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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 27, 2001)
Friday Best Bet NBA Playoffs: Miami at Charlotte 5 p.m.,TNT SPORTS EDITOR: J EFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com UO football hits the road for Spring Game ATier Tour weeks of workouts, the Ducks are excited about traveling to Hillsboro and playing in a game f By Jeff Smith Oregon Daily Emerald On the field, there will be the Ore gon cheerleaders. In the stands, there will be the sounds of the Oregon Marching Band firing up the Duck faithful. And just about everywhere in between, there will be the Duck mas cot. But the setting will be Hillsboro Sta dium near Portland, as opposed to Autzen Stadium, which is undergoing an expansion and renovation. That’s just fine with the Oregon foot ball team, as the Ducks conclude their spring season at 1 p.m. Saturday with the annual Spring Game, in which the team splits into two, playing green against white. “It’s a change leaving Eugene and go ing to play somewhere else, so that’ll be fun and exciting,” wide receiver Ja son Willis said. “I think just by us trav eling somewhere as a team for the first time, it will get everybody fired up to play in a game-like atmosphere with the crowd and everything else.” The Ducks began spring workouts April 2, practicing three times a week as well as participating in three scrim mages. All the work culminates with Saturday’s game, which is Oregon’s fi nal time in pads until fall workouts be gin in mid-August. Much is expected of Oregon after its Turn to Football, page 9 . .... Tom Patterson Emerald Wide receiver Jason Willis has been one of the many offensive positives this spring for the Ducks. Track teams back at Hayward to host Invitational Tom Patterson Emerald Simon Kimata’s goal is to run under one minute, 50 seconds in the 800-meters. ■ Oregon will face stiff competition from collegiate and unattached athletes By Robbie McCallum Oregon Daily Emerald Hayward Field will host its largest assemblage of track and field athletes since the Prefontaine Classic last June and until the NCAA Champi onships this May. With over 1,000 athletes expected to compete, the 2001 Oregon Invitational looks to be the Oregon men’s track and field team’s most ex citing event of the season thus far. Twenty-seven teams and hundreds of unattached ath letes will compete in the annu al meet. The meet is so large that it will be divided into three sessions. The 10,000-meter run will take place tonight at 8 p.m., followed by the remaining events on Satur day. The top eight entrants in each event will compete in the Saturday evening session with the remaining athletes competing in the day ses sion. Several collegiate leaders will compete Satur day, including Oregon’s own John Stiegeler in the javelin. Joining Stiegeler will be Pac-10 qualifier Adam Jenkins and sophomore Nick Bakke. Other favorites to win NCAA titles are Idaho’s Joachim Olsen, the 2000 NCAA champion in the shot put, and Utah State’s James Parker in the hammer throw. Junior John Bello is seeded sev enth behind Olsen in the throwing events while sophomore Adam Kriz is seeded fourth in the hammer throw. Oregon’s Jason Boness will battle collegiate leader Charles Klinger of Weber State in the high jump. Klinger has cleared seven feet, seven inch es this season while Boness, the 2000 Pac-10 Champion, has a lifetime best of 7-5. “I’m looking forward to the competition,” Boness said. “I’m looking for an NCAA provi Turn to Men’s, page 9 ■The Ducks will look for improved scores at the Oregon Invitational this weekend By Peter Hockaday Oregon Daily Emerald Small meets with little competition, large meets with tough competition, and now the Oregon women’s track and field team will take on a field that is somewhere in between at the Oregon Invitational on Hayward Field this weekend. The Ducks will continue their quest to have as many athletes as possible qualify for the NCAA Championships, which will be held at Hay ward Field in late May. The action will kick off tonight with the women’s 10,000 meter race at 7:15 p.m., and the men’s 10,000 at 10 p.m. Sat urday’s events start with the men’s discus at 3:00 p.m. “There will be 700 to 800 athletes at this meet,” Oregon sprints coach Mark Stream said. “It’s good local and regional competition. That’s an equation that usually leads to success.” Several Oregon athletes will look to qualify for the NCAAs this weekend, or move up the NCAA provisional list. Senior Hanna Smedstad has run an NCAA provisional time in the 10,000,'but could move up from her current na tional position of 19th. Freshman Sarah Malone could move up from sixth nationally in the javelin and sophomore Mary Etter looks to im prove from fifth in the discus. “We’re expecting a lot of personal records, and lot more Pac-10 marks,” sophomore middle distance runner Janette Davis said. “I think this is going to be the meet when people really start to get'after it and do some good things.” The pole vault could be the most hotly con tested competition of the meet. Oregon’s Niki Reed, currently third on the national list, may Turn to Women’s, page 8 Tom Patterson Emerald Ann Sullivan has already qualified for the Pac-10s in the 100-meter hurdles. Oregon tennis teams struggle during first day of Pac-10s ■The men and women have a hard time getting past their opponents at the league tourney By Jeff Smith Oregon Daily Emerald After day one of the Pacific-10 Conference Tennis Championships, only one player each from the men’s and women’s teams recorded victories Thursday. For the Oregon men’s team, Chris King de feated Washington’s Matt Leon 6-4, 6-1, but 1 he did so in the invitational bracket. On the women’s side, sophomore Monika Gieczys advanced to the main draw’s round of 16 by getting past UCLA’s Petya Marinova... kind of. The two actually never played be cause Marinova was forced to withdraw from the match due to injury. Other than King and Gieczys, it was mostly a down day for the Ducks at the league tournament in Ojai,Calif. TENNIS The women’s top singles player didn’t go down without a fight in her singles match. Janice Nyland forced Arizona’s Laresa Marino to earn her first round victory. Nyland dropped the first set 6-3, but came back to cap ture the second by a count of 6-4 to force a third and final set. Nyland, though, couldn’t finish Marino off and lost 6-3. The only other women’s Duck in the main draw was Davina Mendiburu, who fell to Wash ington State’s Erica Perkins, 6-1,6-2. Oregon’s Courtney Nagle and Jeannette Mattson both competed in the invitational bracket,hut lost. As for the men, each of its four competitors in the main draw of 32 were defeated in straight sets. Oregon’s Oded Teig couldn’t handle California’s Balazs Veress (6-4, 6-3), Buck Mink had a tough time with Arizona State’s Nic Dubey (6-1,6-1) and David Becker battled tough, but lost against Jean-Noel Grin da of UCLA (6-3,6-4). Rounding out the four man Duck crew was Martin Pawlowski, who got beat by ASU’s Mirza Duranovic. Both Duck teams will return to action to day with doubles play and Thursday’s losers will also compete in the consolation bracket. -
