Oregon Daily Emerald
Thursday, April 21, 2005
“It just proves I was right.... I’m just
glad I was an example of how to handle
a situation without making it worse. ”
Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield on not being punished after last week’s scuffle with a fan
■ In my opinion
JON ROETMAN
ROUGHING THE PASSER
Reporters
don't always
make good
There was a sense of uncertainty in the air.
My teammates / co-workers and I entered
the Student Recreation Center for our first
dodgeball game of the intramural season, not
knowing what to expect. Most of us hadn’t
played since middle school, and even then it
was unorganized playground-style, rubber
ball warfare.
Adding to our skepticism was the fact that we
would be playing without the owner of ar
guably our strongest throwing arm, as our
6-foot-3,240-pound colleague had female com
mitments (shaking my head) to uphold.
Regardless, the five of us pushed through
our self-doubt and proceeded to the back
courts for what we hoped would be a simple
game of ball tag.
Morale increased when we caught a glimpse
of our opponents: a group of scrawny dudes,
who, at first glance, looked like they couldn’t
throw a ball through a wet paper sack.
While our squad full of sports writers was
n’t exactly oozing athleticism, we figured the
arms of a former high school pitcher and a
high school quarterback would be enough to
get us by.
Boy were we wrong.
What we assumed would be an effortless vic
tory quickly turned into a bloodbath in favor of
the scrawny dudes. The tone was set on the
very first throw of the game when my team
mate accidentally deflected the toss off a ball he
was holding straight into my shoulder.
Six seconds into the game and I was already
out. Nothing like getting off to a fast start.
The little dudes, who had looked so harmless
before the game, were suddenly peppering us
with well placed throws, using strategy by
hanging out by the end line nearly the entire se
ries and promptly sweeping us out of the gym,
three games to none.
Insult was added to injury when I found
out one of their players was a 2004 high
school graduate.
They were young, they were small and they
kicked our asses.
Let me guess, that scene from the movie
“Dodgeball,” when the group from Average
Joe’s loses to a collection of girl scouts is going
through your head right now, isn’t it?
The loss stung, but we used it as a learning
experience. We knew what to expect for future
matches. We knew that if you wanted to win,
you had to lay back a little bit and not play with
raw aggression and ego.
We quickly put the information to use and
swept our next opponent for the ultimate re
demption. Considering that it was our first
dodgeball experience in years, and we were
playing without our best arm, we were happy
with a split.
With the first week in the books, the rest of
the season could go one of two ways: Either we
improve immensely with the return of our top
gun, or we end up taking teams for granted and
getting destroyed again.
Stay tuned for the results.
jonroetman@ dailyemerald, com
■ Women's track and field
Oregon senior Rachael Kriz-Wallace, who is in her fifth season with the track and field program, reflects on a previous high jump attempt in practice at Hayward Field.
Picture perfect
Senior high jumper and budding photographer Rachael Kriz- Wallace
has made her time at Oregon enjoyable for others and herself
BY STEPHEN MILLER
SPORTS REPORTER
Not often does a person appear in front
of a camera and also behind it. Not at
the same time of course.
Rachael Kriz-Wallace, an Oregon track and
field athlete and aspiring photographer, is
looked at by others as a unique individual; one
who can create a joyful, everlasting moment
and at the same time attract others’ focus.
Teammate Sarah Malone described Kriz
Wallace as “outgoing, loud and spunky.”
Her sister, Megan Kriz, said: “She's squeaky
clean. The girl’s just an angel.”
For Kriz-Wallace, the magnetic personality
just comes naturally, and knowing what to
look for on the track and in the studio comes
to her naturally as well.
“She has a very good eye,” Oregon assistant
coach Rock Light said. “When I ask her for an
opinion about something, she’s not afraid to
tell me.
“She understands the high jump very well,
and she has good technique herself. ”
Kriz-Wallace’s knowledge and form in the
high jump translated to a personal record of 5
feet 8 inches and a debut in the NCAA West
Regional competition last season.
The fifth-year senior has been on quite a
journey since joining the Oregon program in
2000. She moved back and forth between the
high jump and the javelin throughout her
career, and competed in both events for
two seasons.
“My career as (a track and field athlete) has
been quite amazing,” Kriz-Wallace said. “It’s
been interesting; I’ve had four different coach
es along the way.”
This season, Kriz-Wallace is dedicated to
her strongest event.
“We’ve asked her to focus on the high
jump,” Light said. “She loves the javelin, and
she’s good at it, but we need her to do the
high jump.”
Kriz-Wallace knows where she can con
tribute the most and what’s best for the team,
so she is not entirely heartbroken by her
coach’s decision.
“I’m a little disappointed, but at the same
time, I’m OK with it,” Kriz-Wallace said.
“Focusing on one event definitely has
its advantages.
“Who knows, maybe for the last meet they
might throw me in there and let me have fun
with it.”
Coach in training
Kriz-Wallace has an appetite for having fun,
TRACK, page 16
■ Women's tennis
Ducks' dominant
3 turn to Pac- 10's
individual event
Davina Mendiburu, Dominika Dieskova and
Daria Panova will vie for a conference singles title
BY ALEX TAM
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
In his three seasons at the
helm of the Oregon women’s ten
nis program, head coach Nils
Schyllander has never enjoyed a
finer season than this one.
Oregon (16-7 overall, 3-5 Pacif
ic-10 Conference) boasts three
players ranked in the nation’s top
110 and is ranked No. 27 in
the nation. Last season, Oregon
finished with a 17-9 record
and was a participant in the
NCAA Tournament.
However, Schyllander believes
this year’s squad tops last year’s
by a wide margin, because his
players now have the experience
TENNIS, page 14
Oregon’s Daria Panova starts her quest for a fourth Pac-10 singles title today as the
No. 5 seed. Her first opponent will be USC’s Dianne Matias.