White’s long drives spark UO
jeruyn wmie leaas we
women’s golf team into
the Pac-10 tournament
By Brett Williams
tor the Emerald
At Stanford Golf Course last
spring as a freshman, she fin
ished fourth in the Peg Bernard
Invitational. When she returned
there last fall, she again placed
near the top, finishing 15th.
Unfortunately for the rest of
the Pacific-10 Conference women
golfers, Jerilyn White will return
there on Mon
day when the
Ducks look to
improve on
last season’s
eighth-place
finish in the
Pac-10 Cham
pionships.
White has a
certain comfort
zone when she plays at Stanford,
which is one reason she has high
aspirations for next week’s tour
nament.
“The big goal would be to win
it, but I really just want to play
well,” said White, whose 77.9 av
erage last season was fourth best
on the team. “I want to get a good
score, and finishing in the top 10
would be nice.”
White’s chances of playing
well in the tournament are
backed by her coach, Renee
Baumgartner.
“She has the potential to shoot
low numbers, and she can do it at
a course like Stanford,” said
Baumgartner, who received Pac
10 coach of the year honors two
years ago. “She has as good a
cnance as anyone 10 periorm
well.”
Winning the tournament
would be one more plaque on the
wall for White, who began play
ing golf at an early age through
lessons from her dad, a golf pro
in Salem.
“He taught me everything I
know,” White said. “When I go
back to Salem, he still gives me
lessons.”
All of the lessons must have
paid off, as White reached nu
merous milestones on the links
in her prep career. As a junior at
McNary High School in Salem,
White won the state title.
She was a three-time all-state
selection, as well as a third team
all-league selection as a basket
ball player. She topped off her
win at state the following sum
mer with a first-place finish in
the Pacific Northwest Golf Asso
ciation tournament.
With all of White’s success in
high school, many schools
showed interest in securing her
services. Originally, White con
sidered New Mexico at the top of
her wish list and Oregon near the
bottom.
“I really wanted to leave Ore
gon and play in the sun,” White
said. “But Renee convinced me
Oregon was a great program.
Also, my parents wanted to keep
me close.”
Sun is one thing Oregon could
n’t provide for White. But even
away from precipitation in Eu
gene this season, the rain has
continued to fall.
“The weather has made it a
tough year,” White said. “We
“ When I was younger, I
could belt the ball a
million miles. Now I still
hit it pretty far, but I am
much more consistent. ”
Jerilyn White
Oregon women’s golf team member
have had three out of 12 of our
tournaments in the sun. Every
time we leave, it seems as if the
rain just follows us.”
A clear day at Stanford would
open the door for White’s long
drives. As Baumgartner believes,
she is “probably one of the
longest hitters in the country.”
White agrees that her biggest
strength is off the tee.
“When I was younger, I could
belt the ball a million miles,”
White said. “Now I still hit it
pretty far, but I am much more
consistent.”
Baumgartner has seen White’s
overall game blossom since her
arrival at Oregon.
“She has evolved her whole
game, especially her chipping,”
Baumgartner said. “She is an in
credible talent that has the tools
necessary to become a champi
on.”
White’s talent could lead her to
the WPGA someday, an aspira
tion she believes is well within
her reach.
“I would love to play pro
someday,” White said. “I defi
nitely have the talent. It’s just a
matter of whether the six inches
between my ears work.”
Club Sports
Club Sports baseball
plays round-robin
With the league playoffs
looming, the Oregon Club
Sports baseball team needs to
start putting some wins under
its belt to improve upon its 2
10 record.
The Ducks will get the op
portunity to do just that Satur
day and Sunday as they take
part in a round-robin format
against Western Washington
and Southern Oregon.
Each team will play each oth
er twice during the two days.
“I think we will be able to
come away from this weekend
with some victories,” player
coach Ryan Williams said.
“We’ve already played South
ern twice and split with them,
so hopefully we’ll split again or
maybe even take both from
them. As for Western, we don’t
really know much about them,
but if we play the kind of ball
we’re capable of, then I think
we’ll have a good shot.”
The games begin at noon
both days and will be played at
Creswell High School.
Sailing team ready
to head to Seattle
Seattle will seem tame to the
Oregon Club Sports sailing
team when it competes there
this weekend after having to
deal with San Francisco’s
deadly winds last weekend.
“It’s going to be nice to get
back to competing in the
Northwest,” Ducks coordina
tor Joe Penrod said.
The two days of racing will
be two different competitions.
On Saturday, the Northwest
Dinghy Championships will be
held. This event differs from
the usual races in that each boat
competes with all the others,
regardless of what school it is
from.
Then on Sunday, the team
will compete as one in the
Northwest Team Racing Cham
pionship.
The other
schools that
are expected
to compete
are Wash
i n g t o n ,
Washington State, Western
Washington and British Co
lumbia.
-vjSPCftCTS
Women’s lacrosse to
start spring season
Finally, it begins.
Opening day has been de
layed long enough for the Ore
gon Club Sports women’s
lacrosse team.
After overcoming problems
in trying to field a team and get
ting all of the scheduling kinks
worked out, the Ducks play
their first game of the season
Saturday against Linfield in
McMinnville.
“We are all more than ready
to play this game,” player
coach Derian Mericle said. “We
had so much trouble trying to
get everybody on the same page
and together. We’re all here
now and ready to get into ac
tion.”
Jeff Smith
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PR1AAARY ELECTIONS
Polling Sites:
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Chapman Hall
Carson Hall
For absentee voting
call 346-0611
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16 Oregon Daily Emerald Thursday, April 15,1999
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