Rained out The No. 23 Oregon softball team's double header at Portland State was postponed Tuesday because of rain. It was rescheduled for April 12. This Fri day, the Ducks take on No. 3 UCLA at 2p.m. at Howe Field. PAGE 8 Scoreboard USA Today/NFCA Softball Rankings 1. WASHINGTON (27) 2. ARIZONA 3. UCLA 4. CALIFORNIA 5. ARIZONA STATE 6. Fresno State 7. Okalahoma 8. STANFORD 9. Louisiana State 10-South Mississippi 11. OREGON STATE 12. CS Fullerton 13. Michigan 14. Alabama 15. Iowa 16. La-Lafayette 17. Long Beach State 18. South Carolina 19. Mississippi State 20. Oklahoma State 21. Notre Dame 22. Illinois-Chicago 23. OREGON 24. East Carolina 25. Florida Atlantic Few viewers watch NCAA finals The men’s game drew a record low number of viewers, and basketball in general has seen its TV audience decline. PAGE 10 Trips to the ballpark will cost a lot more The average ticket prices have increased more than 11 percent over last year, but fans can be treated to three brand new baseball parks. PAGE 10 McGwire hopes to be back in on Wednesday The Cardinals’ star believes he prevented more serious in jury by taking himself out of the game Monday after a back strain. PAGE 12 Best Bet NBA: Houston vs. Portland 7 p.m., FoxSports Net Wednesday April 5,2000 Volume 101, Issue 124 Emerakl • ■ - > ' V Azle Malinao-Alvarez Emerald After a stint in the Israeli army, Oded Teig comes to the Ducks as a most-reliable freshman. By Robbie McCallum for the Emerald The road to Oregon has been a long one for Oded Teig. The fresh man from Holon, Israel has had to deal with numerous obstacles in his quest to study and play tennis here. The 22-year-old freshman has waited three years to play tennis at an American university, be cause Teig, like all Israeli males, had to fulfill mandatory military service for his country. Before joining the army, Teig was well on his way to stardom. He was a top junior, ranked No. 4 in the Israeli 18-and-under divi sion and had made it to the finals of the Israel Junior Champi onships. Following high school, he spent three years in the Israeli Army, rising to the rank of lieu , tenant com mander. He was in charge of an artillery unit of be tween 10 and 15 men. He had many re sponsibilities as a unit leader. The army “makes people more mature,” Teig said. “I’m happy that I did it, but I’m glad it’s over.” During those three years in the army, Teig had little time for ten nis. “I’m sure it hurt my game,” Teig said. “I missed [tennis] a lot. I got to play a little on the weekends, but nothing much.” When Teig got out of the Army, he quickly was recruited by Oregon head coach Chris Russell. “Everything looked good [in Eugene],” Teig said. “I wanted to compete at a high level and I think the Pac-10 is the highest. ” But yet another obstacle got in Teig’s way. The NCAA found that Teig’s acceptance of funds while in the army was an infrac tion of its regulations. As a re Tum to Oded Teig, page 9 Oded Teig Oregon’s No. 3 player Height: 5-foot 9 Year: fresh* man Bom: July 3, 1977 in Holon, Israel The right handed player was ranked No. 4 in Israel inthe18-and under division before serving three years of mandatory military duty for three years ... 19-6 overall record second only to senior teammate Guillermo Carter... last fall he went 7 3t including a win against No. 85)eremy Berman from Washington. Golfers fourth, but count small victories The men’s golf team is led by the play of captain Ryan Lavoie at San Jose State’s Western Intercollegiate By Peter Hockaday for the Emerald The Oregon men’s golf team may have placed fourth at the Western Intercollegiate Tues day, but it earned an important victory nonetheless. The Ducks took on five Pacific-10 conference opponents at San Jose State’s tour nament and — a week and a half before the Pac-10 Championships — beat all five. Oregon (859,19-over par) fin ished the tournament in fourth place behind No. 7 Fresno State (838, two-under), Pepperdine (845, five-over) and Kansas (857,17-over). The Ducks were aided by Long Beach State’s poor per formance in the final round. The 49ers shot a round-three 13-over par and let the Ducks, who played consistently all tournament, move up to fourth. Senior co-captain Ryan Lavoie, who has carried the Ducks all season, did it once again at the Western. Lavoie shot three-under par over the fi nal 36 holes at the tournament and finished in third place of 100 golfers. Sophomore Chris Carnahan and senior co-captain Andrew Tredway shared spots in the top-20 with Lavoie. Carnahan finished 14th, while Tredway finished in a tie for 20th. The Ducks got their third straight top-four finish Tuesday. But, more importantly, they proved their ability to defeat Pac-10 conference foes on a tough golf course. The Pasatiempo Golf Course is one of the best — and hardest — courses in the country. Com bine that with three ranked con ference opponents and the Ducks’ fourth place finish be gins to look impressive. Western intercollegiate leaders Top teams 1. Fresno State (838, -2) 2. Pepperdine(845,+5) 3. Kansas(857,+17) 4. Oregon (859, +19) Top individuals 1. Jason Allred, Pepper dine (-11) 2. Ryan King, Fresno State (-3) 3. Ryan Lavoie, Oregon (-D Gordy Scutt, Washing ton (-1) The Ducks were one of two top-30 teams to survive and fin ish in the top five at the West ern. No. 8 Brigham Young fin ished ninth, No. 14 Stanford finished 12th, No. 15 Southern California finished 15th and No. 23 Washington finished sixth. The play of Lavoie was cru cial for the Ducks at the Western Intercollegiate, but he is used to the pressure. The co-captain from Pasco, Wash., has been Oregon’s top finisher at four tournaments this year. Last year Turn to Golfers, page 12