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Tom Patterson Emerald
Oregon sophomore John Ellis has high hopes for himself and the team at the NCAA Regional at Trysting Tree Golf Course in Corvallis.
A HIDDEN
Sophomore John Ellis has been a spark plug
for the men’s golf team in his first year
of top collegiate action
t*y jen >mitn
Oregon Daily Emerald
John Ellis admits he’s a
“shy guy.”
His roommate Matt Gen
ovese describes him as “quiet,
settled and passive.”
In fact, put Ellis on the golf
» course with anyone else and
you couldn’t tell by his ex
pression who was doing bet
ter.
“You get out and play with
him and you think you’re
staying at his same level and
hitting the ball just as well as
he is,” said Genovese, a senior
leader on the Oregon men’s
golf team. “But then when
you add it up, he’s got you by
five shots. He plays quiet and
you don’t know he’s three-,
l four-or five-under, but he is.”
Ellis, a sophomore transfer
from Gavilan Community Col
lege in Gilroy, Calif., is the type
of person that lets his golf clubs
do the talking. In his first sea
son as a Duck, Ellis has fin
ished in the top-20 eight times,
in the top-10 three times and
even came in first at the Husky
Invitational.
He is currently the only in
dividual Duck ranked (No. 97)
and was selected to the all-Pa
cifig-10 Conference second
team.
The 6-foot, 185-pounder
will again be looked upon this
week for success as No. 22
Oregon participates in the
NCAA Regional, which runs
Thursday through Saturday at
the Trysting Tree Golf Course
in Corvallis.
I “I’m very excited,” Ellis
said Tuesday as he practiced
his putting. “We’ve been
working for this since day
one.”
Ellis has actually been
working for this type of top
notch competition since he
began playing on the Live
Oaks High School golf team.
The San Jose Calif., native
lived and breathed the game
of golf as a prep, where he was
named the Northern Califor
nia Golf Association junior
golfer of the year after win
ning seven tournaments.
But as he dedicated so
much of his time on his golf
game, he didn’t realize the
downside to not focusing just
as hard on his academics.
“I worked so hard in high
school to play college golf and
the academics kind of disap
peared there,” Ellis said. “It
was frustrating to have to go to
junior college because of that,
but it taught me a lesson, that’s
for sure.”
Ellis sucked in his pride
and played for GCC, hoping
that a solid season would at
tract the attention of some
quality Division I programs.
As was evident during that
year, he wouldn’t need to wor
ry about being noticed.
He went on to become the
No. 2 amateur golfer in North
ern California and qualified
for the 2000 U.S. Amateur.
Teams such as Southern Cali
fornia, Arizona State, Arizona
and San Jose State pursued
him, but Ellis followed his gut
instinct and accepted Oregon
head coach Steve Nosler’s in
vitation to be a Duck.
Turn to Ellis, page 6
Women's track readies for Pac-10 Championships
■Two dozen Ducks will
compete at Berkeley, but only
a handful have shots at titles
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
It’s time for the Oregon women’s
track and field team to get busy.
After a season of preparation, the
Ducks will start the postseason this
weekend. For some Oregon ath
letes, this weekend’s Pacific-10
Conference Championships mark
their last opportunity to run, jump
or throw onto the NCAA provision
al or automatic lists.
But for some Ducks, this week
end’s meet could provide a legiti
mate chance to win a Pac-10 title.
Sarah Malone, this week’s Pac-10
field Athlete of the Week, could do
it. Mary Etter could do it in the dis
cus. Pole vaulter Niki Reed, who
has struggled recently, could do it if
she gets back on track soon.
“The last three meets I haven’t
been doing so well,” Reed said.
“But it’s most important to get good
marks at the Pac-10 meet.”
The Ducks will start competition
at the Pac-lOs Saturday morning and
continue through Sunday night.
Super Sarah
Freshman Sarah Malone, the
Ducks’ number one javelin thrower,
is one of those Oregon athletes in a
unique position to win a Pac-10 title.
The Newberg native moved from
third to second on the national list
with a school-record heave of 174
feet at the Oregon Twilight.
“The Pac-10 title is what I’m
shooting for,” Malone said Satur
day after the throw.
Malone received Pac-10 field
Athlete of the Week honors for her
toss, the first for the season.
If Malone can repeat her perform
ance from the Twilight at this week
end’s Pac-lOs, winning the Pac-10
Championship could be as easy as a
stroll through Alton Baker Park.
Malone is one of only three ath
letes to throw an NCAA automatic
mark this season, and she is the first
among Pac-10 athletes. Inga Stasi
ulionyte of Southern California is
third in the nation, but no other
Pac-10 athletes are in the nation’s
top-15.
Pole position
The only Oregon contingent to
send all athletes to the Pac-lOs is
the pole vaulting crew. Reed, senior
Holly Speight, freshman Kirsten Ri
ley, freshman Georgette Moyle and
senior Karina Elstrom will all make
the trip to Berkeley.
All have different goals in mind.
Reed said she “wants to win,”
Speight wants to “make an NCAA
automatic mark,” while Elstrom is
“just happy to be there.”
Elstrom, the former all-Ameri
can, has been battling back from in
juries and didn’t technically make
it to the Pac-lOs, but received a rare
“wild card” berth. Speight has been
steadily improving all season, and
said she could break through and
make her first NCAA Champi
onship meet.
“My goal is an NCAA automatic
mark,” Speight said. “I’ve jumped
that high in practice, so I know I
can doit.”
Moyle and Riley, Reed said, are
hoping to make the NCAA provi
sional list for the first time.
But all the pressure will be on
Reed this weekend.
“I’m ready for it,” Reed said.