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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2005)
■ Women’s tennis Ducks host USC, UCLA in last home matches Oregon is 9-1 at home this season and is confident it can upset the No. 4 Trojans and the No. 13 Bruins BY ALEX TAM DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER This weekend will mark the last chance for seniors Daria Panova, Ester Bak and Davina Mendiburu to showcase their talents in front of a home crowd. The trio, along with the Oregon women’s tennis team, will battle against two of the nation’s top 15 teams when No. 4 Southern Cali fornia visits today at 1:30 p.m. and No. 13 UCLA drops by Saturday for “Senior Day” at noon at the Student Tennis Center. The three seniors are eager to play their last two home matches, where they’ve enjoyed success throughout their career. The Ducks have com piled a 24-8 record at home over the past three seasons. This season, the Ducks are 9-1. “We’re very excited, and I think it means a lot for (us seniors), because it’s our very last match here,” Mendiburu said. “I hope a lot of people come and cheer for us.” Mendiburu said her team is confi dent about their play after upsetting No. 16 Washington 4-3 on the road March 22. The Ducks also nearly de feated No. 24 California three days later in a 4-3 loss. “We’re playing great tennis, but I think we’ve reached that level, and I think we have a very good chance,” said Mendiburu, who sits third all time at Oregon in career singles wins with 68. “I really do believe we can do it if we all show up. ” The Ducks believe playing at home gives them a chance to beat anyone, even the most elite teams. “We play great here traditionally and (USC and UCLA) are not used to playing indoors,” Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said. “Any time we play at home we feel like we have a chance to win no matter who we play. We got nothing to lose, and we’re a very confident group right now.” However, Oregon realizes that each of its opponents are playing well and are on a hot streak. The Bruins have won five straight matches, including one over Wash ington on the road. The Trojans, meanwhile, are on an eight-match winning streak and have lost just once this season. That loss came at the hands of defending NCAA champion Stanford on Feb. 26. “They’re two of the best teams in the country,” Schyllander said. “Both of them probably have a legitimate shot at the national championship. You’ll see some of the best freshmen in college tennis.” USC has two top-ranked fresh men in No. 11 Nicole Leimbach, who has a 24-8 overall record, and No. 10 Lindsey Nelson, who is 25-5 this season. UCLA is led by freshman Riza Zalameda, who is ranked No. 18 nationally and led the Bruins with 10 singles victories after the fall season. With Oregon’s success this season, Schyllander said he believes his program should be regarded among the Pac-lO’s elite, along with Califor nia, Washington and USC. “We have to be considered among them,” he said. “We hope to see both of those teams in the postseason.” Panova said she is anticipating both matches to come down to the last point. “1 expect a hard match, and it should end in a 4-3 (score),” said Panova, who is 12-4 in singles match es this season. “I figure it will be long and painful, and (hopefully) we’re going to win.” BRECON DAILY FMFBflfn your independent student newspaper BASIC MATH "Party Patk" 3 large single topping pizzas + 2 2-liters of soda For under 52“ a person, you can feed 8 people the best pizza in town! 1809 Franklin Blvd. 284-8484 -ES! ' E Q- 22 03 UNIVERSITY GRAD FAIR nrc UNIVERSITY OF OJEGON BOOKSTORE UO Bookstore Main Floor ► April 3 thru April 6 Sunday 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Wednesday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Main ceremony information Diploma frames Order your announcements Caps, gowns, tassels & class rings Stole of Gratitude UO Alumni Information UOBookstore.com Softball: Freshmen Chaput, Eadus lead Ducks offensively Continued from page 9 players in the top seven in home runs, Aimee Minor (9) and Sarah Hyatt (8). As a team, the Huskies lead the conference in on-base percentage (.408) and are second in slugging per centage (.510) and home runs (35). Trying to counteract the big Washington bats will be Oregon ace Amy Harris. The Eugene native boasts a 1.11 ERA to go along with her 10-4 record this season. She is eighth in the conference in oppos ing batting average, allowing hitters to bat a mere .173 against her. The Ducks’ newcomers have led the team offensively in hitting. Fresh men Lovena Chaput and T.J. Eadus have been pacing the Oregon offense. Chaput, recently named the Pac-lO’s Co-Player of the Week, went 6 for 13 in the past week and has solidified herself in the leadoff spot. “It was a huge shock to be named one of the players of the week,” Chaput said. “But it also is a huge confidence booster. The experience in Pac-10 play is going to be a lot dif ferent, and I don’t have that (experi ence) like the sophomores, juniors and seniors.” Eadus has been the Ducks’ most consistent hitter and leads the team with a .386 batting average. Head coach Kathy Arendsen slipped Eadus in the lineup wherever she could early on, but the freshman has recently been a mainstay at third base. The Oregon offense has also been doing the little things right, as they lead the conference in both sacrifice flies and sacrifice bunts. Shortstop Breanne Sabol leads the conference with 12 sacrifice bunts to go along with her .364 average. Sophomore center fielder Suzie Barnes is tied for second in the conference with seven and Goodell is tied for sixth in the conference with six. The Huskies will feature one of two pitchers against the Ducks today. One is senior Ashley Boek, who is 10-5 on the season with a 2.21 ERA and has 97 strikeouts in 85.1 innings pitched. The only other Washington pitcher to take the mound this season has been overpowering freshman Caitlin Noble. She is 6-4 on the season, but has struck out an impressive 131 batters in 76.2 innings of work. claytonjones@dailyemerald.com fashion that pays to be me jtvVotv STUDENT GROUPS Advertise in the Emerald. Call 346-3712 to speak with a rep. We have great University rates.
