Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Monday, June 9,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
Best bet
Stanley Cup Finals:
Anaheim at New Jersey Game 7
5 p.m., ABC
The Emerald hands out its
annual awards for the
2002-03 year in athletics
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
Unless you’re talking about “Lord of
the Rings,” the sequel is always disap
pointing.
In 2001-02, we had the “Year of the
Duck.” Oregon won Pacific-10 Confer
ence championships in football and
men’s basketball, a near-Pac-10 title in
men’s track and a WNIT championship
in women’s hoops.
In 2002-03, we got the sequel. The
football team went from Mr. Hyde (first
half of the season) to Dr. Jekyll (second
half). The men’s basketball team lost a
heartbreaker to Utah and took an early
exit from the NCAA Tournament.
But there were still plenty of high
lights from the sequel. The softball
team made an eye-popping run
through the Pac-10 season. The men’s
and women’s track teams still have a
chance to do some damage at NCAAs.
In the spirit of those highlights, we
present our 4th annual Emmie
Awards. Word has it that Oregon ath
letes fight and claw for these awards all
year (all awards are voted on by the
Emerald sports staff).
Most Entertaining Female: Andrea
Vidlund. The Queen of the Diamond
rocked Howe Field more than any oth
er Duck softball player because she did
it all. This year, she set Oregon single
season records for home runs and
saves. Think about that for a second.
Against UCLA (the eventual nation
al champion) in April, Vidlund single
handedly won the game at Howe with
her bat and pitching arm. In the bottom
of the fourth, she hit a two-run dinger
to put Oregon ahead 5-1. In the bottom
of the seventh, she came on and held
the Bruins to two runs, earning the
Ducks a 5-4 win. Entertaining indeed.
Most Entertaining Male: Samie
Parker. When Pac-10 comerbacks
dream at night, they have nightmares.
They see a green jersey with a lightning
yellow No. 1 speeding down the sideline,
ball in hand, heading for the end zone.
Between the football field and the
track, Parker left so many people in the
dust that he should start a support
group. He heads into this week’s NCAA
Track and Field Championships ranked
sixth in the nation in the 100-meter
dash, and that
speed helps him
most at his true
home, Autzen Sta
dium. In Oregon’s
first four football
games last season,
he had 18 catches
for 350 yards (an
average of 19.4
yards per catch)
and four touch
downs
Biggest Heart: Cathrine Kraayeveld.
Every member of the women’s basket
ball team faced a landslide of adversity
this season, but none more than
Kraayeveld.
The senior went down with a staph
infection in her knee midway through
the season. The medical outlook was
bleak, and it looked like Kraayeveld
would be out for the year. But, amaz
ingly, she came back and played in the
season’s last six games, helping the
Ducks win three of those contests.
Best Interview: Andre Joseph. We
interact with hundreds of athletes
throughout the year and always notice
their interviewing style. Some are bor
ing. Some are outlandish.
Some — well, only one, actually —
make up their own words. That person
is Andre Joseph, who had a way with
words that can only be illustrated with
quotes.
Turn to Emmies, page 23
INSIDE
Our writers pick
out their
favorite
moments from
the year.
PAGE 22
Adam Amato Emerald
Luke Ridnour drives past Kansas' Kirk Hinrich in November. Ridnour earned Emmie male MVP honors.
Duck track squads set to make noise at NCAAs
MEN: A total of 13 Ducks will try
to put Oregon back into
the top 10 at the national meet
Men’s track and field
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
Two years ago, all it took was two na
tional champions and a little help from a
supporting cast to propel Oregon to a top
10 finish at the NCAA Championships.
Those champions are back, and now
the question is, can they do it again?
The Ducks send 13 men to Sacramen
to, Calif., this week for the NCAA finale.
The Oregon spotlight will be squarely on
decathlete Santiago Lorenzo and javelin
thrower John Stiegeler as they defend
their 2001 titles. The remainder of the
light will fall on the 11 other Ducks, from
veterans like Jason Hartmann to rookies
like Eric Mitchum. No matter what
Lorenzo and Stiegeler do, the supporting
east may make or break the Ducks’
chances for their second top-10 placing
in three years.
The Duck entries vary across the
Turn to Men's, page 20
Adam Amato Emerald
John Stiegelerwill try to win his second NCAA title this week in Sacramento, Calif.
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WOMEN: Oregon sends a mixed crowd of field-event
veterans and rookies to the NCAA Championships
Women’s track and field
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
Redshirt senior Niki MeEwen has a statistic that no other ath
lete on the Oregon women’s track and field team can claim.
Out of eight chances to make the NCAA Championships,
MeEwen will make her seventh-straight appearance at
the NCAAs, being held at Sacramento’s Hornet Stadium
on Thursday.
For the pole vaulter who only missed nationals her freshman
indoor season, it isn’t a big deal anymore.
“I must say when I was younger I would get a lot more excit
ed,” said MeEwen, who will go for her fourth All-American hon
or. “I couldn’t sleep at night before, and now I get there and it’s
like ‘veah, it’s another meet; I hope I do good.’”
Redshirt junior Abby Andrus has a different perspective.
As a junior-college transfer, Andrus is finishing her first sea
son in Division I athletics and will make her first NCAA Cham
pionships appearance.
“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity,” said Andrus,
the national junior college heptathlon runner-up in 2(X)2. “This
is like the biggest meet of my life.”
Oregon has a split field of veterans and rookies entering
Wednesday’s competition. Along with MeEwen, redshirt senior
Turn to Women's, page 28