Oregon Daily Emerald
Friday, December 2, 2005
“Now, because of the potential fines,
my kids won’t get Christmas stockings. ’’
Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren who faces possible
fines after stating that the NFL admitted officiating mistakes
in Sunday’s win over the New York Giants
■ Duck wrestling
Top ten
wrestlers
lead team
to success
Seniors Shane Webster and Joey
Bracamonte have helped keep
Oregon consistent this season
BY SPENCER CRUM
FREELANCE REPORTER
Consistency is the main ingredient for the
Duck wrestlers’ success, and they have served
it up with three straight strong performances.
The end of November marks the end of the
Ducks’ tournaments, in which they performed
strong every weekend. Oregon senior
wrestlers Shane Webster and Joey Braca
monte are now ranked among the top 10 in
the nation.
Webster, ranked by Amateur Wrestling
News as No. 7 for 184-pound wrestlers, has al
ready begun the campaign for a national title
and is currently undefeated (11-0) with five of
those victories coming by major decision.
Webster has wrapped up three titles already,
winning the 184-pound titles at the Cowboy
Open, the Best of the West Tournament and
the Mat Town Classic.
“Shane had another great tournament,”
Oregon coach Chuck Kearney said. “He con
tinues to wrestle at a very high level and looks
as focused and determined as ever.”
Bracamonte is ranked 10th in the nation in
the 165-pound weight class, according to the
same publication. This before he saw his first
action of the season at the Mat Town Classic in
Lock Haven, Penn., and came away with a title.
Bracamonte, who has missed the first two
tournaments of the season with an injury re
turned and looked like he was in top-form as
he opened his senior season with a 13-4 de
feat of Matt Marquart a Lock Haven native.
Bracamonte then took down Jake Blowers of
Buffalo. Finally, Bracamonte used two straight
decisions, the last one a 6-5 score against
Buffalo’s Mickey Moran to claim the title.
With Oregon’s top two Ducks ranked in the
top 10, fans have a lot to look forward to.
“While I wouldn’t discount the early season
ranking of those two, it is the ranking come
March, after the NCAA Championship Tourna
ment, that means more to myself and to the
two of them,” Kearney said. “I believe that the
rankings are an important reflection of national
respect on the two of them and on this pro
gram, which is significant in many areas. ” The
Ducks have been gaining attention with every
match and their seniors’ showings.
Skyler Woods continues to show his value
and came away with a second-place finish at
141 pounds at the Mat Town Classic. He looks
to join Webster and Bracamonte to provide an
unbeatable core of Kearney’s budding program.
The Ducks had 10 wrestlers finish in the top
eight for the Mat Town Classic, including
third-place finishes by Justin Pearch and Mar
tin Mitchell, at 133 and 141-pounds, respec
tively. Oregon’s heavyweight, Chris Dearmon,
was solid and earned a third-place finish.
Oregon grappled with University of Indiana,
and finished tied for second with University at
Buffalo. The teams were in championship
matches in most weight classes.
The Ducks have the week off as they recov
er from three tournaments in as many weeks.
The Ducks head north to Corvallis on Dec. 9,
where they will square off with Oregon State
in the Civil War. The meeting is the first of two
for the Ducks and Beavers as they will also
meet in Eugene on Feb. 10.
After the Ducks meet with Oregon State,
they will prepare for the Reno Tournament
of Champions.
■ Men's basketball
Ducks hope to rebound after tough loss
Malik Hairston shoots in a recent game against Rice. Hairston scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed
10 rebounds Wednesday during a 76-75 loss at Vanderbilt.
Following a heartbreaking first
loss, Oregon plays today at noon
against the Georgetown Hoyas
BY LUKE ANDREWS
SPORTS REPORTER
The Oregon Ducks (4-1) will attempt to put
past heartbreak aside Saturday when Georgetown
(2-1) invades McArthur Court at noon for the
final game of the Hispanic College Fund Classic.
Oregon, which lost its first game of the season
in dramatic fashion last Wednesday at Vanderbilt
when Mario Moore connected on a three-pointer
at the buzzer to give the Commodores a 76-75
victory, will now set its sights on the Hoyas in the
first ever meeting between the two schools.
The Ducks are returning home to play their
fifth game at McArthur Court this season.
It appeared Oregon would escape Nashville
last Wednesday and return to Eugene with an
undefeated record when, with the game tied at
73, point guard Aaron Brooks banked in a
driving layup to put Oregon in front with 3.3
seconds remaining.
But Moore’s desperation runner changed that
for the Ducks, who had won their previous four
games by an average of 32.75 points per game —
albeit against lower-caliber teams.
Oregon expected facing perimeter-oriented
Vanderbilt on the road to be its biggest test thus
far, and the Commodores delivered, shooting 76
percent from the field in the second half and 80
percent from three-point range to spark a 17-5
run late in the game.
Despite the loss, many positives emerged for
Oregon. Sophomore guard Malik Hairston post
ed a career-high 25 points and the Ducks were in
position to win the game in a hostile environment
(12,626 at Memorial Gym). Oregon led 35-30 at
halftime and 53-43 midway through the second
half, mostly without the inside presence of new
comer Ivan Johnson, who played only 15 min
utes due to foul trouble. He finished with a
season-low two points.
“You are coming through an arena where a
team (Vanderbilt) has won 27 straight non-con
ference games and you come in here and battle
your tails off,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said
following Wednesday’s loss. “(Oregon) is going
to be a very good basketball team. They feel ter
rible in there right now. It’s unfortunate it took
a hail mary shot at the buzzer to beat them in
this environment.”
Oregon has a chance to erase the memory
Saturday against another quality opponent.
BASKETBALL page 10
■ Club wushu
A Sell might
Coach Phillip Dang will travel to Hanoi,Vietnam
to compete in the Wushu World Championships
BY WILL SEYMOUR
FREELANCE REPORTER
While most students will still be
relaxing after a demanding term,
Oregon student Phillip Dang will be
facing an entirely different type of
test. Dang is one of 10 Americans
and among 800 athletes worldwide
selected to participate in the Eighth
Wushu World Championships Dec.
8-15 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Wushu, commonly known in
America as kung-fu, is routine
based when used in competition.
An emphasis is placed on athletic
ability, especially the speed of the
routine as well as the height of the
various jumps. The jumps in the
routine make up 20 percent of a
competitor’s overall score, with the
remainder awarded for presentation
and technique.
“There are lots of punch-kicks
and sweeps; we mimic self-defense
and attacking with an athletic
twist,” Dang said.
Dang took a chance to prove his
skills at the United States Wushu
Team Thais this summer. More than
100 athletes from across the country
traveled to Virginia trying to make
the 10-person team — five men and
five women — that would make the
trip to Vietnam for the World Cham
pionships held once every two years.
At the trials, the entrants complet
ed routines in three categories:
Empty-handed, short weapon
Courtesy
Oregon student Phillip Dang competes at a 2003 Chinese martial arts tournament in
Berkeley, Calif. Dang will be competing in the Eighth Wushu World Championships
Her ft-IR in Hanoi Vietnam
and long weapon. Their efforts
were scored by a panel of 10 judges
on a scale of 0-10. The athletes were
given only one attempt at each
event, and to increase the pressure,
the judges were empowered to
enforce deductions as small as
one-hundredth of a point.
Dang received a score of 9.0 in the
empty-handed event and followed
that with marks of 9.2 with a sword
in the short weapon portion and 9.21
with a staff in the long weapon
WUSHU, page 10