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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2004)
Sports Editor: Hank Hager hankhager@dailyemerald.com Thursday, April 1, 2004 -Oregon Daily Emerald SPORTS Best bet: NIT Championship Michigan vs. Rutgers 5 p.m., ESPN2 Oregon, Oklahoma agree to play two-game series The Ducks face Oklahoma for the fifth time in school history when they travel to Norman, Okla., in September By Hank Hager Sports Editor NEW YORK — After weeks of spec ulation, Oregon football finally agreed to a home-and-home series with Oklahoma on Wednesday. The Ducks will travel to Norman on Sept. 18, for the first of two games. The Sooners will play in Eugene sometime during the 2008 season. The game next season replaces a scheduled road contest for Oregon at Nevada. The Ducks will eventually make up that game. "Oregon football is now at a level where we can compete with the best programs in the country," Oregon athletics director Bill Moos said in a release. "Certainly the University of Oklahoma is one of those. "I feel we FOOTBALL °we ft to °ur - players and our fans to make every effort to schedule marquee teams on a home-and-home basis." Talks between the Ducks and Soon ers had been on-going for about a month. Oregon needed Nevada to al low the Ducks to get out of their im mediate obligation. "This has been an unusual and complicated process due in part to the lateness of the negotiations and the sensitivity to the University of Neva da," Moos said. Both games between the Ducks and Sooners are slated to be played before a national television audience with both teams agreeing to pay the visitor $300,000. The 2004 season will mark the sec ond such year that the Ducks will take on a nationally renowned program from outside the Pacific-10 Confer ence. Oregon defeated Big 10 Confer ence member Michigan, 31-27, at Autzen Stadium last season. Oklahoma went 12-2 last season, losing to Louisiana State in the na tional championship game, 21-14. The Sooners swept through the Big 12 Conference, winning all eight of their regular season games. However, they lost to then-No. 10 Kansas State, 35-7, in the Big 12 Championship game. The most notable Sooner player is quarterback Jason White, who won the Heisman Trophy as the nation's top player this past season. The Ducks and Sooners have met four times with Oklahoma winning each contest. However, the Sooners trip to Autzen in 2008 will be their first. "Intersectional contests like this and previous series with Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin pro vide quality competition as well as tremendous exposure not only for Oregon football but the entire Uni versity as well," Moos said. Oregon opens up the 2004 season on Sept. 11, hosting the Big 10's Indi ana. After the game with Oklahoma, the Ducks return to Autzen Stadium against Idaho on Sept. 25. The Ducks open their Pac-10 sched ule by hosting Arizona State on Oct. 2. Contact the sports editor at hankhager@dailyemerald.com. A small bite of the Big Apple The careers of four Oregon seniors came to an end with Tuesday’s loss to Michigan in the NIT By Hank Hager Sports Editor see as* l\Y^ 3.^1' otve^^e yo‘ men’s BASKETBALL NEW YORK — Reality, Andre Joseph said, began to set in as Michigan's lead grew dur ing the second half Tuesday at Madison \ Square Garden. The Ducks' season was assuredly over. In turn, the college careers of the team's four sen iors — Joseph, Luke Jackson, James Davis and _Jay Anderson — came \ to a halt. Now, the future comes into the picture. "I'm going to graduate and play hoops some where," Joseph said. "The important thing is to get the degree, because I know I'll play ball somewhere. I know I've got to get (the degree)." Joseph has been the most publicized of the Oregon seniors in recent weeks, most notably because of the 22- \ credit class load he had to take winter term. He earned a course-satisfying grade in all but one class, and will retake it in the spring before he moves on. Davis, Jackson and Anderson are all in the graduation boat as well. Jackson is rumored to be a first-round selection by Hous ton in the 2004 NBA Draft, according to NBADraft.net. But for Davis and Anderson, the NBA is something they'll have to watch on television. W o,o & >s^e kcY^ w „rAe£ v\ve co^ s° "I really can't believe it's over," Davis said. "In the spring ■A\*ew ve'^'se L.^ V0??V o^\„ AeX ../\t time, when they start to work out again and start doing their x individuals for next season, I really don't know what I'm going to be doing. "It's definitely kind of exciting, but definitely very emotional right now. I'm going to miss all the team mates and all the coaches that've been there for me." The quartet leaves as one of the most prolific play- / er groups in Oregon's history. Jackson finished with 656 points this season and 1,970 for his career, good for second all-time. Turn to NIT, page 14 Nyhus pitches one-hitter in sweep of Portland State The Ducks swept Portland State in a doubleheader at the Vikings' Erv Lind Stadium By Mindi Rice Senior Sports Reporter Ani Nyhus almost did it again. For the second time in as many starts, the transfer from Central Ari zona College pitched a stellar shutout — this time throwing a one-hitter as the No. 17 Ducks (27-9 overall, 1-0 Pacific-10 Conference) shut out Port land State, 1-0, in the second game of Wednesday's DUCK SOFTBALL doubleheader. The one-hit victory fol lowed close on the heels of her no-hitter against Utah State on Saturday. The sole hit that Nyhus allowed was an infield single to Viking center fielder Whitney Olsen, the lead-off batter in the first inning of the game. Despite giving up the hit, Nyhus faced the minimum number of bat ters — 21 — with the help of a double play in the bottom of the first. She is now 12-4 this season. Nyhus struck out 12 in the victory, her second consecutive start with a double-digit strikeout performance. In the Utah State victory, the junior broke a 10-year-old Oregon record, striking out 16 batters. Offensively, The Ducks managed four hits against Portland State pitcher Vanessa Holm. Holm struck out 10 in the game. Oregon's lone run came on catcher Jenn Poore's fifth home run of the season. Poore was 2 for 3 in the game. Shortstop Breanne Sabol and third baseman Ashley Richards added Ore gon's remaining hits. In the first game, the Ducks' offense came alive in the final innings. After Oregon's Anissa Meashintub by allowed seven hits and two runs in five innings, the Ducks put together three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 3-2 lead. With the lead, Oregon brought in Nyhus to relieve Meashintubby. She pitched two shutout innings, earning her first save of the season. The Ducks added two runs in the top of the seventh for a 5-2 win. Meashintubby earned the victory, improving her record to 10-2 in her Turn to SOFTBALL, page 14
