Sports Editor.
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, December 3,2002
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
Best bet
NCAA basketball:
North Carolina at Illinois
6:30 p.m., ESPN2
Augusta’s
decision not
ethical, but
legally OK
The controversy regarding Augus
ta National, the Georgia golf club
that does not admit women as mem
bers, has gotten out of hand, and the
tournament is still more than four
months away.
This summer, Martha Burk, head
of the National Council of Women’s
Organizations, wrote a private letter
to Hootie Johnson, chairman at Au
gusta National. The letter asked
Johnson to “open your membership
to women now, so that this is not an
issue when the tournament is staged
next year.”
Burk was expecting to hear back
in the same manner. Instead, John
son, neaa or
the club that
only began ad
mitting non
white mem
bers in 1995,
turned the is
sue into a pub
nc one.
Most recent
ly, after John
son publicly
said Augusta
would not have
Mindi
Rice
The girl
and the game
any women
members by April, The New York
Times wrote an editorial specifically
picking out star golfer Tiger Woods
and encouraging him to boycott the
Masters.
Woods has been pestered by me
dia to give a definite opinion, but has
turned back and forth on the issue.
But it’s not April yet.
Just wait until April. Imagine the
picket lines that will appear when
it comes time for Augusta to host
the Masters.
April will be a busy time in Geor
gia, with women golfing in the park
ing lot, hoping to dent the cars
owned by the 300 racially-integrat
ed male members of Augusta Na
tional, and women walking around
the grounds and the spectacle, wear
ing dark green jackets similar to
those worn by the Master’s winners.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson even said
he plans to organize protests during
the Masters, encouraging players not
to cross picket lines he would set up.
What will Chairman Johnson do?
With any luck, he will continue
about his way, pretending — as
much as is possible in this situation
— that nothing out of the ordinary
is happening.
Johnson and his club are well
within their constitutional right to
not allow women in Augusta if so de
sired. Augusta is a private club.
While it may be morally wrong to
have such a globally prominent golf
course feature a member policy
laced with sexism, Augusta legally
has the right to be morally wrong.
Boy Scouts of America, a private
group, are permitted to not allow gay
males into their organization. That’s
not to say they didn’t get bad press
when they made the decision, but
they made the decision legally just
the same. Augusta is in the same
boat — while it will get bad press
Turn to Rice, page 10
UO volleyball
marks 2003
as breakout
The Ducks ended a losing
streak this season and now
look ahead to next year
Volleyball wrap-up
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
For the Oregon volleyball team,
it is prudent to think of the future
— not the present or the past.
After all, looking back at a 1-17
record in Pacific-10 Conference
play is not a pleasant thought. Nor
is an 11-21 record that produced
just one victory after the month
of September.
Instead, it is what the Ducks pos
sess that means the most.
“I see a team that is ready to
make a statement in the Pac-10,”
sophomore Lauren Westendorf
said. “We’re so young, still. Next
year, we’re going to be young again.
Especially, the impact that our
freshmen made this year. Next year,
they’re going to be sophomores.
They’re going to be older and more
experienced. They’re going to know
what it takes to be in the Pac-10
and be successful.”
That freshman class — four
strong — produced one Pac-10 All
Freshman Team member and two
honorable mentions.
Dariam Acevedo became the first
Oregon player since 1991 to be
named to the all-freshman squad af
ter having a stellar season. The Tru
jillo Alto, Puerto Rico, native
missed the entirety of Oregon’s pre
season but managed nine double
doubles during Pac-10 play.
Setter Jodi Bell and middle
blocker Kelly Russell were named
to the honorable-mention list after
playing important roles — Bell as a
starter and Russell off the bench to
ward the end of the season.
The three — along with Jaclyn
Jones — should form a formidable
core group of players that, coupled
with Westendorf and sophomore
Katie O’Neil, could vault the Ducks
into the middle of the Pac-10 stand
ings next season.
“We showed what we can do
against Oregon State,” Bell said
when asked what kind of talent
the Ducks could possess next sea
son. “It’s just going to take time
and commitment, and we’re will
ing to work as hard as we can to
get there.”
Oregon will lose three seniors
— middle blockers Lindsay Gloss
and Amanda Porter, as well as set
ter Sydney Chute — from a squad
that broke a 32-match losing
streak with a victory against Ore
gon State on Nov. 1.
Gloss led the team in offensive
production with 407 kills en route
to an all-Pac-10 honorable men
tion honor. Chute didn’t start in
Pac-10 play but was a valuable
substitute for Bell. Porter did not
have a season on par with the oth
er two seniors.
Despite the success of the three,
Oregon should be fine. The Duck
freshmen are well-equipped to fill
the vacated roles, and will be joined
by a recruiting class that includes
two middle blockers that stand 6
feet 3 inches or taller.
Still, it is hard not to look back
at the past.
Entering the season, Oregon’s
outlook seemed grim. The Ducks
suffered a setback when last sea
son’s top offensive weapon,
Stephanie Martin, did not qualify
academically.
That left Gloss seemingly alone,
as the Ducks did not have a ton of
L
Adam Amato Emerald
Freshman Jodi Bell leads a crew of youngsters that could lead the Ducks to success.
leadership offensively.
Yet Oregon fought hard, ended its
Pac-10 losing streak and began to
turn around a program — at least
its competitiveness and mental ca
pacity — that had been stagnant
since the early 1990s.
The wins are still not there, but
the Ducks produced more close
calls than opponent blowouts.
“I think it’s very misleading,”
head coach Carl Ferreira said when
asked to rate Oregon’s season.
“What the conference does is, the
conference basically says, ‘You’re
going to lose perspective of who you
are unless you’re a top-20 team.’
You have to be a consistent top-20
to really have an identity.
“I have nothing to be disappoint
ed about. For the highest percent
age of the season, we were over
achieving. If 10 was maximum,
they were playing to their maxi
mum ability. If I had to give our
selves a grade, and I’m not going on
winning and losing, these kids over
achieved. If you go by the stand
ings, it’s frustrating.”
The Ducks finished dead last in
the Pac-10 but are confident they
can climb out of the cellar in
the future.
Contact the sports reporter
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
1
A civil rugby win
Jeremy Forrest Emerald
The Oregon rugby squad was the onfytacklirjgtearo to.win aCivil War.
The men’s rugby team looks
to use its Civil War victory
to propel it to greater success
Scott Archer
Freelance Sports Reporter
Maybe there was something positive
to come out of Corvallis on Nov. 23.
A dominating performance in the air
and on the ground made for a lopsided
victory that day, in a game better rep
resenting students at Oregon and Ore
gon State than the football teams did.
It was Oregon’s very own men’s Club
Rugby team that gave some Duck fans
something to smile about: a 32-14
pounding of their most hated rival, the
Oregon State Beavers.
This game featured more regular stu
dents, except one wouldn’t call these
guys regular. It takes a certain trait, a
moral fiber, to go out every weekend
and tackle men running at full speed
with nothing but built-up aggression
for an opponent.
, , , .Aggression is a word that describes
Club
Sports
Tuesday
these Ducks.
“We are very aggressive; we domi
nate serums and loose play,” coach
Bob Snyder said.
Still, the team has a lot of work to do
as it prepares for the spring season,
which starts Feb.l at Califomia-Davis.
Finishing with an overall record of 2-5
and a league record of 2-3, there is
some work that needs to take place be
fore Oregon hits the field again.
“We tend to get selfish. We play
more individually than we should,”
Snyder said.
Oregon will lose one player from its
roster, giving the Ducks the opportunity
Turn to Rugby, page 10