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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2005)
■ Duck tennis Women claim one win in three matches on the road The Ducks edged out 16th-ranked Washington, 4-3, before suffering losses to California and No. 1 Stanford BY ALEX TAM DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER The Oregon women’s tennis team faced a monumental challenge last week as it battled three Pacific-10 Conference teams on the road — all ranked in the nation’s top 25. The Ducks (13-4 overall, 2-3 Pac-10) came out with one win in the three matches, including a 4-3 victory over Washington on March 22 in Seattle. The No. 16 Huskies are the highest ranked opponent that Oregon has beaten in the program’s history. “This team is playing outstanding tennis right now,” Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said last week. “Every time we hit the court, we are getting better. Our confi dence is growing and growing. After beating (No. 22) BYU (on March 19), we knew we had an excellent chance to get a win over the Huskies.” Oregon took a 3-2 lead in the match when Dominika Dieskova de feated Washington’s Dinka Hadzic — ranked No. 43 in the nation — in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. Dieskova has won 11 of her last 15 singles match es, leading her to a No. 73 ranking. Needing just one more victory to clinch the match, Daria Panova did just that by closing out ninth-ranked Dea Sumantri in two sets, 7-5, 6-4. Panova, who is now unranked after beginning the season as high as No. 8 in the nation, captured her 12th singles win of the season. Prior to the victory, the Ducks had lost to the Huskies six consecu tive times, including a 5-2 loss on Feb. 12 in Eugene. In the last two matches on the road trip, Oregon lost a close match to No. 24 California, 4-3, on March 25 and fell to No. 1 Stanford, 6-1, on March 26. The Ducks took a quick 1-0 lead in the loss to California when they won the doubles point. The 43rd ranked duo of Panova and Dieskova got its 13th victory after defeating Cal’s Suzi Babos and Marion Rav elojaona, 8-4. The Golden Bears tied the score at 3-3 by winning three of five sin gles matches. The match came down to the No. 2 position between Dieskova and Stephanie Kusano. Kusano captured the win and clinched the dual match for Cal in a tough three-setter, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. “We battled as well as we have all season today,” Schyllander said last week. “Everyone on the team played their hearts out. Despite los ing, I feel nothing but positive things. This team is playing excel lent tennis, and we are only going to get better. ” In the 6-1 loss to Stanford, Ore gon’s Davina Mendiburu scored the Ducks’ lone point when she upset 38th-ranked Theresa Logar, 6-3, 6-3, to improve her singles record to 11-5. The defending national champion Cardinal have players ranked in the top 90 in the nation at each position of the lineup. At the No. 1 position, Amber Liu — ranked No. 14 and the defending NCAA singles champion — handed Panova her fourth loss of the dual season in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. The Oregon women continue their stretch against top 25 teams when No. 5 Southern California vis its Eugene on Friday at 1:30 p.m. The Ducks will also face No. 11 UCLA Saturday at noon. The home matches are held at the Student Tennis Center. Men's tennis struggles The Oregon men’s tennis team (7-11, 0-2) continues to struggle af ter losing its eighth consecutive match in a 6-1 home loss to Stan ford on March 26. The Ducks also lost to No. 29 California, 6-1, and were upset at home by Portland, 4-3. After beginning the season with a 5-1 record under first-year head coach Kevin Kowalik, the Ducks are in the midst of a losing streak in which they have dropped 10 of their last 12 matches. One of the bright spots on the team is Sven Swinnen — ranked No. 22 in the nation — who holds a 13-2 singles record in the dual season. The Oregon men travel to Los An geles to face USC on Friday and UCLA on Saturday. Michigan State lands thriller victory in double overtime Kentucky's Patrick Sparks sunk a desperation three at the end of regulation to force the first of two OTs BY JAIME ARON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AUSTIN, Texas — A three-point prayer answered. One overtime, then another. And when the dust settled on the most breathtaking finish of an astonishing weekend, Michigan State was holding the last ticket to the Final Four. Patrick Sparks’ desperation three pointer at the end of regulation danced oh-so softly on the rim, bouncing four times before falling through for Kentucky. But wait — was his right toe on the line? Five minutes of tension passed while the referees reviewed the replay over and over at the scorer’s table. It was determined to indeed be a three-pointer, forcing an overtime. Yet even with the wind knocked out of them, the Spartans refused to fold. As the final seconds of the first overtime ticked away with the game once again tied, they didn’t even allow a final shot. The Spartans then took over in the second overtime, pulling away for a 94-88 victory and capping a weekend filled with heart-stopping finishes. Michigan State is headed to its fourth Final Four in seven years and will face North Carolina on Saturday. The trip to St. Louis will be sweet vindication for the Spartans’ upper classmen — a group that’s been chided for being soft, weak and un derachieving. Kelvin Torbert, Alan Anderson and Chris Hill — seniors who were so close to becoming the first players in years to not reach the Final Four in their entire collegiate career — simply wouldn’t let it happen. Torbert went 5 of 6 from the foul line in the second overtime and Anderson was 4 of 4, which kept Kentucky from reclaiming a lead. “It will go down in history as a great college basketball game,” Ken tucky coach Tlibby Smith said. “It hurts right now, but some of oui guys will appreciate it later on.” After Louisville and Illinois both advanced Saturday with improbable comebacks that ended in overtime, this was the first time in NCAA tournament in history that three re gional finals went to an extra period. Only once before had it happened in two of the four games — in 1992. Fueled by Sparks’ longball at the end of regulation, the second-seed ed Wildcats jumped to a 79-75 lead at the start of the first extra period. But they never led again, and Smith remains without a trip back to the Final Four since winning it all in 1998. They’ve gone down in the regional finals three times, twice now to the Spartans. The loss also deprived the Bluegrass state of having two teams in the Final Four; only Louisville will be there now. Instead, there’s the chhnce for a title-game matchup between a different set of regional rivals: Michigan State and Illinois — the only team that finished ahead of the Spartans (26-6) in the Big Ten this season. Lacrosse: Ducks drop three after first wins Continued from page 11 the only senior on a team dominat ed by freshmen, Dorsch provides much-needed on-field leadership from her spot between the pipes. On offense, freshman attacker Jana Bradley and freshman mid fielder Jen May are the biggest threats the Ducks have on the field. Bradley leads the team in scoring, having netted more than 20 goals this season. May is second in scor ing and was instrumental in Ore gon’s win over Marist, recording five of the Ducks’ nineteen goals. To complement the steadily improving offense, Larsen said the defense needs to step up in order to earn more victories. “In the stat comparison, we are going to continue to score in the double digits, but we need to hold them down in the single digits from now on,” Larsen said. With five away games remaining on its schedule, Oregon next goes up against a tough North Carolina team (6-2) on Friday. The Tar Heels are ranked 17th in the nation based on win percentage. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE * 4TH DISTRICT ’OREGON PETER DeFAZIO AN INVITATION TO A TOWN HALL MEETING Due to overwhelming demand, I have scheduled another Social Security town hall meeting. Please come to share your thoughts and concerns. Wednesday, March 30 5:30 - 6:30 PM Harris Hall Lane County Courthouse 125 E. 8th Avenue Eugene For more information, please call 1-800-944-9603. This ad was prepared and published at taxpayer expense. UO School of Music & Department of Dance EARLY SPRING CONCERTS For more information on School of Music events, call 346-5678. Tues. JAZZ HARPISTS: Stickney & Oppermann 3/29 Guest Artists 8 pm, Beall Hall $9 General Admission, $5 students & senior citizens Wed. OREGON COMPOSERS FORUM 3/30 New music by UO composition students. 8 pm, Beall Hall FREE Admission Thu. MATTHIAS ZIEGLER, Flute 3/31 Guest Artist Recital 8 pm, Beall Hall $9 General Admission, $5 students & senior citizens Fri. FACULTY JAZZ SEPTET 4/1 Faculty Artist Series 8 pm, Beall Hall $9 General Admission, $5 students & senior citizens Sat. U.S. ARMY BAND SAXOPHONE QUARTET 4/2 Guest Ensemble 6 pm, Beall Hall FREE Admission Wed. MICHAEL GROSE, Tuba 4/6 Faculty Artist Series 7:30 pm, Beall Hall Also featuring the Oregon Brass Quintet. $9 General Admission, $5 students & senior citizens Thur. CHARLES DOWD, Vibraphone 4/7 TRACY FREEZE, Marimba Faculty Artist Series 8 p.m., Schnitzer Museum of Art “Snapshot Live!" Jazz selections, CD release party. $9 General Admission, $5 students & senior citizens Sun. CHAMBER MUSIC BY 4/10 HAL OWEN & VICTOR STEINHARDT Faculty Artist Series 3 p.m., Beall Hall Featuring assorted music faculty and guests. $9 General Admission, $5 students & senior citizens Mon. STEVE VACCH I, Bassoon 4/11 Faculty Artist Series 8 p.m., Beall Hall Music from Turkey, Hungary, and India. $9 General Admission, $5 students & senior citizens Tues. PACIFIC RIM GAMELAN 4/12 Balinese Percussion Ensemble 8 p.m., Beall Hall $5 General Admission, $3 students & senior citizens Wed. CANTUS & UNIVERSITY SINGERS 4/13 DO Choir & Guest Choir from Ukraine 8 p.m., Beall Hall $10 General Admission, $8 students & senior citizens For our complete calendar, check: music.uoregon.edu You're always close to campus. . .> www.dailyemerald.com
