Golfers look forward to 3-week break
The Ducks have been faltering
of late, and need the three-week
vacation before hosting the
Duck Invitational March 24-25
Men’s golf
Scott Archer
Freelance Sports Reporter
Three tournaments. Three
straight sub-top-10 finishes. Three
weeks of rest. If good things come
in threes, then the Oregon men’s
golf team is hoping the reverse
holds true and the trend can turn
itself around.
“We were not nearly as success
ful as I would like to have seen,”
head coach Steve Nosier said
about his team’s most recent tour
nament appearance. “We have not
been playing complete tourna
ments lately.”
Oregon, coming off its third tour
nament of the spring season, fin
ished 13th at the Cleveland Golf
Classic on Tuesday and will have
three weeks off before it hosts the
Duck Invitational in Eugene March
24-25.
“I’m surprised just how well we’ve
played and ending up as far back (in
the field) as we’ve been,” Nosier
said. “We haven’t been as competi
tive as I thought we could be.”
The Ducks’ recent struggles
have often come after a successful
opening round, causing Nosier to
search for answers to Oregon’s
mid-tournament slides.
“We have played well in opening
rounds, in middle rounds we have
played poor and then played well
again in the final rounds,” Nosier
said. “We are having the most dif
ficulty with the second round of 36
holes. It could be a concentration
thing, which is something we need
to get a gut-check on.”
There is one silver lining in all
this. Oregon, playing in the most
loaded conference in the nation,
has played even with many teams
that have come on strong as of late.
“The Pacific-10 conference is by
far the strongest in the nation, that’s
not even a question,” Nosier said.
“Arizona State has played well all
three times we have seen them.”
The Ducks have been right on
the heels of such teams as Arizona
State and Stanford. The Ducks
out-played Arizona State in the
second round of the Cleveland
Golf Classic, drew even in the
third round but were unable to
match Arizona State’s amazing
first-round score, distancing itself
from the Ducks. Stanford beat
Oregon for the first time this
spring season in the Cleveland
Golf Classic, making that its only
win in five tries against the Ducks
in the 2002-03 season.
Oregon will travel to Seattle dur
ing the weekend where it will have
a 36-hole four-way match against
Washington, Oregon State and
Western Washington on Saturday.
The competition will not count to
ward any official standings, but
will give the Ducks a chance to
play the field where the NCAA
West Regionals will be held, as
suming the Ducks can qualify.
“I hope renewed confidence can
come out of all this,” Nosier said. “We
do have the talent and can shoot the
numbers to compete, we just need it
sooner rather than later.”
Scott Archer is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.
Women take ninth at Founder’s Day tourney
Sophomore Johnna Nealy ties a
Duck record on the first day of
the tournament in Nevada
Women’s golf
Scott Archer
Freelance Sports Reporter
Sophomore Johnna Nealy led
the Oregon Ducks in style
Wednesday as the team captured
ninth place in its first spring tour
nament of the year.
Oregon, which hasn’t played in
a tournament since it finished
11th in the UNLV Founder’s Day
Club Tournament, Nov. 12-13,
shot 305 and 307 in the first two
rounds Tuesday and followed that
performance with a team score of
309 Wednesday. Oregon finished
with a combined 921 in the 14
team tournament at the Corral de
Tierra Country Club, a par-72,
5,938-yard course.
Nealy, who shot a career-low 69
in the first round, followed her
Oregon record-scoring round with
a 75-stroke second round, and a
77-stroke third. Nealy, who tied an
Oregon sophomore record previ
ously set by former Duck Jerilyn
White, concluded the Tournament
tied for seventh place with a com
bined score of 221.
“She played an incredible round
of golf (Tuesday),” head coach
Shannon Rouillard. “I am really
proud of her.”
Freshman Therese Wenslow im
proved by 11 strokes on Wednesday
from her first round score, to finish
in a tie for 40th overall, followed
closely by fellow freshman Erin An
drews, who finished 45th overall.
Freshman Michelle Timpani fin
ished tied for 55 with a score of 239,
followed by sophomore Jess Carly
on who ended up 60th overall with
a two day total of 242.
Pepperdine ran away with the
team title after a team score of 846
had it 36 strokes ahead of second
place UCLA. Katherine Hull of
Pepperdine was the individual
winner with a 16-under par 221.
Oregon has little rest before it
hosts the Oregon Duck Invitation
al at Shadow Hills Country Club,
March 10-11.
Scott Archer is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.
Sharks star Nolan
traded to Toronto
Mark Emmons and David Poliak
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Goodbye,
Owen Nolan. We hardly knew ya.
But then that’s exactly the
way Nolan, the Sharks captain
who was traded Wednesday to
Toronto, wanted it.
Oh, sure. Little tidbits about
Nolan’s off-the-ice life were pub
lic knowledge. That he is the co
owner of two British pubs in San
Jose. That he was married to a
local woman last summer and
that she’s expecting their first
child. That he likes to cook.
That he owns a piece of land on
Mount Hamilton, where he goes
to hunt.
That he ... actually, that’s
about it. An intensely private
man, Nolan went to great
lengths to keep his personal life,
well, personal.
“I look at actors, and I don’t
know how they deal with pa
parazzi following them around
all the time,” Nolan, 31, told the
Mercury News two years ago.
Away from the rink, he added,
“I’d rather be Joe Schmoe on
the street like everyone else. It’s
just the way I am.”
And that’s the way it was. For
years, he has been San Jose’s
most prominent athlete. He has
been the heart and soul of the
Sharks but rarely was the team’s
voice, and the introverted Nolan
leaves the Bay Area something
of a mystery man. A tough right
wing as good with his fists as
with his stick, Nolan even be
came something of a scapegoat
as the Sharks’ hopes for a Stan
ley Gup this season disintegrat
ed in spectacular fashion.
When General Manager Dean
Lombardi recently made veiled
comments about an unnamed
“cancer” on the team, Nolan was
the prime suspect — fair or not.
His leadership ability has been
questioned, and he has been de
scribed as a moody sourpuss
who is not particularly well-liked
by his teammates, albeit usually
in anonymous quotes.
But while many hockey play
ers come across as boring in in
terviews, Nolan takes a different
tack: He tries to avoid the media
as much as possible. He has
been known to walk into the
team’s training facility, spot re
porters and then duck into a
side room.
For several weeks, it was ap
parent that Nolan was available
for the right price. Still, just last
Thursday, when asked about a
possible trade from San Jose,
Nolan said, “It would be dis
heartening.”
© 2003, San Jose Mercury News (San
Jose, Calif.). Distributed by Knight
Ridder/Tribune Information
Services.
Climbing the ladder
W
Wake Forest's Josh Howard
climbs all over North
Carolina's Jawad Williams in
Wake's 75-60win Wednesday
night The Demon Deacons
clinched at least a share of the
ACC regular-season title with
the win.
Patrick Schneider Charlotte Ob
server (KRT)
Suns, playing David role to NBA’s Goliaths, beat up Blazers
Mike Tulumello
East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.) (KRT)
PHOENIX — It’s one of the myster
ies of the known universe. Or at least
of the NBA.
How can a team like the Suns —
better than average, but no world
beaters — struggle against the likes
of lightweights Chicago, Toronto,
and New York, but continue a mas
tery of such elite teams as San Anto
nio and Portland?
The unpredictable Suns, followed
up their huge road upset of the Spurs
(the NBA’s best team since New Year’s
Day) by edging the Trail Blazers, 98
92, on Wednesday night at America
West Arena.
The Suns (33-28) now are 3-0
against the Blazers (39-21) this sea
son; they’ve beaten them eight of the
past 11 times. Against San Antonio,
the Suns are 2-1 this season and have
won 16 of the past 28.
An explanation, please.
“I can’t explain it,” said Stephon
Marbury, who once again played bril
liantly. One night after playing all 48
minutes vs. the Spurs, he went 46
minutes against the Blazers and
scored 33 points.
Strangely enough, on the night that
Penny Hardaway played for the first
time in two months, it was actually
another of the Suns’ reeendy returned
players who was a major factor.
Tom Gugliotta had 12 points, five
rebounds, four assists and two steals.
He shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field
Much like the game vs. the Spurs,
the Suns led nearly wire to wire. Once
again, they faltered early in the final
quarter, only to right themselves.
By winning, the Suns continue to
lead the Houston Rockets for the No.
8 (and final) playoff spot in the West
by two games.
© 2003, East Valley Tribune (Mesa,
Arizona). Distributed by Knight
Ridder/Tribune Information Services.