Best Bet
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs,
Philadelphia vs. New Jersey
4:30 p.m., ESPN
SWIMMING
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Af
ter 19 years, it’s goodbye, Mary
T. Swimming finally has a new
Madame Butterfly.
In just 2 minutes, 5.81 sec
onds Wednesday, Susie O’Neill
erased swimming’s oldest
record in the 200-meter butter
fly and part of Mary T.
Meagher’s legend with it.
Backed by a crowd of 10,000
plus, the 26-year-old Australian
shaved 0.15 off the longest
standing world record in the
sport after six years of f rustrat
ingly close calls.
O’Neill had just turned 8
years-old when Meagher set
the world record of 2:05.96 on
Aug. 13,1981, at Brown Deer,
Wis.
Now with Olympic and world
championship gold medals to
her credit and still possessing
Meagher’s autograph that she
gained as a starry-eyed teen,
O’Neill secured the only prize
she thought might elude her.
“Finally,” the 26-year-old said
after a celebratory dance on
the pool deck following the
record-setting effort in the fi
nals of the Australian Olympic
trials. “I saw the time and saw
the world record flash up. It
was one of the greatest mo
ments of my life.”
TENNIS
ROME(AP)—Venus Williams
routed Chanda Rubin in the
Italian Open on Wednesday
and put aside retirement talk
—for the moment.
Playing only her third match
since returning to the tour
from a six-month layoff,
Williams was overpowering.
She won 6-1,6-2 to move into
the third round of the day
court tuneup for this month’s
French Open.
Williams, seeded third,
served well and seemed com
fortable on the clay as she be
gan defense of her Italian title.
Richard Williams, father of
Venus and younger sister Sere
na, caused a stir this year when
he suggested Venus might re
tire to devote time to her stud
ies and investments. He even
hinted she might enter politics.
“I still have fun playing ten
nis," Venus Williams said. “This
is what I want to do at this
point... If I decide this is not
good for me, I'll definitely re
| tire.”
SOCCER
COPENHAGEN, Denmai* (AP)
— Riot police fired tear gas in
a city square near Tivoli gar
dens today, and at least three
people were stabbed during
mayhem prior to a major soc
cer championship.
Rival fans tossed chairs and
bottles after a night of violence
in the hours before a title game
between Gaiatasaray of Tu rkey
and Arsenal of England.
Thursday
May 18,2000
Volume 101, Issue 155
Emerald
Ducks start NOVA
tournament play
The No. 19
Oregon softball
team traveled
across the
country to take
on a familiar
foe in Southern
Mississippi
today in Baton
Rouge
any
By Matt O'Neill
Oregon Daily Emerald
The road couldn’t get
tougher for the Ducks.
Not only do they (34-24 over
all, 6-15 Pacific-10 Conference)
have to travel
across the
country for
their regional
tournament,
but they also
have to face
the NCAA all
time strikeout
leader in their first game in Baton
Rouge, La., against Southern Mis
sissippi (56-10) and Courtney
Blades.
But don’t tell that to head
coach Rick Gamez or his team.
After playing in the grueling Pac
Tum to Softball, page 11A
■-_lam_:_
Kevin CalameEmerald
Sophomore catcher Missy Coe and teammates hope to extend their postseason as long as possible.
Humble hitter
Even though his consistently low scores have been so important to Oregon’s success, co-captain Ryan Lavoie keeps his head, saying he likes to Mbe a gentleman.”
Oregon’s best runs the course modestly
Senior co
captain Ryan
Lavoie has a
long list of
accomplish
mentsasan
Oregon
golfer, but he
doesn’t want
you to know
about it
1
by Peter Hockaday
for the Emerald
On the first tee of his final
practice round before the
NCAA West Regionals Monday,
Ryan Lavoie stepped up to his
ball and surveyed the scene.
With little hesitation, the
Oregon co-captain slapped it
250 yards straight down the
first fairway at the Eugene
Country Club. As his team
mates sarcastically applauded
what must have been a routine
shot for Lavoie, he turned to
them with a sheepish grin. No
comment, no arrogant walk,
just a simple, heart-felt smile.
This is how Ryan Lavoie has
come to lead the Oregon men’s
golf team.
The Pasco, Wash., native
shoots low scores but tries, in
his words, to “be a gentleman”
off the course. This year, he be
came just the third Oregon
player in 21 years to earn all Pa
cific-10 Conference first team
honors, but, as co-captain An
drew Tredway says, he is “a
quiet guy.”
Ryan Lavoie is not an ordi
nary athlete. On the brink of
ending his Oregon career, the
soft-spoken senior is still as
humble as he was as a fresh
man.
“I’m trying to lead by exam
ple,” he said.
“I was always the rookie. I
know how I looked up to the
other guys, so I know what
they’re looking for. Your scores,
I think, are the last thing the
younger players look at.”
Lavoie has certainly provid
ed the scores to complement
his off-course attitude. He won
the Peter Jacobsen Award as
Duck newcomer of the year in
1997, and this year has the
team’s lowest stroke average.
As if those honors weren’t
enough, he has a No. 41 nation
al ranking to go along with his
first team all Pac-10 honors.
Last summer, Lavoie played
in six tournaments as an indi
vidual, won four of them, and
qualified for the U.S. Amateur.
All that, combined with a 23rd
place finish at the NCAA
Championships last year and
two top-five finishes in the fall,
made him Pacific Northwest
Golf Association golfer of the
year in 1999.
But ask him if any of those
individual accomplishments
mean anything to him, and he
politely changes the subject.
“The team is more important
than you as an individual,” he
said. “Our main goal is to go
out as a team and play well.
Anything individual is a
bonus.”
Lavoie has led the Ducks in
seven of 12 tournaments this
year, and at five of those tourna
ments the team finished fourth
or better. There is no doubt that
his scores boost his team.
Turn to Lavoie, page 10A
il Your
scores, I
think, are
the last
thing the
younger
players
look at
11