Thursday
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Best Bet
NCAA Tournament: Regional First Round action
9 a.m., CBS
SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
Duck wrestlers chase individual NCAA titles
Seven Ducks
are gunning
for titles at the
NCAA
Championship
in America’s
wrestling
capital: Iowa
City
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
Since early September, the
Oregon wrestling team has been
training for this weekend. For
two seniors, the training began
five years ago.
The 2000-2001 wrestling sea
son comes to a finale this week
end in Iowa City, Iowa, for the
NCAA Championships, which
run Thursday through Saturday.
Seven Ducks will be vying for
individual titles. Oregon hasn’t
sent so many entrants to the big
meet since the 1980-81 season.
“We feel we’ve yet to prove
ourselves on the mat,” Oregon
head coach Chuck Kearney
said. “We have one goal left:
Place in the top
10 at nation
als.”
Senior All
Americans
Doug Lee and
Chael Sonnen
enter the meet as Oregon’s high
est seeds. Both are seeded No. 6
in the 34-man brackets, and both
are chasing their third top-eight
finishes at the NCAA meet.
WRESTLING
Lee, who is 184 pounds and
32-5 this season, makes his
fourth consecutive NCAA ap
pearance and faces unranked
Jeffrey Moskyok of Duquesne in
first round action.
Lee’s biggest obstacle at 184
pounds will be arguably the
greatest wrestler in collegiate
history: Iowa State’s Gael
Sanderson, who is undefeated
in college with a 114-0 record.
“Doug’s goal is to win a na
tional championship,” Kearney
said. “And he wants to wrestle
Turn to Wrestling, page 10
Adam Amato Emerald
Senior Pac-10 champion Doug Lee (right) faces Duquesne’s Jeffrey
Moskyok in the first round of the NCAA Championships.
Spring Preview
Emerald
Sophomore pitcher Andrea Vidlund is aiming to help lead the Ducks to the College World Series.
UO expects improved play
as season opens in March
■The quest for a fourth-straight
postseason berth will rely
on Oregon’s ability to consistently
score runs down the stretch
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
For any other sport, the season would
probably be over already.
But 35 games is only the preseason for
the No. 24 Oregon softball team.
After participating in four tournaments
since the beginning of February, the
Ducks are a mediocre 20-15, far below
many expectations after last season’s trip
to the NCAA Tournament.
“We started off a little rocky and had a
few more losses than we had hoped,”
sophomore pitcher Andrea Vidlund said.
“But we’ve done better lately and have
come together as a team.”
Oregon lacks a solid core of seniors, but
that doesn’t mean the Ducks are inexperi
enced. Nine Ducks return to the lineup
this season, with seniors Kelly Planche
and Triawn Custer lead
ing the charge. Custer
led the team in 2000
with a .331 average and
was named to the Pacif
ic-10 Conference sec
ond-team.
Junior Connie Mc
Murren, the team’s ace
who posted a 1.79 ERA last season, and
Vidlund are the team’s top hurlers. Mc
Murren is 8-5 so far, while Vidlund is 7-3.
Of the nine newcomers, sophomore
Lisa Wangler has stood out as a key figure,
leading the team in batting average, runs
Turn to Softball, page 12
rar .1
Emerald
Oregon junior pole vaulter Niki Reed hopes to qualify for this year’s NOVA Championships meet.
Women's track is motivated
by NCAAs being at Hayward
■The Ducks will try harder than
ever to qualify for this year’s NCAA
Championships as they’re being
held in right here in Tracktown
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
When you think of Oregon track and
field, you think about Steve Prefontaine.
You think about Hayward Field, one of
the most beautiful and legendary track
venues on the West Coast.
When you think of Oregon women’s
track and field, you think dominance and
tradition.
This season, behind the strength of re
turning all-Americans, young talent and
a few experienced additions from other
schools, the Duck women will try to re
store the fading glory of Tracktown, USA.
“We’re a very young team,” Oregon
head coach Tom Heinonen said.
The women will use strong field and
distance units to improve on its ninth
place performance at the Pacific-10 Con
ference Championships last season.
A spark for the Ducks this year will be
the NCAA Champi
onships in late May and
early June. The NCAA’s
would normally b.e mo
tivation enough, but this
season they will be held
at Hayward Field, and
the Oregon athletes say
that will drive them to run, jump and
throw even farther.
“We’d like to have as many people as
possible qualify for the national champi
onships,” senior transfer Hanna Smed
stad said. “Since it’s here, that will be
very exciting.”
Turn to Track, page 12