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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2000)
Friday Best Bet MLB Playoffs: N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, ALCS Game 3 NBC, 5:15 p.m. SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com Erin Swanson-Davies Emerald Oregon defender Molly Stemp (20) in action against Arizona last Sunday. Stemp and the rest of the Ducks will try to continue their recent success when they take on No. 7 UCLA and No. 13 USC this weekend. Soccer hopes to ‘mentally’ edge UCLA) USC IBThe Ducks are trying to use a newfound mental toughness and a new offense to upset the 13th- and 7th-ranked teams in the country By Peter Hockaday Oregon Daily Emerald After a relatively easy opening weekend against the Arizona schools, the Oregon soc cer team (4-9-0, 1-1-0) will take on the big girls of the Pacific-10 Conference this week end in southern California. After finding their offense last weekend, the Ducks will find out this weekend if they are, in fact, for real. Oregon will take on No. 13 Southern California today and No. 7 UCLA Sunday. The Ducks will head into this weekend’s games with a revamped offense and a re vamped attitude. The Ducks split their first two Pac-10 games against the Arizona schools last weekend, and came within eight minutes of a sweep before Arizona State scored two goals in the waning mo ments of Friday’s game. Oregon head coach Bill Steffen dismissed Sunday’s win against Arizona as unimpor tant. He wants his team to improve every time they take the field. “I told the kids I think we can get better,” Steffen said. “Our goal is to develop every game, so we’ve got to play better this week end.” Steffen has said all season that his team needs to be stronger mentally and thought that they did that against Arizona last Sun day. “I’m happy to see us play intelligently as well as giving a great physical effort,” Stef fen said. The biggest change for Oregon in last weekend’s games was the offense. Playing without three key members, the offense I Duck runners aim to earn valuable points at Pre-NCAAs The Duck Harriers look to solidify a trip to the NCAA meet with a strong showing at the Pre-NCAAs IgA 1 By Robbie McCallum Oregon Daily Emerald It could make or break the Ore gon cross country teams’ seasons. Depending on its performanc es, the Pre-NCAA meet could be the first or last trip to the Iowa State cross country course this season for the Ducks. An impressive showing at the meet, which previews the NCAA Championship meet on Nov. 20, could mean an almost guaranteed bid for NCAAs. A poor showing could mean that the Ducks’ sea sons would end at the Western Regional meet on Nov. 11. “Our most important goal is to beat some teams that will be vy ing for an at-large selection in No vember,” Oregon women’s coach Tom Heinonen said. “This is the big meet that the selection com mittee uses for sorting out the NCAAs.” The top-two schools from each of the nine regions automatically qualify for the NCAAs. The selec tion committee then selects 13 additional at-large teams. The committee heavily weighs their decisions on national rankings and performances at the Pre NCAA meet. Seventeen of the nation’s top 25 teams will be on hand for the meet, which stands to be the largest collegiate meet ever run. Seventy-two teams are entered, totaling more than 450 runners in each race. “We need to take care of busi ness in Ames,” Heinonen said. “It will put us in a good spot to be in come November.” The Ducks haven’t missed many NCAA meets over the years. Heinonen’s women have been to 23 NCAA meets in the 25 years it has been a varsity sport. The men have gone onto 28 post season appearances since 1963, including seven in the last eight years. “The meet will give us a good look at the national course,” Heinonen said. “Having been in Ames will help us feel more con fident in November. But it will be dramatically different when we come back. It’s fall now, but it will be winter when we come back — essentially.” The Ducks will field much more experienced teams this year than last year. Five of the seven women entered ran at the NCAA meet last year. Five Duck men Turn to Cross country, page 9A Tennis program loses two more talented players ■The Oregon men’s tennis team runs into a roadblock: Two of its top returning players have left the team By Robbie McCallum Oregon Daily Emerald It has become a disturbing trend in Oregon tennis: players leaving the program before their eligibility runs out. Two more Ducks have left the men’s team, leaving head coach Chris Russell with only five play ers on the roster. Thomas Schneiter, Oregon’s top returning player, and sopho more Leslie Eisinga, the projected No. 3 starter, have both left Eu gene and the Oregon program. Schneiter, who would have been a junior this year, did not en roll at Oregon this fall and is cur rently at his home near VVorb, Switzerland. Schneiter, who was the last remaining member of the 1998 recruiting class, was expect ed to carry the Ducks this season and ease the loss of three seniors from last year’s team. Eisinga announced his transfer to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas this fall. The native of Helleveetsluis, Netherlands, was Oregon’s No. 4 player last season and was the first freshman in school history to qualify for the NCAAs. Eisinga and now graduated Guillermo Carter qualified for the national tournament after placing second in the Pacific-10 Conference. Eisinga is now UNLV’s No. 3 player and is ranked 27th in dou bles with fellow Rebel Nenad Zivkovic. The departures are another blot on the tennis program’s resume. Last season, the women’s team lost one of its most prized re cruits, Amy Juppenlatz. The freshman from Portland left the team at mid-season and now plays for Purdue. Two years ago, the men lost an other prized recruit after only one season. Bertrand Devillers, a na tive of Ecaussinnes, Belgium, went home for the summer in 1999 and did not return. Devillers and Schneiter were recruited to gether and were expected to bring the Oregon program to new heights. Instead, the Duck roster now has no juniors and an uncer tain future. . ..' . Turn to Tennis, page 9A Two more Ducks have left the men's team, leaving head coach Chris Russell with only five players on the roster.
