Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
Best bet
NHL Playoffs:
Minnesota at Vancouver, Game 7
7 p.m., ESPN2
Thursday, May 8,2003
Head strong
Andrea Vidlund is a star for Oregon softball
with a team-leading 351 batting average
and eight saves in the pitchers’ circle
Softball
Mindi Rice
Sports Reporter
Back off, I’ll take you on
Headstrong to take on anyone
I know that you are wrong
Headstrong, we’re headstrong
— Trapt
“Headstrong” by Trapt is Andrea Vidlund’s at
bat song. It warns the opposing team — Vidlund
isn’t afraid of you, even in the competitive Pacif
ic-10 Conference.
In a sport in which most athletes must choose
between pitching or hitting, Vidlund is able to do
both — and excel in both.
“When I’m not pitching, I wish I was,” Vidlund said.
“I think my heart is in pitching. I’ve done it all my life.
I really missed it last year when I didn’t pitch.”
During the 2002 season, Vidlund started all but
two of Oregon’s 54 games, primarily at first base.
Then-head coach Brent Rincon split the Ducks’
innings pitched between a freshman, a sophomore
and a senior. Vidlund was given a spot in the field
to utilize her offensive power.
The Hayward, Calif., native made the most of her
offensive stint. She led Oregon in seven offensive cat
egories and cut her strikeouts almost in half.
This season, Vidlund leads the fourth-place
Ducks with a .351 batting average and eight saves.
After shoulder surgery in June 2002, Vidlund
missed fall practice and came back slowly at the
beginning of the season.
“I felt like it set me back a little bit in the begin
ning, but overall I think it turned out to be ok,”
Vidlund said.
Since she began playing regularly this season,
Vidlund has started 38 games but none in the
pitching circle. However, Vidlund is head coach
Kathy Arendsen’s go-to pitcher when the Ducks
have a one- or two-run lead and need someone to
stop the other team.
“There’s no such thing as an easy inning with
Vid,” Arendsen said after Vidlund picked up the
Pac-10 single-season record for saves. “I think
there’s part of her, that little mischievous side of
her, that just wants to trick all of us. She’s totally
in control the whole time.”
Turn to Softball, page 10
Sites for new arena
offer varied options
The seven potential sites for McArthur
Court’s replacement are scattered
around Eugene and Springfield
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
The days of McArthur Court as the signa
ture Oregon facility may be quickly coming
to a close.
A proposed #100-$150 million arena, an
nounced by the athletic department on
April 17, may replace the venerable facility
soon. So far, word that a new building is in
the works is the only official announcement
that the University has offered.
With it, though, comes details on the
type of facility planned and just where it is
going to be.
Oregon officials have presented information
on the latter detail. It is a site list that includes
Downtown Eugene, campus and the Glen
wood area between Eugene and Springfield.
“We looked at every possibility,” said Dan
Williams, vice president for administration
at Oregon. “If anybody had an idea about a
site, itgot on the list.”
Williams added that he hopes to have a
decision in the summer from University
president David Frohnmayer about going
ahead with the project. At that point, Ore
gon would whittle away from the list of sev
en sites presented by the consulting firm
GSL International.
In the report prepared by the firm, 11
sites were presented as comparable to the
Oregon project. Two buildings, the Cintas
Center in Cincinnati and Cox Arena in San
Diego, are in similar situations as to what
Oregon is looking at.
The Cintas Center, built in 2000, is lo
cated on the Xavier University campus,
near the school’s residence halls. Accord
ing to Kelly Leon, director for external re
lations for Xavier, the arena has been
adopted by the city as something of its own
despite being on campus.
That, and the entertainment possibilities
it brings to the heart of the city, where the
campus is located, are invaluable.
“We didn’t think it was the best use of our
resources to build just a basketball arena,”
Turn to Arena, page 12
Jeremy Forrest Emerald
Andrea Vidlund (8) has led the Ducks in batting for two years, and this year she's gotten
the opportunity to pitch as well. She has a 351 batting average and leads the Pac-10 with
eight saves for the Ducks, who are now 8-10 in conference play this season.
Emerald
McArthur Court may soon be used only for intramural sports as the University considers building a new basketball
complex. Seven sites are currently under review, and they range from Springfield to William's Bakery.