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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2002)
Sports Editor Peter Hockaday peterhockaday@dailyemerald .com Tuesday, October 1,2002 — Oregon Daily Emerald Sports On Wednesday A memorial tribute for Len Casanova, who died Monday night at age 97 The (women’s) P|®ii, ii>c The women’s rugby team is one of the most successful Club Sports programs and looks to continue that success this season Scott Archer Sports Freelancer Editor’s Note: This is the first in a weekly series following the exploits of the University of Oregon Club Sports program. A new sport will be featured every Tuesday, so be sure to check this space. After winning the Northwest league title and ad vancing to the final 16 of nationals in Orlando, Fla., last year, the women’s rugby team could be content to relish in last year’s success. Gould be. Gone are a handful of seniors that helped guide the team to an undefeated Pacific Northwest League record, including second-team All-American Jamie Hampton. A tough loss? Maybe, but the return of first-team All-American fly-half Erica Kelly nullifies some of the loss in personnel. “We have a lot of new people returning that did quite well last year,” third-year head coach Greg Farrell said. “We always have people that come in and contribute, so to judge where we are is always hard to do.” Even with the loss of key players, the Ducks are confident in their chances for 2002. “We played well as underdogs, but it’s hard to be on top,” Kelly said. “Everyone will be gunning for us.” Defending the league title won’t be easy for the Ducks, especially with a late start to the season. “We play Humboldt State Oct. 12, and with school just starting for us, Humboldt will have had several weeks of practice to prepare,” Farrell said. The power in rugby has shift ed to the west, and it will be im portant for Oregon to get off to a running start against its left coast foes. West Coast power Chico State won the 2000 national title, so playing and gaining experi ence from tough West Coast matches helps ensure a team is battle-tested. “We are looking to have as many non-league games as possible,” Farrell said. “We want to see what teams outside of our division are like. We can take this opportunity to see how we measure up. We hope to play Stanford, but nothing is finalized.” Six teams make up the Pacific Northwest Rugby Football Union, including Central Washington, Ore gon State, Reed College, Washington State, Western Washington and the Ducks. “Personally, (playing) Oregon State is important because it’s always a tough game, and my little sis ter will be playing there,” Kelly said. “Reed College will also be tough — they play dirty. “Every year we lose girls that are irreplaceable. We never know how it will go, but every year the girls do amazing. We always want new girls to come out and play. No experience is necessary.” So exactly how will the 2002 season end up? “We might have the upper hand this year,” Farrell said. “The talent in the league is evening out. We are not going to look anyone over. Teams did not think a Turn to Club, page 17 Emerald The Oregon rugby team reached the Sweet 16 of the national tournament last season. Devils, Bears questions for Pac-10 season Arizona State racks up 65 points with a new starter against Stanford, while Cal is still an unknown Pac-10 Notes Peter Hockaday Sports Editor The place to be was Tempe on Saturday. That’s where Oregon free safety Keith Lewis was, checking out some friends who play for Arizona State and hanging with former Duck linebacker Wesly Mallard, whose New York Giants were in town to play the Arizona Cardinals. Lewis and the rest of the crowd saw a wild-west shootout, Pac-10 style. Sun Devil quarterback Andrew Walter certainly packed his revolver, or maybe his cannon, for the matchup with Stanford. Walter, who previously had never started a game for Arizona State, threw five different touchdowns to five different receivers in the 65-24 romp. The win was sweet revenge for the Devils, who fell to the Cardinal 51-28 in Palo Alto last season. “So many guys made plays today and I think this team is de veloping some confidence,” Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter told the Arizona Republic after the game. Walter moved his pass-efficiency rating to 185.8 on the sea son with the dazzling performance, and now leads the nation in that category. The blowout was good news for the Devils, who finished 4-7 last year. Arizona State is already 4-1 this season and leading the Pac-10. California Conundrum California just continues to be the enigma of the Pac-10. Ever since the Golden Bears opened the season with 70-22 win over Turn to Pac-10, page 16 Adam Amato Emerald Sophomore Lauren Westendorf goes up for a block against Portland Monday The Ducks broke a five-match losing streak with the victory. Ducks end slump with win at Mac The Oregon volleyball squad ends a five match losing streak with a four-game defeat of Portland at McArthur Court Monday night Volleyball Hank Hager Sports Reporter Oregon’s five-match losing streak wasn’t weighing heavily on the mind of the Ducks enter ing Monday night’s match against Portland at McArthur Court. Instead, the Ducks said, it was just another con test, another way to get to the 10-win plateau. Oregon (10-8 overall, 0-4 Pacific-10 Conference) fought off a pesky Portland (10-4) squad in front of 473 fans at Mac Court, taking the Pilots in four games (30-28,35-33,27-30,30-27). In a match reminiscent of Oregon’s loss to Cali fornia Friday night, Portland constantly pushed the Ducks to the brink, forcing four lead changes dur ing the second game before Oregon could come away with the victory. This time, however, Oregon had enough energy in the end to stave off late attacks. “The Cal match taught us a lot,” sophomore Lau ren Westendorf said. “We have to work hard throughout the whole match.” Four Oregon players reached double-digit kill marks, led by junior Lindsay Closs’ 17. Freshman Kelly Russell had 16, freshman Dariam Acevedo Turn to Volleyball, page 17
