Eric Bish Freelance Photographer
USC’s Rachel Woodward (33) is averaging 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for the 7-6 Trojans.
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Trojans climbing
to top of Pac-10
USC is tied for second in
the Pac-10 after surprising
themselves with a 4-1 start
to their conference season
By Mindi Rice
Senior Sports Reporter
The Trojans are pushing their way
up the Pacific-10 Conference ladder.
After a 14-17 record landed USC in
a tie for fifth at
WOMEN'S
BASKETBALL
the end of the
Pac-10 season
last March, the
Trojans have
picked up
steam this season and are 4-1 in con
ference play.
"Everything we hoped we were go
ing to get out of (a tough early
schedule) last year, we were able to
get this year," head coach Chris Gob
recht said Tuesday. "We were able to
come out feeling very positive and
like we still had a chance to win in
the Pac-10."
USC (7-6 overall, 4-1 Pac-10) re
turned four starters from the tough
nonconference season it played a year
ago. Gobrecht spaced out the difficult
games this season, and she said it will
be a big help when they make the
tough trips during conference play.
"Anytime you're on the road it's
tough," Gobrecht said. "We've only
been on the road once. Stanford's got
a lot of tough things to do as well as
any of us. Stanford has yet to be test
ed. Washington almost got them, but
Stanford really has yet to be tested."
The Trojans recently survived a vis
it from the Washington schools, tak
ing care of Washington State, 82-52,
on Sunday. Meanwhile USC beat
Washington, which was chosen to
finish ahead of them in the confer
ence, 70-50, on Friday.
Senior Rometra Craig led the Tro
jans with 13 points against Washing
ton, while fellow senior Ebony Hoff
man led USC with 16 points Sunday.
Junior Rachel Woodward con
tributed 10 points off the bench be
tween the two games.
After losing six consecutive games
to the Huskies, sophomore Meghan
Gnekow and her teammates espe
cially enjoyed the victory. The first
year starter scored nine points in 23
minutes and led the Trojans with
eight rebounds.
"I've been practicing all week on
how to guard Giuliana (Mendiola)
and had watched film before the
game to get a feel for what I was do
ing," Gnekow told the Los Angeles
Times after the victory against Wash
ington. "But it wasn't just for me;
our whole team did a great job of
not letting them catch the ball and
run her plays."
Not-so-happy birthday
The Huskies' loss to USC came on
the same day as the younger Mendi
ola sister, Giuliana, turned 22 and
two days after Gioconda Mendiola's
23rd birthday. While Giuliana Men
diola is second in the Pac-10 with
19.6 points per game, the Huskies (8
7,1-5) have lost three straight games.
"The urgency is there, and it's only
getting more intense," Mendiola told
The Seattle Times after the loss to
USC. "You can't lose four games in
the Pac-10 out of five and sit back and
say, 'Well, I'm OK with it. We'll get
better.' We still have a lot of confi
dence in each other, but we need to
get this done. Soon."
Contact the senior sports reporter
at mindirice@dailyemerald.com.
Chute, Blank turning careers into coaching gold
The two former intercollegiate
athletes have lent a helping
hand and their expertise
By Kirsten McEwen
Sports Freelancer
With two former varsity Oregon
volleyball players serving as coaches
for the men's Club volleyball team,
coordinator Kyle Sinner believes the
two will be one of the main reasons
the team will have a successful season.
"It's so important that we have a
strong coaching staff," Sinner said.
"The girls that we have are amazing
because they work us to death and
it is totally needed. They bring such
a depth of knowledge to practice. It
helps us feel like a real team."
While the majority of club teams
are coached by
student partic
ipants, men's
volleyball
players consid
er themselves
lucky to have
former setter Sydney Chute and de
fensive specialist Diana Blank
as coaches.
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"Having a coach-player relation
ship is important," Sinner said. "It is
just a lot different than having your
own teammate coach you."
With two stellar coaches, seven re
turning players and four rookies, in
cluding two exchange students, the
men's volleyball team will enter its first
tournament in Walla Walla, Wash., this
weekend. They will challenge such
Northwest schools as Idaho State,
Washington State and Pacific.
Although this weekend's tourna
ment is important, the team is
preparing for back-to-back tourna
ments in California in February. The
18th Annual Collegiate Far Western
Volleyball Invitational, held Feb. 14
and 15 at UC Davis, will be the
team's first major tournament and
will serve as their last chance to
compete before attending the San
Diego State University 2nd Annual
SoCal Classic.
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"This will be our first year going to
the SoCal tournament, and all the
big schools will be there, so we will
be the little guys going in there to
show them what's up," Sinner said.
The Ducks will begin spring term
by hosting regionals at the Universi
ty. Seven teams will compete on
April 3 and 4 and will vie for a top
ranking to take to nationals, which
will be held in Charlotte, N.C.
"We are for sure looking to take
the region," Sinner said. "A top rank
ing is important if we want to place
well at nationals."
Sinner said the team's goal is to
finish in the top 10 at nationals,
which would be a major improve
ment after placing 25th at last year's
tournament.
"I think we have a pretty good
shot," he said. "If we do these major
tournaments at Davis and at San
Diego, I think we will definitely have
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Greek Weekend
Oregon ice hockey caps off the
Annual 1-5 Cup this weekend at
Lane County Ice Arena. The 1-5 Cup
is awarded to the team — either
Washington or Oregon — that has
the best record after four games. The
Ducks are down 2-0 after losing
both games against the Huskies in
Seattle. The Ducks will play Wash
ington at 7:30 on both Friday and
Saturday night.
The Ducks are also sponsoring
Greek Weekend, an event in which
University sororities and fraternities
show their support for Oregon ice
hockey. The greek house with the
most members in attendance will re
ceive $ 1 for every ticket sold on Jan.
16 and 17. The money will be do
nated to the charity of their choice.
Fourteen games in, Oregon is still
searching for its first win of the sea
son. After a weekend without games
and an entire week of practice to pre
pare, the Ducks look to capitalize on
their rested legs.
Kirsten McEwen is a freelance
reporter for the Emerald.