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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2004)
HURDLING continued from page 15 showed interest. After seeing Mitchum perform in the Illinois state high school meet his senior year, Duck coaches were convinced he had the talent to hur dle at the Division I level. So far, Mitchum's done nothing to prove Oregon wrong. Along with Sunday's record, the sophomore ran a wind aided 13.50 at the Texas Relays earli er this month, which is the second fastest time in the country behind Florida's Josh Walker (13.47). Off the track, Mitchum's transi tion to small-town life in Eugene was easier than he expected. Friend ships with Brandon 1 lolliday, Roder ick Dotts and Kedar Inico have helped the sophomore get over the lack of quality clubs, malls and par ties in Tracktown, USA. Mitchum also grew dose with fdlow sprinter Travis Anderson. The two have lived together since arriving at Oregon and never fail to have a good time. "We roughhouse a lot," Anderson said. "I don'tknowwhy, but we do." The usual result? "Eric always wins," Anderson said. "He just squeezes me to death." Most of Mitchum's time, however, is spent trying to get faster and stronger. This weekend's Oregon Invita tional will present one of many chances the sophomore will have to entertain fans at Hayward Field dur ing his time left in Eugene. "Over the next two years, we'll be able to improve his technique," Steele said. "There's very little that separates Eric from the great hurdlers." Contact the sports reporter at jonroetman@daityemerald.com. CLUB continued from page 15 Island High School. The winner will be named the league champion and will automatically get a berth in the Nation al Tournament held May 12 through 15 in St. Louis. Nine conference divisions will each send a conference champion and seven at-large bids are filled by a committee. Oregon lacrosse Coordinator Jon Opet said there are "eight schools that constantly fight for the National Cham pionship." This year, the Ducks are in position to compete against those top teams and earn a place among them. With a 12-6 overall record and No. 9 national ranking, the Ducks have seen a transformation in the level of their play. Oregon's losses have all come from ranked opponents, and it is those games that have pushed the Ducks to become better. The Ducks began to pick up their lev el of play and became determined to perform like a nationally-ranked team by the middle of the spring season, Opet said. "Our offense began to value ball pos session more, and on defense we really stepped up our level of play," Opet said. Oregon saw Waldman score his 100th career goal on Saturday, which was the first time any player has ever reached the mark in the school's lacrosse history. Ihe Ducks also found a reason to celebrate when Dave Wyer scored his first career goal. Wyer's first goal was a tribute to his younger broth er, whom Wyer would not discuss but said had passed away "a couple of years ago." Wyer attributes the team's success this year to their performance both on and off the field. Wyer said the 40 members of the lacrosse team now serve as his "little brothers" and that the team is "a closely knit bunch who have logged thousands of miles together all up and down the West Coast." Ihe Ducks have traveled as far north as Canada and as far south as San Diego. Ihe missing piece to the puzzle, they say, is the trip east, to St. Louis. "It would be huge for us to compete in St. Louis," Waldman said. "It would be the first time in school history, and we would prove to the league that we are for real this year." Before the conference tournament, Oregon wants to make sure it is ready to play and perform when it counts. "We've definitely been working on harnessing all of our talent and point ing it in the same direction," Wald man said. Kirsten McEwen is a freelance reporter for the Emerald. SPORTS BRIEF Duck men, women head to Pac-10 Tournament Oregon's Daria Panova will try to continue her dominance over the Pa cific-10 Conference as she and the rest of the Oregon tennis teams compete in the Pacific-10 Men's and Women's Individual Tennis Championships starting today in Ojai, Calif. Panova, ranked 10th in the nation, will be going for her fourth Pac-10 in dividual title. The junior from Moscow won the 2003 and 2004 in door Pac-10 championships, along with last year's outdoor champi onship. "Daria has that expectation on her self to win anytime she is in a tourna ment," Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said. Panova will face 99th-ranked Joslynn Burkett of Arizona State to day. Panova beat Burkett earlier this season in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Other competitors in the singles tournament for Oregon will be 69 th ranked Dominika Dieskova and sen ior Courtney Nagle. On the men's side, Oregon junior Sven Swinnen has moved up 18 spots in the rankings to No. 17, the highest an Oregon men's player has been ranked in the program's 66-year history. Swinnen, along with No. 71 Manuel Kost, Thomas Bieri and Markus Schiller, will participate this weekend. "Swinnen and Manuel have beaten top-ranked people this year, so I think they have a good chance to go far," head coach Chris Russell said. "Thomas and Markus play a big style of tennis and if they're on, they can beat anyone." In today's first-round action, Swin nen will face Arizona's Colin O'Grady, Kost will match-up against Arizona's Whi Kim, Bieri will take on No. 79 Jasmil Al-Agba of Southern California and Schiller will play against 11th ranked Sam Warburg of Stanford. — Clayton Jones 014413; M IiddlefielD * *J golf Course 942-8730 484-1927 STUDENT SPECIAL GOLF 9 HOLES $10 Student Only. Must show ID. (Monday ■ Friday) o UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 2004 Summer Session Registration Starts May 3 Register for Summer Classes Book Your Summer in Oregon Summer Session starts June 21. Pick up your free summer catalog today in the Summer Session office, 333 Oregon Hall, at the UO Bookstore, or read it online. You can speed your way toward graduation by taking required courses during summer. Check Out Our Website! http://uosummer.uoregon.edu g^s for Spring Coffee House! Pirate Theme Free refreshments! 7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. This Friday April 23rd. St. Thomas More Newman Center Catholic Campus Ministry 1850 Emerald Street (across from Hayward Field) ARRGH Matey - come to enjoy and perform Prizes for best pirate attire Phone: 346-4468 For more events, go to: http://www.newmanctr-uoregon.org We've got sp at www.dailyemerald.com
