Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
adamjude@dailyemerald.com
Assistant Sports Editor:
Jeff Smith
jeffsmith@dailyemerald.com
FridayApril 5,2002
Duck softball hosts No. 3, No. 6
■ Oregon softball hosts three
games this weekend against
No. 3 Stanford and No. 6 California
By Chris Cabot
Oregon Daily Emerald
After three straight losses in their first
Pacific-10 Conference games of the sea
son, the Oregon softball team begins a
three-game weekend set starting today.
The Ducks (18-12 overall, 0-3 Pac-10)
will host No. 3 Stanford (30-5, 1-2) be
ginning at 2 p.m. at Howe Field and
then will take on No. 6 California (35
11, 2-1) on Saturday and Sunday.
Coming off three losses to No. 14
Oregon State, the Ducks have been
playing well but
have yet to show
that they can per
form at the level of
the rest of the con
ference. Every Pac
10 team other than
Oregon is ranked
in the top 25.
After Tuesday’s
loss to Oregon
State, where the Beavers’ Monica Hoff
man threw a no-hitter against the
Ducks, Oregon head coach Brent Rin
con said he hoped his team will use the
game as “a building block to get ready
for the rest of the Pac-10.”
“We feel that we can represent the
University well and compete, and we
do expect to win in this conference,”
Rincon said.
Over the Ducks’ last six games, dat
ing back to a loss to Colorado State on
March 24, they have won just two
games and scored more than two runs
in a game only once — with a 5-0 win
over UNLV. Although the team’s hit
ting has struggled, the pitching rota
tion of Connie McMurren, Anissa
Meashintubby and Lindsey Kontra has
performed well.
“I’m encouraged beyond belief,”
Rincon said. “Our pitching has just
been outstanding. One error in three
games (against Oregon State) and good
pitching — that’s a great situation.
We’ve just got to add to the equation
Turn to Softball, page 8
ON TAP
Who: Oregon
softball vs.
No. 3 Stanford
When: 2 p.m. today
Where: Howe Field
Adam Amato Emerald
Andrea Vidlund and the Oregon offensive attack look to get back on track against Stanford and
California this weekend. Vidlund is hitting .386 with seven home runs and 31 RBI.
Ducks earn high
marks in first day
■ Despite a limited day of action, the Oregon
track and field team earns three top 10 finishes
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
Day one of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin
began with a bang for the Oregon women’s track team.
The Ducks’ 4x800 relay team took second place in the
event with a time of eight minutes 50.01 seconds. The
Texas-San Antonio entry took first almost a full five sec
onds ahead of the Ducks.
The squad — featuring juniors Eri Macdonald and
Carrie Zografros, sophomore Annette Mosey and fresh
man Laura Harmon — highlighted the
day for head coach Tom Heinonen.
However, to say that the squad was un
able to post impressive marks would be
an incorrect statement.
Junior Jordan Sauvage threw a career
best of 177 feet 1 inch in the hammer to
place eighth in the event, won by Nebraska senior Melissa
Price. Junior Mary Etter was not far behind at 16th, with a
distance of 161-10.
Ending the day for the Ducks was junior Alicia Snyder
Carlson in the 400 hurdles. She placed sixth in prelimi
nary heat four with a time of 1:08.16, failing to make the
final race.
On the men’s side, Adam Kriz took seventh in the ham
mer throw at a distance of 197-09, a career best for the jun
ior from Toledo, Ore. His grandparents, residents of nearby
San Antonio, saw him compete for the first time.
“You have to do well in front of grandma and grandpa,”
Kriz said. “I also like this hammer throw area, itself. The
fans are up close behind you, and it’s almost claustropho
bic. You get a lot of energy from the fans. Plus there’s a lot
of great talent, including the national leader, so you know
it’ll be a quality competition.”
After the first day of competing, the Ducks have made
an impressive statement to the rest of the field. However,
today’s events will give the teams a chance to really shine.
Also on the men’s side, NCAA champion John Stiegeler be
gan his quest for first in the javelin throw. Along with sopho
more Adam Jenkins, the Ducks look to excel in the event.
Oregon will also debut at the relays in the men’s triple
jump and pole vault.
On the women’s side, the team’s field events should
lead the way. Junior Charyl Weingarten leads a contin
gent of javelin throwers who have become one of the best
in the country.
“We really want to show off our javelin throwers,”
Heinonen said.
Turn to Women’s, page 8
Junior free safety
Keith Lewis is one of
seven defensive
starters returning to
spring drills.
Adam Amato Emerald
Defense must re-prove itself
■Although there are seven
returning starters, the Oregon
defense must again silence
critics during spring drills
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Oregon defense never gets a break.
Despite a solid returning core — sev
en starters from last year’s team that fin
ished No. 2 in the country — the defense
of the Ducks’ football team is still under
scrutiny this spring,
much like it was last
year when just four de
fensive starters returned.
“Every year since I’ve
been here, someone is
always questioning the
defense,” senior rover Rasuli Webster
said after Oregon’s second spring prac
tice Thursday. “But every year, the de
fense shows up.”
The defensive line, which helped
hold Colorado to just 53 yards rushing
in the Fiesta Bowl, may be the most im
proved from a year ago. In addition to
Webster and free safety Keith Lewis,
Oregon returns six defensive linemen
(three starters) plus two linebackers —
David Moretti and Kevin Mitchell.
“Our front seven should be much im
proved,” head coach Mike Bellotti said.
While the biggest challenge for the of
fense is to solidify the quarterback posi
tion, the defense will spend its spring
finding replacements for both corner
back spots and a new outside linebacker.
“We’re not just out here teaching, but
we want to evaluate each of them under
stressful situations — like it would be
in a game,” Bellotti said.
Steven Moore and Courtney Miller,
both juniors with little game experi
ence, are two of the candidates to re
place Rashad Bauman and Steve Smith
at the corners.
“It’s our job to try to make things bet
ter and make things easier for the new
corners,” Lewis said, referring to his
leadership role with Webster. “When a
corner gets beat, the whole secondary
gets beat.”
While Bellotti said nothing will be set
in stone by the end of spring drills, he
said he will have a good idea of who
Turn to Football, page 8