Duck tennis teams ready
for non-conference play
■ The Oregon tennis teams
get a break in Pac-10 play and
hope for wins against West
Coast Conference schools
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
In the rough-and-tumble Pacific
10 Conference, tennis matches are
always intense and wins are hard
fought. Just ask the Oregon tennis
teams, who are a combined 0-8 in
conference play this season.
Outside of Pac-10 play, however,
the Ducks are 8-3. This weekend,
Oregon will get a chance to lick its
wounds against non-conference op
ponents at home and on the road.
The No. 68-ranked men begin to
wrap up their two-month-long
homestand against West Coast Con
ference schools Portland and Santa
Clara. The Ducks are winners in
four of their last five matches, the
lone loss coming to No. 6 Washing
ton.
On Saturday, Portland makes its
fourth visit to the Student Tennis
Center this season, despite not yet
having played the Ducks. The Pi
lots share a home schedule with the
Ducks, facing most opponents that
Oregon does on homestands.
Portland (2-2) is led by sopho
more Peter Malacek and junior
Nick Tostenrude. Last season, the
Ducks swept the Pilots 7-0 in Port
land for their first sweep of the sea
son. The match begins at noon Sat
urday.
Santa Clara (5-2) should provide
more of a challenge for the Ducks.
The Broncos have won five straight
matches and nearly pulled off up
sets over Arizona and Arizona
State. The Broncos swept Arizona
in doubles play before succumbing,
then pushed the No. 24 Sun Devils
to the limit in four matches.
The Ducks counter with sopho
more Oded Teig, who is 16-9 in sin
gles play. Senior David Beckerand
freshman Martin Pawlowski com
prise Oregon’s top doubles team.
The No. 51 Duck women will
face the toughest match of the
weekend at Fresno State. After tak
ing on Loyola Marymount at 1 p.m.
Saturday, the Ducks entertain No.
30 Fresno State.
The Bulldogs are 3-1 on the sea
son with upsets over Pac-10
schools UCLA and Washington.
All-American Kim Niggenmeyer
and No. 28 Leisl Fichtbauer lead
the Fresno State attack. The Bull
dogs’ lone loss came to top-ranked
Stanford earlier this season.
Loyola Marymount should be
less of a challenge for the 3-5 Duck
women. The Lions are 3-3 on the
season in the West Coast Confer
ence. The Lions are led by junior
transfer Andrea Lord, who played
on the Mississippi State team that
eliminated Oregon from the NCAA
Tournament last season.
Both matches will be played at
the Spalden G. Wathen Tennis Cen
ter in Fresno.
Weir brings low scores to Florida
oy i/uug rcigu^uu
The Associated Press
MIAMI — Mike Weir’s philoso
phy about going low on the PGA
Tour is to remain patient. He did
n’t have to wait long to lead anoth
er assault on the Blue Monster,
shooting a career-low 62 for a two
stroke lead in the Genuity Champi
onship.
With two eagles on his first eight
holes, Weir took advantage of near
ly perfect conditions Thursday to
post the lowest first-round score in
the 40-year history at Doral.
“The course is definitely there
for the taking,” said Weir, whose
62 was the lowest ever shot by a
left-handed player on the PGA
Tour.
Not many would disagree.
Glen Day had eight birdies in a
round of 64 and was kicking him
self. He missed three putts inside 8
feet and made only two putts
longer than 10 feet. He was tied
with Stewart Cink, whose 64 was
the best round of the afternoon
when a breeze picked up.
Davis Love III brought his game
from the West Coast Swing, and
with three birdies on the last five
holes finished with a 65, along
with Steve Flesch, Harrison Frazar
and K.J. Choi of Korea.
Ernie Els had a bogey-free 66
and was joined by Hal Sutton,
three-time Doral champion Andy
Bean and Nissan Open winner
Robert Allenby, who proved he
can play just as well in balmy sun
shine as the rain in California.
Even 61-year-old Jack Nicklaus,
playing on the PGA Tour for the
first time this year, had few com
plaints with his 2-under 70 — ex
cept for three straight bogeys as he
was making the turn.
“I fell asleep in the middle of the
round,” Nicklaus said. “But at my
age, I need a nap.”
The average score was 70.44,
and 90 players broke par. Barring a
blast of wind that often blows
through south Florida in the
spring, everyone is going to need
to post low numbers to have a
LiliclIlLiU Uil OUIlUdy.
A year ago, Jim Furyk won at 23
under 265, and Love suggested
that four rounds at 5- or 6-under
par should be enough to win. In
deed, the Blue Monster at Doral
has looked more like the Blue
Marshmallow lately.
“It was a little more than I ex
pected,” Weir said. “I made a
birdie on the first hole, a 15-footer
that got me in a rhythm with my
putter. That seemed to set the tone
for the day.”
What separated Weir from the
rest of the pack was a little luck.
C ( I fell asleep in the
middle of the round. But
at my age, I need a nap.
Jack Nicklaus
PGA player
From a difficult lie in the rough
on No. 3, wanting only to hit the
front part of the green and sneak
off with a par, Weir hit a 9-iron
from 140 yards. The ball landed
about 10 feet on the green, then
rolled like the purest putt for the
final 50 feet and went in for eagle.
On the next hole, his 35-foot
putt was streaking across the green
when it hit the back of the cup,
popped into the air and dropped
in for birdie.
“I just got two great breaks out of
the gate,” the Canadian said. “I’m
not known as a fast starter. I’ll take
it.”
The course record at Doral is a
61, set in the second round last
year by Stephen Ames. Still, the
sight of a 10-under 62 posted on
the board before half the field even
stuck a peg in the ground was
daunting — despite the low scor
ing on tour this year.
“I thought they left the pro-am
scores up from yesterday,” Love
said.
Not everyone took advantage.
David Duval, who agreed to a
new contract with Nike and
aitcnea nis sun vaiiey cap ror tne
swoosh, was 2 over on his first five
holes and had to scramble for a 69.
Masters champion Vijay Singh had
a 70, while Nick Price had a 71.
Greg Norman never got a chance
to test his enthusiasm about play
ing. He woke up Thursday morn
ing with a fever of 103 degrees and
had to withdraw.
Weir tied the Doral record of 29
on the front side, last matched by
Tom Kite in 1979, and started
thinking about a 59.
“Any time you shoot sub-30 on
nine holes, it kind of crosses your
mind,” Weir said.
Such thoughts were dashed
when his drive on the par-5 10th
got hung up in a shaggy strip of
rough between the fairway and a
bunker, leaving him no chance to
get there in two. He took birdie out
of the equation on No. 11 by hit
ting his drive into a bunker.
“If I was going to get anything
from the back nine, I probably
needed something there,” he said.
He had to settle for a ho-hum 62,
which any more seems old hat.
In Weir’s case, it topped his pre
vious best round of 63 last shot in
Las Vegas last year, and it was
good enough to give him the lead.
That’s something that never gets
old.
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