrupt dis
missal of an assistant coach —
has drawn the team closer
together.
“We know we've got to stay
strong, and that we’ve got to
fight together . All of the girls
on this team want to be here and
want gymnastics at Oregon,”
she said
The gray haze of this season
doesn't overshadow what has
already been an illustrious car
reer for the former all-stater
from Portland s Parkrose High
School
Gustafson decided in high
school to compete on the prep
level instead of entering the Na
tional Academy of Artistic Gym
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Photos by Bob Baker
“I judge my performance by how I felt I did, not by the score they flash up, " says Gustafson, the team's
lone senior.
nasts in Eugene, a decision she
now views as being a wise one
"I wasn’t willing to make the
total commitment (of going to
the Academy), because I had
too much of a well-rounded
family life,” she says
She says some former
members of the academy have
come away with adverse reac
tions to the total commitment
required by the academy’s rigid
training schedule
"It’s like a cult down there (at
the Academy), They go to
school half-time, then they’re in
the gym for six hours every day
Anything done to excess like
that just isn't healthy,” Gustaf
son says
As a prep, Gustafson was a
two-time all-around state cham
pion In her three seasons with
Oregon, she qualified for the
AIAW championships twice,
placed fifth in the 1980 Western
Hemisphere all-around, and
currently holds school records
in the uneven bars (9.30), and in
the floor exercise (9 40)
Gustafson says the difference
between her ability and that of
the top academy gymnasts such
as Tracee Talavera and
Julienne McNamarra lies not in
amount of potential, but in time
spent on routines Also, the
academy girls have an edge in
accuracy, Gustafson says
Athletes with Gustafson's
ability competing for the flying
Ducks seem destined to be a
thing of the past Recruiting new
“Sara Gustafson s" to the
University is difficult to imagine
with so few scholarships availa
Continued on Page 9
Mortar Board
Senior Honor Society
Announces that it has extented its selection deadline to
Wednesday, March 3, 1982.
1
Mortar Board membership is bused on service, scholarship, und
leadership. Students wishing to be considered for selection must be
seniors fall term of1982, with a cummulative GP/1 of 3.2.
Information sheets are available at the Library next to the Professor
of the Month display. Information sheets and questions should be
directed to:
Amy Rittenburg
c/o ASIJO Office
Suite 4 EMU
x3724
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