■ 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.
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PETER DeFAZIO
AN INVITATION
TO A TOWN HALL MEETING
Due to overwhelming demand, I have scheduled
another Social Security town hall meeting. Please
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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
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