OreaonWCmeralfc
Best Bet
AL Championship Series
Cleveland at New York
5:07 p.m., NBC
TUESDAY
Oct. 6,1998
Lavoie leads Oregon men to third at Northwest Classic
Coach Steve
Nosier cites the
team's balance
in its strong
finish
By Scott Pesznecker
Oregon Daily Emerald
In the highly anticipated Pre-NCAA In
vitational in Tulsa, Okla., the women
faced disappointment in the eye of a
storm as Monday’s competition was
rained out.
The only rain that fell in Corvallis,
however, was a barrage of well-placed
shots by the Oregon men. Finishing with
a seven-under-par score of 569, the
Ducks finished in third place at the
Northwest Classic.
“We played very well. I am pleased,"
coach Steve Nosier said. “We got right in
the hunt, which is what we wanted. If we
play well again tomorrow we have a
chance to win it.”
Ryan Lavoie led the Ducks and was tied
for eighth place overall, shooting three un
der par at 141. Adrian Burtner and Derek
Croskrey were tied for 17th place with
scores of 143. Andrew Tredway and Ben
Crane rounded out Oregon’s attack by hit
ting an even par 144 and tying for 23rd
place.
Nosier was very pleased with the way
the men played, citing that the difference
between the low and high
strokes of the team was
only three strokes. He
said that having a bal
anced team effort is the
best way to win tourna
ments.
we naa a low score ot
141 and a high of 144, which is even par,”
Nosier said. “A team could have a guy win
the tournament but the team could still fin
ish 20th.
Leading all other teams was San Diego
State, which scored 565,11 under par. Fol
lowing in second place, just two strokes be
hind, was UCLA with 567. Oregon was
only two strokes behind UCLA and four be
hind leading San Diego.
However, Colorado State and Washing
ton were tied for fourth place with 571.
Nosier said that while the Ducks are look
ing to win the tournament, they must re
member the competition behind them.
“We’re looking ahead, but there are some
very good teams just two strokes back, too,”
Nosier said. "Hopefully we can go out and
sink a few more puts than we did today
and win tomorrow.”
Leading in the contest for the individ
ual champion was B.J. Schlagenhauf of
UCLA, scoring an eight-under-par 136.
Robby Stephenson of Colorado State was
in second place with 137, and jason
Semelsberger of UCLA was in third place
with 138.
Leaderboard
1. Schlagenhauf
UCLA 136
2. Stephenson
Colorado St. 137
3. Semelsberger
UCLA 138
4. Piercy
San Diego St. 139
4. Wolf
Pacific 139
6. Lewis
Iowa St. 140
6. Scutt
Washington 140
8. Lavoie
Oregon 141
Oregon vs. Portland
Oregon setter
Julie Gerlach tips
one over the net
to make a kill in
Sunday’s game
against the Wild
cats.
Matt Hankins/ Emerald
Coaches reunite in pivotal contest
Oregon sees its match against
Portland as a chance to regain
momentum before facing
Washington this weekend
By Allison Ross
Oregon Daily Emerald
Cathy Nelson and Patty Jayne know how to
win volleyball matches. Ten years ago, they
roomed together at Portland State as mem
bers of the Viking volleyball team that won
the Division II-A national championship.
Fast-forward to 1998. These veteran
coaches, and long-time friends, have to
battle each other to keep their respective
teams alive for a possible postseason berth.
And while tonight’s Oregon vs. Portland
match at the Chiles Center is not a Pacific
10 Conference match for the Ducks, Nel
son fully understands the importance this
game could ha ve on the remainder of Ore
gon’s season.
“We need to have a full-out effort,” said
Nelson, who is in her fourth season as Ore
gon’s head coach. “We can’t just assume
that we’re going to win. We need to come
out and perform.”
Oregon is coming off a pair of devastat
ing losses to Arizona State and Arizona last
VOLLEYBALL
weekend, which
dropped the Ducks’
record to 6-9 overall, and
1-4 in the conference.
But if the Ducks have
to use their slow start as
motivation, then Port
land will likelv be just as
motivated. The Pilots opened their West
Coast Conference play at home last Friday
with a 15-9, 15-4, 15-10 win against San
Francisco. Then on Sunday, the Pilots came
out against No. 17 San Diego similar to the
way the Ducks came out against the Wild
cats at McArthur Court — strong in game 1,
but hail in games 2,3 and 4.
While the Ducks’ egos may have been
bruised a little by the losses, they have a
healthy line-up, which is something the
Pilots are not as fortunate to have. Veteran
middle blockers Cheyanne Mortek and
Christy Novitsky were both forced to red
shirt this season after suffering season
ending injuries in the preseason.
“We don’t have a lot of depth this year
because of the injuries," Jayne said. “But
we’ve had some people really step up and
do a tremendous job.”
The biggest challenge to the Pilots will
be to contain Oregon’s outside hitter,
Madeline Ernst.
“I don’t foresee us being able to stop
her,” said Jayne, who is in her fifth season
as coach of the Pilots . “I think we need to
realize that she is going to get kills. We
need to at least get a hand on the attack and
also try and make it difficult for them to get
Turn to VOLLEYBALL, Page 16
Ducks may be
better than the
record shows
A year ago in this very space, a
young, brash and inexperienced
(and familiar) columnist wrote a
terse denouncement of the Ore
gon volleyball team.
At that time, the Ducks were on their
way toa9-21 overall record, includinga
league-worst 1-17 mark in the Pacific-10
Conference.
To the casual observer, it would seem
that this year’s version of the Ducks is on its
way to a similar, if slightly improved,
showing. Oregon is a respectable 6-7 over
all, 1-2 in the conference,
after being swept last
weekend by Arizona and
Arizona State, the one
team the Ducks managed
to beat last season.
But to those of us
who’ve watched the team
over the past two seasons,
the improvement in Ore
gon’s level of talent, if not
success, is marked.
As the match against
Arizona State last Friday
Opinion
Rob
Moseley
proved, the biggest similarity between the
Ducks of this year and last is the distinct
lack of confidence when they’re behind. In
1997, Oregon would drop the first game of
the night and the look in every player’s
eyes said the same tiling: “Here we go
again. Another night, another loss.”
On Friday, the Ducks fought through an off
night for twogames before gi ving in to the Sun
Devils. Oregon had one of its worst hitting
performances thus far this season in Game 2,
when it hit minus .143 but lost just 15-9. It
wasn’t until Game 3 that the confidence, and
thus the Ducks chances, began to fade.
But while the Ducks’ lack of confidence
doesn’t seem to have changed much from
last season, the biggest difference between
the two teams is also evident. In 1998, Ore
gon has the talent and the athleticism to
overcome off nights and win tough matches.
Last year’s Ducks were a subdued, gritty
group that battled an overall shortage of tal
ent with the experience of a six-woman se
nior class and flashes of superstar potential
from junior outside hitter Madeline Ernst.
This season, Ernst is realizing that po
tential, as evidenced by her ranking among
the nation’s leaders in kills. But she is no
longer alone.
Turn to MOSELEY, Page 16