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. -