Ernst: Losing streak
affected confidence
■ Continued from Page 7
season, when the team was doing
well and Madeline was a dominat
ing outside hitter,” Nelson says.
“It’s fun to see her get that back.”
One thing that hasn’t returned
is the leadership Ernst displayed
earlier in the year, when the Ducks
started the season 7-2.
“In some of our close matches
that we had in the preseason,
Madeline was the one pulling the
team together,” Nelson says. “It
became her team. After the kidney
infection, I haven’t noticed her do
ing that nearly as much. ”
Nelson says part of the reason
for the absence of Ernst’s leader
ship has been a loss of confidence
brought on by the losing streak,
not just for Ernst but for the whole
team. When the team was success
ful, Ernst had the confidence to
, lead her teammates, but as they
faltered as a group, she found it
difficult to retain that charisma.
Now, with four matches left, in
cluding one against ninth-place
Arizona State, Ernst again has the
opportunity to place the team on
her shoulders and end the season
on a winning note.
Four years earlier, Ernst had tak
en another moment to reflect after
entering the Oregon program
without the valuable club team ex
perience that most players enjoy
before their collegiate careers.
“I can remember my freshman
year, about two weeks into prac
tice, sitting in the corner of the
gym with [former Oregon coach]
Gerry Gregory and crying and
wondering, ‘Why am I here?’”
Ernst says. “I had no experience at
a high level of play, and I was just
lost at how fast it was. ”
Now, four years later, with one
varsity season left and a season of
complications almost behind her,
Ernst refuses to let such banalities
as a few losses affect her so heavi
ly, and it appears she has an
swered for herself that question
she asked between sobs four years
ago.
"[Losingl wears on you, and it
takes its toll after,” she says. “But
you’re here because you love to
play volleyball and its something
you enjoy.”
It is that kind of perspective,
gained through three losing sea
sons, that will allow Ernst to put
this one behind her; and it is that
kind of perspective that will allow
her, Alii White, Michelle Christ
and the rest of Oregon’s under
classmen the chance to improve
their performance in 1998.
Pond: Boise’s Humanitarian
Bowl could be only option
m continued from Page 7
postseason.
But if they are 7-4, they should
not be playing in Boise in the Hu
manitarian Bowl.
Oh boy, what a way to be re
warded for upsetting Washington
and Arizona State and winning
three straight to end the season.
Even the name alone sounds sec
ond-class. When people across
the nation hear that Oregon is
playing in the Humanitarian
Bowl, they are more likely to
laugh than thinkitisanykindofa
special accomplishment.
Furthermore, the opponent
would be the Big West champion,
which at this point would appear
to be Utah State (5-4 overall, 4-0
Big West) or Nevada (5-5,3-0).
Wow!
The Ducks could play a team
the Beavers beat handily earlier
this season (Utah State) ora team
they themselves beat earlier this
season (Nevada). Imagine the ex
citement and pregame hype lead
ing up to that kind of a battle.
Une ot those matchups proba
bly wouldn’t even be worth the
trouble of an extra few weeks of
practice. In fact, if that were the
case, the Ducks should decline
the bid to the Humanitarian
Bowl.
In all likelihood, if they are 7-4,
they will at least go to the Las Ve
gas Bowl or the Independence
Bowl, but the possibility exists
that Boise and the Humanitarian
Bowl could still be their only op
tion.
Please, don’t let that be the
case!
Those other two bowls may not
be the most prestigious or have
the greatest history, but at least
football fans have heard of them.
At least there’s something to do
in Las Vegas, and compared to
Boise, heading to Shreveport, La.,
for the Poulan/Weed Eater Inde
pendence Bowl has never sound
ed so good.
Alex Pond is a sports reporter for the
Emerald.
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The University of Oregon Crisis Center
proudly presents
“A Stitch in Time”
The Annual Crisis Prevention Conference
Saturday, February 7, 1998
Erb Memorial Union
University of Oregon
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. in the EMU Ballroom)
Open to the general public
This year's Crisis Prevention is on February 7, 1998. You can attend the all-day conference and
receive class credit. The Crisis Prevention Conference, the annual fund raising event for the
University of Oregon Crisis Center, is centered around providing individuals with crisis prevention
knowledge and with skills to deal with or assist with crisis situations. Some of the topics included:
Abusive Relationships & Domestic Violence, Anger Management, Conflict Management, Death &
Grief, Career Issues, International Issues, Relaxation Techniques,Sexual Orientation, Building
Community, and much more.
$15 Registration Fee
Available for one University credit
For more information call Glenn Matchett-Morris,
Director of the University of Oregon Crisis Center, at 346-4487.
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1996 graduate
Account Executive for
Tyee group,
Portland, OR.
SARAH MITCHELL
1996 graduate
Account Executive lor
Bernard-Hodes
Advertising,
San Diego, CA.
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Account Coordinator
for Wunderman
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ily Emerald graduates GET JOBS!
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