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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2000)
Best Bet NHL Stanley Cup Finals Game 2: New Jersey vs. Dallas 5 p.m., ESPN Sports Thursday June 1,2000 Volume 101, Issue 164 Emerald Ducks set to make presence known at NCAAs ■ Oregon makes its first showing at the NCAA Championships as three athletes compete on day two of the four-day meet By Jeff Smith * Oregon Daily Emerald The national rankings are im pressive. But to prove those rankings on the national stage would be even more convincing. Oregon track athletes Mary Et ter, Katie Crabb and Steve Fein will get the opportunity to do just that today in the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Durham, N.C. The three are the first Ducks out of the seven Oregon competitors to compete against the nation’s elite. Etter gets things kick-started as she competes in the women’s dis cus at 4:30 p.m. The redshirt freshman is seeded 16th in the na tion after heaving a personal best discus throw of 173 feet-11 inches at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships last week. She has been known to be “un predictable,” but that’s what makes her appearance at the NCAAs so intriguing. She’s '‘kind of like a firecracker in a heated box,” throws coach Sally Harmon said. “You just don’t know' when it’s going to go off. And that’s exciting.” Harmon then goes on to com pare her with a famous box-of fice hit. “You know that movie ‘There’s Some thing About Mary’?” Harmon asked. “That’s her. There’s some thing about Mary. She’s very excit ing.” Two other Ducks who are “very exciting” in their own right are 1,500 meter runners Fein and Crabb. Fein, ranked sixth in the nation, will get the shot to make up for an up-and-down spring when he competes in the 1,500 Qualifying at 7:55 p.m. The senior will see a familiar face in South Alabama freshman David Kimani. Back in the fall, the two were a part of a memorable three-man finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in which Kimani took first and Fein captured third. Third-place was not exactly where Crabb envisioned finishing at her final Pac-10 meet, but at 8:10 p.m. tonight she has the chance to atone for the slight dis appointment in the 1,500 Qualify ing run. At stake is the prestigious All American honor that eighth-seed ed Crabb has set as her personal goal. “She’s got a great chance,” head coach Tom Heinonen said. “She’s got to run smarter and finish strongly, and she’ll be fine.” Santiago Lorenzo and Niki Reed will compete on Friday while Ja son Boness and Karis Howell have to wait until Saturday to show what they can do. Oregon bids farewell to seniors and eyes its future Kevin Calame Emerald Sophomore catcher Missy Coe (above) made the AII-Pac-10 Conference second team while, Andrea Vidlund (8) learned from seniors Jill Robinson (middle) and Lindsey Welch. ■The No. 19 Ducks made the NCAA Regionalsand had six players selected to All-Conference teams By Matt O'Neill Oregon Daily Emerald (There were some lofty goals set in the beginning. Some of them were met, some were not. But overall, the Oregon soft ball season was a success as the No. 19 Ducks made their second' consecutive trip to the NCAA Re gionals, falling one game short of the coveted College World Se ries. If it were not for All-American Courtney Blades of Southern Mississippi, Oregon would have made only its second trip to the CWS in school history. “We definitely should have gone,” senior Jill Robinson said. “When things don’t turn out the way you wanted, you have a ten dency to look back at them as a ' failure. But I don’t think that our season was a failure.” Taking a look back over the season in which the Ducks fin ■ ished 36-29 overall, it can defi nitely be seen as a season of records and streaks. Robinson and fellow departing seniors Lindsey Welch and An drea Gustafson left their marks in the Oregon record books. All three were named to the honorable mention All Pacific-10 Conference team. Sophomore pitcher Connie MGMurren joined the seniors on the honorable mention All-Con ference team. Missy Coe and Tri awn Custer were named to the All-Conference second team. Robinson etched her name atop both the single-season and career home run categories. Her 15 four-baggers pushed her ahead of Katie Mackey for most in one season and her 33 career total puts her two ahead of Kathy Stahl. “You come in as a freshman and say ‘I can get up there,’” Robinson said. “I’m glad that I broke these records because I worked hard.” Along with her home run ac Turn to Softball, page 16A
