Emerald
sports writers reflect on 2003-04 year
From games in New York City to
Corvallis, Oregon Daily Emerald
sports writers were there. They saw
wins against Michigan and Califor
nia, Oregon State and Fresno State.
They saw losses to another Michigan
team, Washington State and Stan
ford.
Suffice it to say, those trips pro
duced a ton of memories.
Oregon Daily Emerald sports
writers reflect on their favorite
games or trips they covered this year.
Hank Hager, sports editor: I'd
never been to El Paso, Texas. And I'd
never been to New York City. So
when I went to El Paso for the Sun
Bowl and New York for the NIT, I
had fun. But Los Angeles and the
men's Pacific-10 Conference Tourna
ment — now that was great.
There's three days of great basket
ball. There's four days of incredible
weather in probably the biggest and
most bustling city this side of the
Mississippi River.
Sitting behind Lute Olson on
press row for Arizona's game against
Southern California? Priceless.
Making sure you don't fall over
laughing when Olson begins yelling
at his players — right after the
opening tip, mind you — for what
ever reason? Golden.
The Pac-10 Tournament was an
absolute blast. Oregon beat Califor
nia in the first game, then narrowly
lost to Stanford in the second. Both
games were great to watch.
But just being able to be around
that tournament — where eight of
the conference's 10 teams huddled
for three days at Staples Center —
was an incredible experience.
None of the games welcomed
huge crowds, but it was a fun atmos
phere for writers and athletes alike.
Of course, it helped that the sun
shone every day I was there and
coastal water appeared just by walk
ing around the block.
Too fun.
Mindi Rice, senior sports re
porter: These are the moments that
make childhood dreams.
Tied at zero through seven and a
half innings, Oregon was staying
hit-for-hit with No. 1 Arizona on
April 25.
Third baseman Ashley Richards,
who had walked once and ground
ed out twice, led off the bottom of
the eighth.
With the Ducks' sixth hit of the
game, Richards crushed a pitch over
the left-center field fence and sent
her bench — including pitchers Amy
Harris and Ani Nyhus, who had
combined for a five-hit shutout, and
head coach Kathy Arendsen —
jumping into the air with elation.
The Ducks had done the unthink
able: Beat No. 1 Arizona and give
Wildcats pitcher Alicia Hollowed a
loss to go with her 32 wins.
The best post-game interview was
Richards. After everyone inter
viewed her, I approached her. With
the inevitable "So how did that
feel?" question, her reply captured
the moment.
"I still can't find the words," she
said. "I've been talking to so many
people and I still can't figure out what
this feeling it. I feel like our team's on
the top of the world right now."
You were, Ashley, you were.
Jon Roetman, sports reporter:
Redemption.
There were 8.2 seconds left on the
clock and the Oregon women's bas
ketball team led then-No. 10
Stanford 67-66 at McArthur Court
on Feb. 26.
Duck fans couldn't help but fear
the worst, however, as Oregon had
found itself in a similar situation last
season and was torched by Cardinal
All-American Nicole Powell, who
sank a pair of free throws with 3.3
seconds remaining for a 75-74 win.
Along with the fear of Powell,
Oregon had seemingly played
against a stacked deck all season. In
juries to key players and a general
lack of experience plagued the
Ducks to the tune of a 4-12 Pacific
10 Conference record entering the
contest against one of the nation's
best teams.
But this February night was differ
ent. Junior forward Kedzie Gunder
son had played the defensive game
of her life, holding Powell to 13
points on 4 of 13 shooting for the
first 39 minutes and 52 seconds of
the game.
Stanford would have one final
chance as a player inbounded the
ball in the backcourt. Everyone in
McArthur Court knew the ball was
going to Powell. Now it was up to
Gunderson to stop her.
If Gunderson needed any added
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motivation, it was her foul on Powell
during the final seconds of last sea
son's game that led to a Stanford win.
As Powell dribbled down court,
Gunderson moved her feet beauti
fully, staying in front of the All
World forward and forcing her into
an off-balance jumper that fell short.
As the buzzer sounded, the Mac
Court crowed erupted in celebration
of the Ducks' 67-66 win.
Alex Tam, sports reporter: Games
should be decided by each team's
top players.
The best that both teams have to of
fer going head-to-head to decide the
outcome is the pinnacle of sports.
This situation presented itself in
this year's Oregon men's tennis dual
match against hated rival 18th
ranked Washington at the Student
Tennis Center. I was privileged to
cover this event in early March with
the crowd sitting on the edge of
their seats and anticipating every
single point.
Tied 3-3 with one dual match
point left, Oregon's No. 1 player
Manuel Kost ended up defeating the
Huskies' No. 1 player, Alex Vlaski, in
an intense three-setter 5-7, 7-6 (12
10) and 6-4. Vlaski, a two-time All
American, was ranked third in the
nation at the time. Afterward, team
mates rushed onto the court while
the crowd gave Kost a long standing
ovation. It was a sight that only
sports can produce.
The 4-3 win marked only the
fifth victory in Oregon history
against Washington in 112 at
tempts. The Ducks' losing streak
against the Huskies had spanned
more than half a century. Oregon
head coach Chris Russell said they
"had been haunted by that (streak)
for a while."
"But finally we're no longer
haunted," Russell said afterward.
Truly, this match showed what
sports is all about.
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