Oregon Daily Emerald
Thursday, Januaryi 27, 2005
“1 feel terrible. I didn’t think he had it in him. ”
Houston Rockets star TVacy McGrady after his rottweiler bit a maintenance person’s nose off
■ Women’s lacrosse
Heart
over
hearing
For Oregon lacrosse player
Ashley Beghtel, disability never
stands in the way of passion
BY BEAU EASTES
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
Ashley Beghtel possesses all the qualities
one might expect to find in an NCAA
Division I athlete:
Size. At 5-foot-8, only three lacrosse
teammates stand taller, none of whom have
shoulders as broad as hers.
“She’s a very physical player,” Oregon
head lacrosse coach Jen Larsen said.
Aggression. Lauren Anderson, an assistant
lacrosse coach at Southridge High School in
Beaverton, tells of how it was “the parting of
the seas” when Beghtel charged the goal for
the Skyhawks. No one wanted to be in
the path of the attacker who would stop at
nothing on her way to scoring.
Game smarts. Larsen and Anderson both
praise Beghtel’s uncommon field awareness.
“Her perception and vision are 100 times
better than anyone I’ve ever coached,”
Anderson said.
Beghtel’s powerful legs, tenacity and keen
eye are all part of the package that has helped
her pave her way to Pape Field. What’s
most impressive though, is Beghtel’s passion
to overcome obstacles, most notably her
inability to hear.
When Beghtel was 12 months old, she
lost her hearing to meningitis. The setback
was devastating to the Beghtel family,
Patty Beghtel, Ashley’s mother, said.
Faith, though, helped the family through
its dark period.
“It was the only reason we survived,”
Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer
Above: Ashley Beghtel, center, her interpreter Leah
Passman, right, and teammates partake in a team
building activity Wednesday. Below: Beghtel (20), Liora
Lobel (16) and a teammate compete in a fall scrimmage.
Patty said. “Knowing someone greater than us
had a plan.”
Ashley was introduced to signing at
15 months, and soon her older brother
Matt would join her. A few years later she was
playing T-ball and soccer.
“She doesn’t sit around much,” her
mother said.
Entering high school, Beghtel started
playing soccer and was soon recruited by
the basketball coach because of her size
and aggressiveness. But it was the new club
sport of lacrosse her brother played that
intrigued her.
“I really like to try new things,” Beghtel said
through her interpreter, Leah Passman.
“(Lacrosse) was something exciting and new.”
After the titillating experience of lacrosse,
“soccer became that more dry,” she said.
Under the tutelage of Anderson, Beghtel’s
gifts became obvious.
“She has a ton of pure athletic talent,”
Anderson said. “(As a coach) you’re lucky to
get one that has the full package.”
Impressing Anderson more than Beghtel’s
talents or determination to succeed in the face
of her disability was her willingness to put the
team first.
“She would do whatever we asked her,”
Anderson said.
After three years of playing at Southridge,
Beghtel’s disability would, at times, be
overlooked by coaches, as dealing with it had
become routine.
“We occasionally forgot to do the simple
things,” Anderson said, such as turning
toward Beghtel during time-outs so the
attacker could read a coach’s lips.
Things weren’t so easy, however, after
Ashley transferred to Oregon (she spent the
first two terms of last year at Western Ore
gon). In the fall, none of Beghtel’s teammates
knew any sign language, leaving Ashley on
the outside of small talk and inside jokes.
“It took a while for them to get used to me at
the beginning,” Beghtel said. “But after a few
months, they started to get used to it. They’re
LACROSSE, page 14
■ Women's basketball
Ducks host
Bruins, start
latter part of
Pac-10 slate
UCLA has won its last three games
at Mac Court, and Oregon hopes
to end the Bruins' streak tonight
BY BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
The Oregon women’s basketball team
begins the second half of its Pacific-10
Conference schedule tonight against a UCLA
team that will be without the services of its
leading scorer and rebounder, sophomore
Noelle Quinn.
“For us, it has been a tough situation,”
UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier said. “She
does so many things for our team. The
last few games we have had people step up
and we are just going to look forward to other
people to contribute.”
Which is exactly what the Bruins (12-6
overall, 6-3 Pac-10) are getting as they look for
their third straight victory at Mac Court.
Stepping up for the Bruins has been
forward Lindsey Plummer, who is now aver
aging 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Lately, much of the emphasis for Oregon
(12-6, 5-4) has been its propensity for
committing turnovers, especially on the road.
In their last meeting with UCLA, the Ducks
turned the ball over 20 times en route to a
70-54 loss.
But that was at Pauley Pavilion. “I don’t
really believe that the home court advantage
has anything to do with turnovers,” Oregon
head coach Bev Smith said. “I think it’s just
WOMEN, page 14
■ Men's basketball
Oregon wraps up first half
of Pac-10 schedule on road
The Ducks will try to regroup
at Cal and Stanford after two
straight home losses last weekend
BY JON ROETMAN
SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
The Oregon men’s basketball team closes
out the first half of its Pacific-10 Conference
schedule this week, starting with a trip to Haas
Pavilion tonight to face California.
The youthful Ducks (11-5 overall, 3-4 Pac-10)
will have their confidence tested after dropping
a pair of home games to the Arizona schools
last week. After battling the Golden Bears,
Oregon will play Stanford on Saturday at
Maples Pavilion.
The Ducks have not faired well during
recent trips to the Bay Area, dropping their
last four games at Cal and their last 18
contests at Stanford.
Despite not having odds in their favor,
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said the Ducks
have rebounded well from recent losses and
have a lot to gain from their next two games.
“This team has been a joy to coach,” Kent
said. “They bounce back and their energy has
MEN, page 14
Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer
Forward Mitch Platt, seen here against Arizona State
Saturday, has had few touches in recent games.
■ Club Sports
Ducks host Pac-10 foes, hope
to keep winning streak alive
BY SCOTTJ. ADAMS
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
After two weeks off, the Oregon wrestling
team continues its homestand Friday with a
double-header against Pacific-10 Conference
foes Cal State Fullerton and Stanford. The
Ducks are riding a three-dual winning streak
following their dramatic 25-23 win over
Boise State on Dec. 14.
Oregon junior Shane Webster (174
pounds) said the Ducks are recovering
well from injury and have more confidence
at practice.
“We feel confident going into this
weekend,” Webster said. “We’re almost at
100 percent and should do well.”
Webster also said Oregon head coach
Chuck Kearney should keep a consistent
roster for both duals Friday, pending weigh
in results.
Action starts for Oregon (4-5 overall,
1-3 Pac-10) at 2 p.m., when the
Ducks wrestle a talented Cal State Fullerton
(9-3, 2-1) squad. The Titans enter the match
reeling in the wake of a 31-14 loss at
the hands of No. 18 Arizona State last week.
The Sun Devils dominated the dual by
winning seven of 10 bouts to remain
undefeated in conference matches.
Leading Cal State Fullerton into
Friday’s dual is ninth-ranked senior Landon
Seefeldt, who finished fourth at last season's
NCAAs. Seefeldt has two Pac-10 titles under
his belt as well, and faces senior Scott
Barker (197) of Oregon in one of the most
anticipated matches of the season. Barker
slightly injured his ankle this week in
practice but will definitely wrestle Seefeldt,
Webster said.
Oregon sophomore Joey Lucas (125) will
also wrestle a former Pac-10 champion as
he squares off against No. 18 Jesse
Miramontes. Miramontes has been a
standout this season for the Titans as a key
contributor in all of their wins.
Friday’s action continues for Oregon as it
takes the mat against Stanford (4-4, 0-2) at
7 p.m. Like Oregon, the Cardinal has been
hampered with injuries this year and has
struggled early in conference duals. Stanford
lost earlier in the season to Cal State
Fullerton and dropped a dual last Sunday to
Cal State Bakersfield in a 29-12 rout. The
Ducks also lost to Cal State Bakersfield,
26-29, in an early January match-up in
WRESTLING, page 14