Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
adamjude@dailyemerald.com
Oregon Daily Emerald
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MLB: Seattle at Chicago
5p.m., FSN
Thursday, May 2,2002
UO softball fights for .500 with five games left
■ After splitting a doubleheader with Hawaii on Tuesday,
the Oregon Ducks’ overall-record stands at 23-25
By Chris Cabot
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon head coach Brent Rincon said that the implications
of the loss to Hawaii in Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader
were “enormous.”
If the Ducks (23-25 overall, 1-14 Pacific-10 Conference) had
swept the two-game set with the Rainbow Wahine, they could
have entered the upcoming weekend with UCLA and Wash
ington with a 24-24 record.
With five games remaining on their regu
lar season schedule, all against Pac-10
teams, it seems unlikely that Oregon will
reach its goal of a .500 season — and likely
miss out on a postseason bid for the second
straight year.
One factor that contributed to Oregon’s
loss — and near loss in the second game —
in the doubleheader against Hawaii was
poor baserunning. Along with the runner interference call
that changed Janell Bergstrom’s game-winning home run into
a controversial over-the-fence single, Oregon ran into another
out in the fifth inning of Game 1.
With two outs, Jenn Poore on second and Alyssa Laux on
first, Andrea Vidlund roped a single. From the third base
coach’s box, Rincon held Poore at third on the sharply hit
ball, but Laux and Vidlund continued on, trapping three Ore
gon runners between second and third. Poore broke for home
but was tagged out to end the inning.
“I’m pleased with the big-time hitting by Janell and the fact
that we were able to keep battling when we were down,” Rincon
said. “But there’s no excuse for poor baserunning, and we’ve got
to pay attention to every detail no matter what the situation is.”
SOFTBALL
Around the Pac-10
The latest USA Today/NFCA Division I top-25 poll came
out on Monday and the Pac-10 still reigns.
UCLA, who Oregon faces this weekend, is a unanimous selec
tion for the No. 1 spot in the nation. Rounding out the top-5 are
No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Arizona State and No. 5 Califor
nia. Oregon remains the only Pac-10 team without a ranking as
Washington — Oregon’s other upcoming weekend opponent —
jumps up two spots to No. 6. That bumps Stanford down one slot
to No. 8, and Oregon State remains steady at No. 16.
No. 1 UCLA’s Stacey Nuveman and Keira Goerl swept the
Pac-lO’s Pitcher and Player of the Week awards for April 29.
Goerl threw her fifth no-hitter of the season, and Nuveman
hit .667 for the week, while connecting for her 85th career
home run to tie the NCAA record.
E-mail sports reporter Chris Cabot at chriscabot@dailyemerald.com.
Adam Amato Emerald
Lindsey Kontra (left) and catcher Jenn Poore talk during Game 1 of the doubleheader against Hawaii on Tuesday. The Ducks have five games remaining
in a season in which they have compiled a 23-25 record (1-14 Pacific-10 Conference).
UO’s Kent will stay
with USA Basketball
■ Ernie Kent, who spent last summer coaching a youth
team, will announce his next position today
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent will be part of a decision in
volving USA Basketball today.
Kent, who was an assistant coach on the USA Basketball
World Championship for Young Men Team last summer, will
be named to a head coaching position within the USA Bas
ketball program, according to an Oregon news release.
Kent will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. today to re
spond to questions about the announcement.
It is likely Kent will not coach the USA Basketball World
Championship Team, which is composed of professional bas
ketball players and already has its coaching staff set.
Last season, the USA Basketball World Championship for
Young Men Team won the 2001 FIB A World Championships
for Young Men and was named the 2001 USA Basketball
Team of the Year. That team, which was coached by Syracuse
head coach Jim Boeheim, included players age 21 and under.
Several famous college players, including UCLA’s Jason
Kapono, Kansas’ Nick Collison and Boston College’s Troy
Bell, played for the squad.
E-mail sports reporter Peter Hockaday at peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
Recruits add depth to men’s track unit
■ Four new Ducks could atone
for losses to the Oregon sprinting
team in the 2003 spring season
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon’s formidable sprinting corps
will only get stronger next season.
The Ducks announced the signing
of four recruits, bringing the current
incoming class to eight members. The
most recent signees, featuring two ath
letes with local ties, will beef up the
sprints considerably.
“I’m really pleased with this
group,” Oregon head coach Martin
Smith said. “They should all come
in and contribute immediately and
boost (sprints coach Steve) Silvey’s
areas, which graduate several key
athletes.”
The Ducks are graduating several
runners, including hurdler Micah
Harris and middle-distance runners
Simon Kimata and Ross Krempley.
Smith plugged Harris’ hole with
Michael Mitchum, a hurdler from
Chicago who can run both the 110
and 400-meter hurdles.
A local athlete should add to the
middle distances in the absence of
Kimata and Krempley. Jan Olszowy,
a native of Jarfalla, Sweden, who
competed at South Eugene High
School in 2001, is a fleet 800 runner.
He has a personal best of 1:50.15,
which is less than one second slower
than Krempley’s personal best. Ol
szowy won the 800 at last season’s
Oregon high school state meet and
finished the season ranked seventh
in the nation.
In the sprints, Smith added
McMinville native Marcus Benton
and Arvada, Colo., native Travis
Anderson. Benton took second at
the state meet in the 200 with a per
sonal best of 21.64 but can also run
the 100 and 400. He currently ranks
third in the state in both the 200
and 400.
Anderson took the Colorado state
400 championship in 2000 but
missed last season’s state meet. He
still finished fifth in the nation last
spring with a personal best of 47.09
in the 400.
“By the end of the outdoor season,
three from the entire recruiting class
could end up in the 46-second range
in the 400,” Smith said. “That helps
us immensely, both sprint-wise and
in the relays.”
The mix of local and national talent
in this season’s recruiting class means
some current team members are get
ting excited.
“Next year, the recruiting class is
probably better than the one I came in
on, which was considered a No. 1,”
pole vaulter Trevor Woods said.
Multi-meet madness
If you’re trying to build a postcard
collection, you might want to befriend
some track and field athletes.
In another weekend of insan’>r. a
handful of Ducks will be at dift nt
venues competing in a varie of
events. Some athletes will he, to
Stanford, Calif., for the Cardinal In
vite, while others will head to Coium
bus, Ohio, for the Ohio State-hosted
Jesse Owens Track Classic.
Hold on to your plane tickets
Who’s got the power?
The track gurus at www.i
power.org haven’t caught on at
Turn to Track, page 14