Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Thursday, May 29,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald --
Sports
Best bet
NBA Playoffs:
San Antonio at Dallas, Game 6
6 p.m., TNT
Seniorjordan Sauvage will finish
her career as the school record
holder in the hammer after
appearing at Oregon by chance
Women’s track and field
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
It may have been luck, or maybe
destiny, but senior Jordan Sauvage
knows how to be in the right place at
the right time.
When Sally Harmon examined the
clipping of Mandy Borschowa, a na
tion-leading discus thrower, in the
spring of 1999, there was more to the
photo than just Borschowa.
Sauvage was standing in the back
ground stretching Borschowa. And
after Borschowa signed with Wash
ington State, Harmon began sending
letters to Sauvage.
Sauvage, a North Bend native, ap
peared on the scene at Oregon one
year later by mere chance.
“She had the door opened up by de
fault,” Harmon said. “I contacted Jor
dan because of her state marks in all
three events. They weren’t sensational
marks, but she reeked of tremendous
potential because she was athletic and
very well-rounded.”
It was what Sauvage had wanted
all along.
“I signed up to go to this school
and I didn’t even look at the cam
pus,” she said. “I just knew this is
where I wanted to go because it was
Track Town USA.”
The decision worked out for
Sauvage and the women’s track and
field program as she now holds the
Oregon record in the hammer (191
feet, 4 inches) and ranks in the top 20
percent nationally.
Four years after stepping on cam
pus, Sauvage will put a close to the
scrapbook after competing in this
weekend’s NCAA West Regional Quali
fier and possibly the NCAA Champi
onships, beginning June 14.
Sauvage’s will and desire to suc
ceed have brought her to this point.
And she showed promise from the
very beginning.
From her freshman year, Sauvage
hung with fellow recruit Mary Etter in
performance measurements based on
jumps, lifts and mechanics.
Etter came out of Everett, Wash., and
ranked sixth and fourth nationally in the
discus and shot put. Sauvage was a
walk-on from a 3A Oregon high school.
“For a gal with the tenacity that Jor
dan showed, for a gal to stay up with
Mary, was a big statement about her
desire to compete at this level and her
confidence,” Harmon said.
That confidence carried with her
through the years to personal bests in
the hammer, discus (153-8) and
javelin (138-11). Most of all, Sauvage’s
confidence plays into the personality
she is known so distinctly for.
Junior Jill Hoxmeier remembers her
first impression of her teammate.
“Oh sassy, definitely sassy,”
Hoxmeier said of her former room
mate. “I think that’s everyone’s first
impression. We kind of have sassiness
Turn to Thrower, page 12
UO triathletes face triple threat
that isn’t just about three events
The Oregon club has a large crew of
triathletes who compete year-round
Jon Roetman
Freelance Sports Reporter
Swimming. Running. Biking.
Any one of these physically challeng
ing activities could easily be too much for
the common couch potato to handle. But
when the three are combined into a long,
rest-free, grueling test of determination,
only the big dogs come out to play.
Wondering where to find some of these
big dogs? Look no further than the Ore
gon Club triathlon team.
The Ducks have 24 consistent mem
bers who have participated in
triathlons throughout the year. Each
triathlete knows not only of the physi
cal strain a triathlon puts on the body,
but of the mental power needed to get
to the finish line.
“It definitely tests the physical and
mental limits that your body can act out
in a certain amount of time,” club coor
dinator Lauren Anas said. “It’s a definite
accomplishment to finish.”
Triathlons consist of four different race
distances. Sprint, Olympic^ Half-Ironman
Courtesy
The Club triathlon team competes at massive events like the Wildflower Triathlon in California
and Ironman distances allow triathletes
to each compete on a course that best
matches their ability. Most of the
triathlons the Ducks compete in are of
the Olympic distance, which is roughly a
one-mile swim, followed by a 25-mile
bike ride and finished with a six-mile
run. An Ironman triathlon, the most pun
ishing of the four, consists of a 2.4-mile
swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2
mile run.
In early May the Ducks competed in
the Wildflower Triathlon near King City,
Calif. Oregon finished in fourth place
behind Cal Poly, California and
Turn to Triathlon, page 10
Sica’s dynamic
day elevates UO
to 20th at NCAAs
For the second day in a row, another Oregon senior
captain stumbles, but this time Oregon is able
to recover and jumps 10 spots up from the first day
Golf
Scott Archer
Freelance Sports Reporter
What a difference a day makes, or more specifically, what
a difference 18 holes of golf makes. After opening the 2003
NCAA Championships at the 7,301-yard, par-72 Karsten
Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla., at the bottom of the
leaderboard on Tuesday, Oregon had nowhere to go but up.
The Ducks, propelled by another stellar performance
from junior Mike Sica, shot a 300 on Wednesday to jump
up 10 spots on the leaderboard to tie at 20th overall. It
was the second-best round of golf on the day, with UCLA
coming out on top.
Sica followed yesterday’s one-over par 73 with a two-over
par 74. His combined score of 3-over par places him in a tie
for fourth place overall, individually.
“I left a few shots out there today, but I'm still hitting the
ball really well,” Sica said. “I made a mental mistake that
cost me a stroke on 14, but overall, I'm still pretty happy.”
Senior John Ellis shook off a poor opening round to shoot
a two-over 74, coming after he had shot a career worst 20
over 92 on Wednesday.
“I thought we played pretty well,” Ellis said. “I'm ecstatic
that we were able to shoot 12-over. To come back and play
that way after the first round is pretty remarkable.”
Freshman Gregg LaVoie also improved on the second day
Turn to Golf, page 10