Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, May 20,2003
- Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
Best bet
NBA Playoffs:
Detroit at New Jersey Game 2
5 p.m., ESPN
Mark McCambridge Emerald
Amy Harris moved into Oregon's top 10 in strikeouts with 180, a single-season Duck record, in only her first season.
Softball breaks
records ‘big time’
Oregon’s postseason drive gives
the Ducks the opportunity
to rewrite sections of their
individual record books in 2003
Softball
Mindi Rice
Sports Reporter
Oregon’s season ended in dramatic
fashion on Sunday with a 6-4 loss in the
regional championship game, but the
Ducks made the most of their seven
game postseason run.
Andrea Vidlund, a unanimous choice
for the All-Tournament team in the
Fullerton, Calif., regionals, hit two home
runs in the Ducks’ win against Louisiana
Lafayette on Sunday.
Vidlund’s two home runs — and four in
the tournament—put her atop the Oregon
career home run list with 37. Her 2(X)3 total
of 16 also sets a new Oregon season record.
“She is a big-time player who makes big
time plays,” head coach Kathy Arendsen
said after Oregon’s win against Oklahoma
State on Saturday.
The senior came in during the fifth in
ning to close the 6-5 lead against the Cow
girls, but Vidlund gave up the tying run in
the top of the seventh. The game continued
on for 12 innings—four hours and 15 min
utes — until Vidlund, who was still pitch
ing, drove in the winning run.
“I just decided to relax,” Vidlund said af
ter the game. “I just wanted to get a base hit
and get the win.”
Vidlund led the Ducks through the tour
nament offensively with a .440 batting av
erage. She drove in 13 of Oregon’s 37 runs
during the seven games.
The Ducks’ other unanimous all-tourna
ment selection, senior designated player
Amber Hutchison, scored 10 of Oregon’s
runs during the tournament. Hutchison
had five stolen bases in the tournament and
led the team with 19 on the season.
In the circle, Oregon’s career strikeout
list was rewritten by a senior, a junior and
a freshman.
Junior Anissa Meashintubby, who start
ed the season at eighth all-time with 138
strikeouts, passed Vidlund and moved up
to sixth all-time with 228 strikeouts.
Vidlund, who pitched only 43 2/3 innings
during the season and postseason, added
39 strikeouts to her career total. She fin
ished just behind Meashintubby at seventh
on the all-time list with 226 strikeouts.
Freshman Amy Harris is next on their
heels with 180 strikeouts. She is eighth all
time after pitching 188 innings in her first
season. Harris’ 180 strikeouts also set a new
single-season Oregon record.
Harris and Vidlund combined for 17
saves on the season — a new Pacific-10
Conference single-season record.
Offensively, every Duck had at least one
hit during the season with the exception of
Harris and Meashintubby. Neither pitcher
stepped up to bat during the season.
Vidlund also led the team with a .370 bat
ting average for the season. Seniors Lvnsey
Haij and Alyssa Laux finished the season
with the second and third highest batting
averages, respectively. Third baseman Haij
hit .347 and first baseman Laux hit .280.
All three played in at least 49 of Oregon’s
56 games.
“What a tremendous season,” Arendsen
said on Sunday. “I’m so proud of this team.
We have a phenomenal group of seniors
and they carried us. This team fought until
the very end and always found ways to
put ourselves in position to win.”
All-Conference
honorees
Five Ducks earned Pae-10 All-Confer
ence honors on Tuesday when the confer
ence awards were announced.
Turn to Softball, page 12
Webb returns,
joins top-rated
Pre mile field
Alan Webb, who broke the high school mile record
at the Prefbntaine Classic two years ago, will try to go
under the four-minute barrier again this Saturday
Prefontaine Classic
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
Alan Webb still has that baby face, but he’s not a baby any more.
A lot has changed since Webb won the hearts of the na
tion with his high school-record mile run two years ago at
the Prefontaine Classic.
He went to college, then he went pro, and now he’s back where it
all started. Webb announced on Monday that he will run in the Pre
Classic Bowerman Mile on Saturday at Hayward Field.
“I think that mile is on everybody’s top five list of all-time Pre
fontaine Classic moments,” meet director Tom Jordan said.
Webb joins an already-talented mile field that is filled with some
of the best runners in the world and even two high schoolers —
Mike McGrath, a Portland native who signed with Oregon on Mon
day, and Texas-native Steve Magness—who are trying to duplicate
Webb’s 2001 feat or at least go under the four-minute mark.
In his first and only collegiate season, Webb didn’t make the na
tional mile list as a Michigan Wolverine in 2002. His best mark was
a 28th-place finish on the 1,500-meter race list. Meanwhile, four
Turn to Prefontaine, page 12
Panova advances in NCAA tourney
Adam Amato Emerald
Daria Panova breezed through her first-round match, losing only two
games in two sets. She'll face Cal's Christina Fusano today.
Duck sophomore Daria Panova wins on Monday
and will continue play in the second round today
Tennis
Ryan Heath
Freelance Sports Reporter
The heat and humidity of Gainesville, Fla., weren’t
enough to slow down Duek sophomore Daria Panova in the
first round of the NCAA Championships on Monday.
No. 15 Panova took her match against No. 43 Jaime Wong
of Georgia Tech in straight sets despite temperatures in the
90s and more than 90 percent humidity.
The 6-1, 6-1 match lasted a little more than an hour and
surprised no one.
“She played solid,” Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander
said. “It was good to get the first round out of the way. She’s
still getting used to the climate.”
Duck junior Courtney Nagle didn’t fare as well as Panova
in her first-round matchup.
No. 54 Nagle lost in straight sets to No. 20 Jackie Garleton
of UCLA. Garleton beat Panova in a three-set match earlier
in the season and will take on No. 33 Julie Smekodub of Tu
lane today.
Nagle’s season is not complete, however, as she and
Panova team up today to battle No. 7 Kendall Cline and
Aniela Mojzis of North Carolina in the doubles portion of
the tourney.
Nagle and Panova have won three matches against
top-15 opponents this year. The Duck tandem would
take on the winner of the match between Florida’s Alexis
Turn to Tennis, page 12