■ 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.”
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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.
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