Sports Editor
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Thursday, January 8,2004
-Oregon Daily Emerald
SPORTS
Best bet
NHL:
N.Y. Rangers vs. Carolina
4 p.m., ESPN2
Lincoln set for first career start against OSU
Adam Amato Photo Editor
Brandon Lincoln will assume the starting point guard position when Oregon visits Oregon State bn Saturday. It will the Portland native’s his first career start.
The sophomore guard played
26 minutes after Aaron Brooks
went out with an injury against
UCLA in a loss last week
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
At first glance, the injury to Aaron
Brooks during Oregon's loss to UCLA
looks like it will throw a wrench into
MEN'S
BASKETBALL
still have a strong season.
The sophomore is slated to earn his
first career start against Oregon State on
Saturday in Corvallis. He filled in for
Brooks after the injury, scored three
points and dished out three assists in 26
minutes against the Bruins.
"The UCLA game was kind of tough
because we were kind of in a fog," Lin
coln said. "UCLA was getting a lot of
things done on us. Basically, I just canie
in and tried to be solid, but I could have
done a lot more."
The Ducks say they feel comfortable
Turn to START, page 14
Oregon's postsea
son plans.
But if Brandon
Lincoln has any
thing to say about
it, the team will
Disappointing season
inspires Club volleyball
for successful new year
The Club is looking forward
to competing at Nationals in
early April in North Carolina
By Kirsten McEwen
Freelance Reporter
Last year was disappointing for Ore
gon's Club volleyball team after it won
back-to-back national championships
in 2001 and 2002.
Club
Sports
"We had lots of
talent but not a lot
of heart and de
sire," Club coordi
nator Jessica Mae
Van Ourkerk said.
"It seemed like
people just did not want to be there."
Van Ourkerk predicts 2004 will be a
different year with a better outcome,
however.
"I have a really good feeling about
this year and so I think all of us are re
ally excited," Van Ourkerk said. "Right
now we just need to work some kinks
out because a lot of us haven't played
together for very long."
Oregon's first chance to compete as
a team came Sunday when the Ducks
challenged women's teams from
around the Northwest. Oregon com
peted against teams composed of ex
collegiate players and alumni from
different schools. The Ducks lost in
the first round, but Van Ourkerk
stressed that the experience, instead of
the outcome, was what the team cared
about most.
Oregon returns only four players
from last year's squad. Ten players were
chosen to join the team in the fall after
more than 30 women participated
in tryouts.
"Most of the new girls are freshmen
and sophomores, so we are a young
team," Van Ourkerk said. "Even
though we are a bit inexperienced, we
seem to have lots of drive, heart and
talent, which is always a big plus."
Oregon will continue to play in a va
riety of different tournaments in Port
land throughout January. The Ducks
will then travel to UC Davis on Feb. 13
to compete in the Far Western Tourna
ment. Last year, the Ducks finished in
second place at the tournament and in
first place in 2001.
Oregon hopes to use the Far Western
Tournament to gauge their improve
ment and to fine-tune their skills for
Nationals, which will be held in Char
lotte, N.C., from April 2-4.
In the meantime, the Ducks will
continue to practice three times a week
and will focus not only on improving
but on bringing a national champi
onship back to Oregon.
Let it snow
Oregon's snowboarding club eager
ly awaits snow each year, and this year
the snow came early and in large
amounts. As of now, it looks as if it will
be around for quite some time, at least
on nearby mountains.
The snowboarding club provides
students transportation to the moun
tains. For a one-time fee of $30, Uni
versity students are provided with
transportation to and from Willamette
Pass, Mt. Bachelor or Mt. Hood Mead
ows. Snowboarders pay for their own
lift ticket, however. The fee covers all
transportation costs from the first week
Turn to CLUB, page 16
Conference’s best battle
when Arizona visits Stanford
Stanford and Arizona face
off Saturday with the best
record in the Pacific-10
Conference on the line
It may be early in the season, but Satur
day will reveal a great deal about the bal
ance of power in the Pacific-10 Confer
ence.
The Pac-10's top two teams battle in
Palo Alto, Calif., when Arizona plays No.
only two games this season, both to teams
currently ranked in the top five. Arizona
(11-3,3-0) has won 10 of its last 11 games
and is hungry for an upset.
Along with being pivotal to the final
conference standings, Saturday's match
up will double as a showcase of some of
the nation's top talent. Stanford is led by
senior forward Nicole Powell. The two
time Kodak First Team All-American is
second in the conference in scoring (20.2)
and tops in rebounding (11.1).
Arizona is powered by the duo of soph
omore center Shawntinice Polk and jun
ior guard Dee-Dee Wheeler. Each has tak
en home a Pac-10 Freshman of the Year
award while helping to turn the Wildcats
into a conference power.
At 6-foot-5 with a sturdy frame, Polk is
virtually indefensible when she catches
the ball in the low post. She is fourth in
the conference in scoring (17.2) and third
in rebounding (9.2). Wheeler, a First
Team All-Pac-10 selection last season, is
sixth in scoring at 16.9 points per game.
By Jon Roetman
Sports Reporter
WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL
7 Stanford. The
three-time defend
ing Pac-10 cham
pion Cardinal (11
2 overall, 4-0
Pac-10) has lost
Turn to DOMINANCE, page 16
Adam Amato Photo Editor
Nicole Powell and Stanford take on Arizona in a Pacific-10 Conference tilt
on Saturday. The Cardinal is favored to win the Pac-10 this season.