Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
adamjude@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, May 14,2002
NBA playoffs:
San Antonio at Los Angeles
7:30 p.m., TBS
UO women’s tennis fells to No. 11USC in NCAA
■ATter upsetting no. unlv
in the first round, the Ducks’
season ends Sunday at the -
hands to their Pacific-10 foe
By Peter Martini
for the Emerald
From the football team to the
men’s basketball team, Oregon has
had incredible post-season success
this year, and it continued over the
I
weekend with the women’s tennis
team.
The No. 39
Ducks upset No.
18 UNLV Satur
day in the first
round of the
NCAA Tourna
ment, before los
ing Sunday to No.
11 USC in the second round.
Against the Rebels, Oregon won
TENNIS
the doubles point and three singles
matches for a 4-2 victory.
No. 88 freshman Daria Panova
beat UNLV’s No. 102 Paulina Janus,
6-4, 6-1, at the No. 1 spot. Sopho
mores Davina Mendiburu and
Courtney Nagle won at the bottom
two spots in the lineup to give the
Ducks the victory.
Senior Janice Nyland’s match
was suspended because the Ducks
accumulated the four points before
her match ended. Junior Monika
Gieczys lost in straight sets, and
senior Vickie Gunnarsson lost 6-4,
3-6, 6-4.
“It was the best match we’ve ever
played, and it was really perfect
timing,” head coach Jack Griffin
said. “It was a lot of fun and they
fought through a lot of adversity. It
was a great atmosphere. They just
want to make this year even more
and more special and they’re doing
a good job of it.”
The win was Oregon’s first
NCAA Tournament victory since
1999, when the Ducks beat South
Florida in the first round.
Against USC, the Ducks strug
gled early in doubles and were not
able to upset the Trojans’ top two
doubles teams. Nagle and
Mendiburu lost, 8-5, to No. 6
Tiffany Brymer and Jewel Peterson.
Nyland and Panova lost, 8-4, to No.
31 Anita Loyola and Luana Mag
nani.
Turn to Tennis, page 8
If it LOOKS like a DUCK and WALKS like a DUCK
• • •
■The future looks good’ with
the selection of three male
students to wear the Duck suit
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
In an ideal world, Oregon cheerleading
coach Laraine Raish would have Daisy
and Donald Duck roaming the sidelines
at Oregon sporting events next year.
Instead, Raish selected three male stu
dents — joining two male veterans — to
wear the Donald Duck suit, Oregon’s tradi
tional Disney mascot, to continue entertain
ing crowds at Autzen Stadium and
McArthur Court.
“I have not had a girl Duck for so long,
and I’d like to have one,” Raish said after
Thursday’s mascot auditions at Mac Court.
“But when (she’s) out there, it’s obvious that
she’s a girl.”
And being a girl often doesn’t fly in the
Duck suit — especially with the physical dif
ferences (height in particular) that distin
guish the students who wear the mascot suit.
“The guys just have the Duck walk,”
Raish said. “What I’m looking for are peo
ple who can eventually conform to what
the other Ducks look like because we prefer
that they all look similar.”
Four students, including one female, au
ditioned for the role of being the Duck next
year, a position that requires four students
plus one alternate. After short personal inter
views with four panelists, including Raish,
the contestants performed a musical skit
with the Duck suit on and then participated
in an improv routine with various props.
“The hard thing is I like them all,” Raish said.
Although she doesn’t like to choose who
will be the Duck based on physical character
istics, Raish said, “It would be nice if they
were about the same height.” The physical
similarities are needed at games or events that
require two people to share the Duck duties,
such as football and basketball games, where
each person wears the suit for one half.
Raish and the three other judges dis
cussed their evaluations of the candidates
Wwiiliw
Thomas Patterson Emerald
One of four students auditioning to be the Duck pleads his case with the judges Thursday at Mac Court. Five students will share the mascot responsibilities next year.
Thursday evening, where the three male
students were rated the best in the five cate
gories, which included personality and
time commitment. Raish announced the
winners Friday morning.
“I was really surprised,” said one of the
winners, a sophomore pre-education major.
“I really didn’t know what to expect.”
The judges, however, expect a great fu
ture from the new mascots.
“The future is good for the Duck and for
the University of Oregon,” said Karl Lude
man, a former Oregon cheerleader who
served on the panel of judges. “It always
-seems like we have good seasons when the
crowd gets into it; the crowd gets into with
the Duck. So when you have a good Duck,
the crowd gets into it.
“It looks like it will be a good year for the
Ducks.”
Despite having just four applicants, the
panelists said this year’s group was the best
to ever try out to be the Duck.
“This is the best audition I’ve ever seen,”
said one of the veteran Ducks, who helped
facilitate the tryout. “The overall turnout
was great in terms of talent.”
Ironically, despite standing in front of
Turn to Duck, page 8
Oregon men’s golf team takes new attitude into NCAA Regional
■With two weeks to prepare,
the Ducks say they are ready to
advance to the NCAA Tournament
By Jesse Thomas
for the Emerald
After a two-week break from
competition, the Oregon men’s golf
team is making the final touches to
their game and preparing for the
NCAA West Regional, which be
gins Thursday.
After finishing fifth in the Pacific
10 Conference
Championships
April 27, the Ducks
received a bid to re
gionals as the No. 11
seed to compete in
Albuquerque, N.M.,
later this week.
Last year, Oregon walked away
from the NCAA Regionals in 18th
out of 24 teams. But the Ducks said
the course last year did not fit thqir
style of play.
“We made more doubles and
triples than any other team,” junior
John Ellis said of last year’s per
formance. “You can’t make twos
and threes and expect to do good.”
Ellis finished first for Oregon last
year in regionals, but is expecting a
lot more from himself and of the
team. His main focus has been on
perfecting his short game and he
said the key to doing well is to not
make any mental errors.
Junior Chris Carnahan came in
fourth for Oregon at Pac-lOs in a tie for
35th and said being consistent and
maintaining focus are two keys to Ore
gon’s shot for qualifying for nationals.
“We need to stay focused
through the whole round and grind
it all the way out,” Carnahan said.
The Ducks will be paired with
Nevada and Ohio State for the tour
nament’s first two rounds. Oregon
knows they are both good teams but
is still happy with the pairing and
their chances.
“We have a good chance of win
ning,” Ellis said.
Regionals will be played on the
South Champions Course in Albu
querque, N.M., as opposed to the
Trysting Tree Golf Course in Corvallis
last year. The Ducks like their chances
this time around much better.
With the course playing long and
assuming it will be windy, Oregon
Turn to Golf, page 8