Emerald
Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Sports Editor: Tim Pyle
Best Bet
NBA Preseason Basketball
5p.m.,TNT
UO hopes to seize victory against rivals
The Ducks are
shooting fora
postseason
berth and for
revenge against
Washington and
Washington
State this
weekend
By Brett williams
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Washington schools have nev
er been particularly kind to the Ore
gon soccer team.
In the last three years, the Ducks
(5-8 overall, 1-2 Pacific-10 Confer
ence) are a combined 0-6 against
their Northwest rivals.
Oregon will again test the waters
Friday against Washington State and
Sunday against Washington.
Duck forward Sierra Marsh — who
attended Shorecrest High School in
Seattle— considers the Huskies one
of Oregon’s biggest rivals.
“It’s big because a lot of us are
from Washington,” said Marsh, who
is tied with Erin Anderson for the
team lead in shots with 25. “We have
played with a lot of their players in
» the past, too.”
The Ducks 4-0 win against Oregon
State last weekend gave Oregon a big
mental boost. Four different players
scored against the Ducks’ in-state ri
val.
“It was very encouraging because
it gives our players confidence to
shoot the ball,” defender Carrie
McLanahan said. “It gives them
courage, too. We can’t leave it to two
people to score.”
That’s the way it has been for the
Ducks thus far this season, as they
have relied primari
ly on Chalise Baysa
and Anderson to
provide the majori
ty of the scoring.
Baysa leads the
team in goals with
seven and Ander
son is right behind her with five to
her credit. No other player has more
than one goal this season.
The Ducks will need a full team ef
fort against the Cougars (6-7,0-3),
who edged Oregon 1-0 last season in
the first meeting between the schools
at Pape Field.
Washington State goalkeeper
Lindsay Jorgenson shut out the
Ducks last season, and she remains
one of the marquee goalies in the
P.ac-10. The sophomore from North
Bend, Wash., leads the conference
with 70 saves.
Jeffrey Stockton Emerald
Kristi Morris and her teammates will continue to attack against the Washington schools.
The Huskies (4-7-1, 1-1-1) domi
nated the Ducks last season in Eu
gene. Oregon made itself look re
spectable with a late goal by
midfielder T.J. Johnson, who nar
rowed the Washington lead to 3-2.
Currently, the Huskies are coming
off two close matches in which they
Turn to Soccer, Page 12A
Newcomers quickly learning the ropes
Jeffrey Stockton Emerald
Kristi Morris and her teammates will continue to attack against the Washington schools.
■ Five additions to the women’s
basketball team are all ready to
the help defend the Pac-10 title
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
So they’re not as defensively adept as
the Oregon coaching staff would have
them be — at least not yet.
But no one’s worried because the
four freshman and one sophomore
transfer — Amanda, Courtney, Kourt
ney, Alissa, and Alyssa — all have the
makings of prototypi
cal, ungiving Duck de
l fenders.
“This is the best
I group of new players of
fensively that we’ve had
in the five years that I’ve
been here,” assistant
coach Fred Litzenberger said. “Now, de
fensively, they’re gonna struggle.
“Most high school players don’t get
taught very much defense. To be a good
defensive player at this level, you have
to have really good defensive tech
nique. But I think they all have the ath
letic ability to learn, it’s just a matter of
how quickly they pick it up.”
A week into team practices, and the
newcomers already recognize Oregon’s
defensive fetish.
Courtney Moore, a 6-foct forward
who’s exchanged a lively Reno setting
for laid-back Eugene and a much faster
form of basketball, said she plans to
bring “defensive intensity” to the team.
“I’d like to play,” Moore said. “I’d
like to get in there.”
Moore was the four-time Nevada
state player of the year also led her Mc
Queen high school team to four straight
state titles with a career average of 15
points, seven rebounds and four assists
per game.
Kourtney Shreve is a 5-7 guard from
Albany. She earned second-team all
state accolades after averaging 20
points and four rebounds per game in
high school.
“Kourtney has great poten tial to be able
Turn to Newcomers, Page 13A
Ducks want
turnaround
on the road
■ The return of outside hitter
Monique Tobbagi could inspire
Oregon to its first Pacific-10 *
Conference win of the season
By Scott Pesznecker
Oregon Daily Emerald
The sting of last Saturday’s 15-0 game
three loss to Southern California was still
being felt by the Oregon volleyball team on
Wednesday.
“That was a pretty difficult time for us,”
Oregon head coach Cathy
I Nelson said. “It’s been
tough. We’re gradually
putting it behind us and
looking at what we need to
do.”
What the Ducks need to
do, Nelson said, is play
well against Washington State in Pullman,
Wash, tonight at 7 p.m. Oregon’s two-game
road trip winds down Saturday at 7 p.m. in
Seattle, Wash, against Washington.
Nelson considers both opponents beat
able. The Ducks were swept by the Cougars
and lost in four games to the Huskies in the
teams’ previous meetings, but the return of
sophomore phenom Monique Tobbagi
could give the Ducks a needed lift.
“Having Monique back definitely pro
vides a spark,” Nelson said. “That’s some
thing that we need, and having our best
player back on the floor is going to make a
big difference. That’s a real catalyst for us
right now, and we need to use that and
have everybody focus on what they can do.
“If everyone can play well, with the ad
dition of Monique, then I think we’ll be a
pretty good team.”
As of Wednesday’s practice, Tobbagi’s
athletic activity was being closely moni
tored. The outside hitter was limited to five
jumps on Tuesday and 20 jumps Wednes
day.
Tobbagi described her current fitness
and playing level at “ ibout 85 percent.”
Turn to Volleyball, Page 12A