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;
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Pirate Theme
Free refreshments!
7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
This Friday April 23rd.
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Catholic Campus Ministry
1850 Emerald Street
(across from Hayward Field)
ARRGH Matey - come
to enjoy and perform
Prizes for best
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