B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Rugby:The fastest growing sports in the U.S.
Continued from Page B1
“The first time someone
comes to tackle me, I will
be afraid,” she said.
Rugby is not new to
Pendleton
AP Photo/Ben Curtis
Switzerland’s Roger Federer celebrates defeating Spain’s
Rafael Nadal during a men’s singles semifinal match Fri-
day at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London.
Federer tops Nadal
in Wimbledon semis
By HOWARD
FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer
WIMBLEDON,
England — After wait-
ing 11 years to get another
shot against Rafael Nadal
at Wimbledon, Roger Fed-
erer was so, so close to the
finish line.
One
match
point
slipped away when Fed-
erer missed a forehand
return. A second came
and went on a backhand
return. Later, serving for a
spot in a record 12th final
at the All England Club,
Federer shanked a leaping
overhead off the top edge
of his racket frame, giving
Nadal a break point. After
Nadal wasted that chance,
Federer earned two more
match points — and failed
to convert those, either, as
his wife, Mirka, peeked
through the fingers cover-
ing her face.
Federer
knew
it
wouldn’t be easy against
his great rival. Never is,
really, no matter where
they play. Eventually,
Nadal pushed a backhand
long on match point No.
5, bringing an anticlimac-
tic close to the otherwise
classic contest and allow-
ing Federer to win their
semifinal 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3,
6-4 on Friday.
“I’m exhausted. It was
tough at the end,” Fed-
erer said. “I’m just very
relieved it’s all over.”
Federer closed in on a
ninth championship at the
All England Club and 21st
Grand Slam trophy in all.
To get to those numbers
in Sunday’s final, Fed-
erer must get past Novak
Djokovic, who is the
defending champion and
seeded No. 1.
“We all know how good
he is anywhere,” Djokovic
said about Federer, “but
especially here.”
Djokovic isn’t too
shabby
himself.
He
reached his sixth final
at the grass-court major
by beating 23rd-seeded
Roberto Bautista Agut
6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 earlier
Friday. Djokovic is eye-
ing a fifth championship
at Wimbledon and 16th
major title.
As entertaining as that
first semifinal was —
including a 45-stroke point
won by Djokovic — it was
merely a tasty appetizer
ahead of the day’s delecta-
ble main course.
Not only was this the
40th installment of Fed-
erer vs. Nadal, but it also
was their first meeting
at Wimbledon since the
2008 final. In a match
many consider the best in
the sport’s lengthy annals,
Nadal edged Federer 9-7
in a fifth set that ended
after 9 p.m., as any trace
of daylight disappeared.
How excited, then,
were the spectators for the
rematch? When Federer
and Nadal strode out into
the sunshine at 4:30 p.m.
Friday, they were wel-
comed by a standing ova-
tion before ever swinging
a racket.
Quickly, that greeting
was justified. These are, of
course, two of the greats
of all-time — maybe the
two greatest — and they
lived up to that status for
stretches.
One key, for Federer,
was that his rebuilt back-
hand, hit strong and flat
more frequently than it
used to be, held steady
against Nadal’s bull-
whip of a lefty forehand.
Another was that Fed-
erer was able to withstand
Nadal’s serve, which has
improved a ton over the
years. Federer amassed 10
break points, and though
he succeeded on just two,
that was enough, with the
last, vital conversion mak-
ing it 2-1 in the fourth set.
And then there was this:
Federer won 25 of the 33
points when he went to the
net.
“I didn’t play well
enough,” said Nadal, who
lost a five-set semifinal
to Djokovic a year ago at
Wimbledon.
There was something
of an “Anything you can
do, I can do, too” vibe to
Friday’s proceedings. Fed-
erer would kick up chalk
with an ace to a corner,
and Nadal would do the
same in the next game.
When Nadal jumped out
to a 3-2 lead in the first-set
tiebreaker, Federer used
sublime returning to reel
off five points in a row to
claim it.
Who else but Fed-
erer could strike a serve
so well that Nadal’s wild
reply would be caught by
someone in the Royal Box
behind him, as happened
early in the second set?
Who else but Nadal could
attack Federer’s generally
unassailable forehand in
such a manner as to draw
one so off the mark that it
landed in the third row?
“I thought probably the
biggest points in the match
went my way. There were
some tight ones and long
rallies,” Federer said. “He
plays with such velocity
and spins and everything,
you’re not always sure
you’re going to connect
the right way.”
No one ever has man-
aged to reduce Federer
to mid-match medioc-
rity quite the way Nadal
can, part of why the Span-
iard entered Friday with a
24-15 overall lead head-
to-head, including 10-3 at
Grand Slam tournaments.
This was the second
major in a row where
they’ve faced off: Nadal
won their windy French
Open semifinal last month
en route to his 12th cham-
pionship on the red clay
and 18th Slam overall. But
Wimbledon is Federer’s
dominion: He’s won 101
matches at the place —
more than any other man
at any other Slam, even
Nadal at Roland Garros —
and all of those trophies.
Djokovic, meanwhile,
leads his series with Fed-
erer 25-22, including 9-6
in Grand Slam matches.
“I hope I can push him
to the brink and hopefully
beat him. But it’s going
to be very difficult, as we
know,” Federer said. “He’s
not No. 1 just by chance.”
On Friday, Djokovic
was as animated as ever.
When Bautista Agut’s shot
hit the net tape, popped in
the air and slid over for
a winner that tied their
semifinal at a set apiece,
Djokovic motioned to the
roaring fans, sarcastically
encouraging folks to get
louder. When Djokovic
ended that 45-stroke point
— the longest on record at
Wimbledon, where such
stats date to 2005 — with
a backhand winner, he
cupped his ear while glar-
ing into the stands.
Gabriel, who is the Risk
Management/QI Coordina-
tor at the Yellowhawk Tribal
Health Center in Pendleton,
started a men’s team about
12 years ago, then added
youth programs.
There has been a high
school boys team the past
11 years — the East Ore-
gon Sasquatch Rugby Club.
There also is the Wendigo
Girls Club team. The teams
compete in a high school
league in the spring through
Rugby Oregon.
“Most of the teams are in
the Portland area,” Gabriel
said. “Rugby is the fastest
growing sport in the U.S.
Lacrosse is second.”
Gabriel played football
at Marist High School in
Eugene, then played college
football at College of the
Redwoods, and one year at
Mississippi State.
“I played college football,
but when I played my first
rugby match in Germany
(where he was stationed in
the Air Force), I wondered
why I never played before,”
Gabriel said.
Gabriel came to Pend-
leton in 2006, and with the
help of a few friends, the
sport of rugby started to
take shape in the Round-Up
city.
Though the programs are
strong, Gabriel knew there
was something missing —
the women.
“Just last week, I thought
let’s see what interest there
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Jennifer Keeton runs with the ball as part of a drill during
Wednesday evening rugby practice at Grecian Heights Park
in Pendleton.
is in a women’s club,” he
said. “I thought this was
an incredible opportunity
to the women in our com-
munity to have something
to do. We have a handful
of girls who have played
before. It’s interesting what
kind of people are com-
ing out right now — it’s the
moms.”
Adding a women’s team
also brings the family
together.
“We want to build a pos-
itive rugby culture,” Gabriel
said. “Men, women and
kids make a family-friendly
atmosphere. Together, they
can learn the culture of this
incredible game.”
They come from all
walks of life
Keeton and Ronsenberg
are businesswomen, as is
Shelley Whitney, who helps
her mom, Deana Eckman,
run Deana’s Auto Biz in
Pendleton.
“I just started,” Whit-
ney said of rugby. “This is
my first practice. When you
are a mom, you miss being
competitive and the cama-
raderie of playing sports
with other women. The
social aspect is fun.”
Heather Smidt, whose
husband Eric plays on
the men’s local team, is a
clinical social worker in
Pendleton.
“It’s good exercise,” said
Smidt, whose son Elijah, 9,
also plays.
Kola
Shippentow-
er-Thompson looked right
at home on the field.
She is a professional
mixed martial arts fighter,
fitness instructor at the
Roundup Athletic Club and
mother of three.
“This is my first prac-
tice,”
Shippentow-
er-Thompson said. “I’ve
always been athletic. I
thought I would give it a
try.”
When she was in high
school at Upper Colum-
bia Academy in Spangle,
Washington, Shippentow-
er-Thompson played bas-
ketball, volleyball, soccer
and softball. She also was
the quarterback of the foot-
ball team.
Stover is the team’s ace
in the hole. She played col-
lege rugby at Elon Univer-
sity in North Carolina, and
for a couple of years in the
Washington, D.C., area
before making the move to
Pendleton.
Stover
works
with
Gabriel at Yellowhawk, and
it was by happenstance that
rugby came up in a conver-
sation one day. She’s now a
regular on practice day.
“We have a few others
who play, but we need to get
a few more women to join
us,” Gabriel said.
The rugby teams hold
joint practices at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesdays,
and
at
9:30 a.m. Saturdays. All
practices are at Grecian
Heights Park, 1910 S.W.
Athens Ave.
Softball: Pendleton team plays Crook County today
Continued from Page B1
runs. Eagleheart hit a single
and a double within the same
inning, which scored two runs.
Her double would wrap up
Pendleton’s offense, leaving
them up 22-1.
Klamath Falls got one more
shot at a comeback, but it didn’t
amount to much. Eagleheart
swiftly struck out their first two
batters, and Lambert grounded
out the third to end the game.
“The girls put the ball in
play and hit really well today,”
VanNice said. “They took
advantage of some walks and
passed balls. They played
smart softball.”
Eagleheart’s three innings
of pitching earned her eight
strikeouts. She allowed just
one hit and one run, and didn’t
walk a single batter. She was
also unstoppable at the plate,
hitting 3-for-3 with two runs
and three RBIs.
“Alanah was just in the
zone,” VanNice said. “She had
it going. She was a stud for us
today.”
And she wasn’t the only
All-Star that brought the bats.
Lead-off hitter VanNice
also had a flawless 3-for-3
showing that scored three runs
and three more RBIs. Cour-
tesy runner Boatman put up
four runs. Lambert chipped in
three, and Medrano and Evans
each added two.
The Pendleton 8/9/10
All-Stars hit the diamond
again today for a round-
two game against Crook
County. On Sunday, they’ll
challenge Beaverton.
Photo contributed by Jason VanNice
Pendleton’s Finley Evans slides into home during an 8/9/10
Little League softball state tournament game against Klam-
ath Falls on Friday in Portland.
SCOREBOARD
BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
All Times PDT
East
W
L
Pct
GB
New York
58
31
.652
—
Tampa Bay
53
39
.576
6½
Boston
50
41
.549
9
Toronto
34
58
.370
25½
Baltimore
27
63
.300
31½
Central
W
L
Pct
GB
Minnesota
57
33
.633
—
Cleveland
50
39
.562
6½
Chicago
42
44
.488
13
Kansas City
31
61
.337
27
Detroit
28
58
.326
27
West
W
L
Pct
GB
Houston
57
35
.620
—
Oakland
50
41
.549
6½
Texas
50
42
.543
7
Los Angeles
45
46
.495
11½
Seattle
39
55
.415
19
———
Thursday’s Games
Texas 5, Houston 0
Friday’s Games
Tampa Bay 16, Baltimore 4
N.Y. Yankees 4, Toronto 0
Boston 8, L.A. Dodgers 1
Minnesota 5, Cleveland 3
Texas 9, Houston 8
Kansas City 8, Detroit 5
Seattle at L.A. Angels, 7:07 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Tampa Bay (McKay 1-0) at Baltimore
(Brooks 2-3), 10:05 a.m., 1st game
Toronto (Richard 1-5) at N.Y. Yankees
(Happ 7-4), 10:05 a.m.
Chicago White Sox (Covey 1-4) at Oak-
land (Bassitt 5-4), 1:07 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Morton 10-2) at Baltimore
(Means 7-4), 4:05 p.m., 2nd game
Minnesota (Odorizzi 10-4) at Cleveland
(Bauer 8-6), 4:10 p.m.
Detroit (Boyd 6-6) at Kansas City (Keller
4-9), 4:15 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Stripling 3-3) at Boston
(Sale 3-8), 4:15 p.m.
Houston (Miley 7-4) at Texas (Minor 8-4),
5:05 p.m.
Seattle (TBD) at L.A. Angels (Harvey 2-4),
6:07 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Tampa Bay at Baltimore, 10:05 a.m.
Toronto at N.Y. Yankees, 10:05 a.m.
Minnesota at Cleveland, 10:10 a.m.
Detroit at Kansas City, 11:15 a.m.
Houston at Texas, 12:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Oakland, 1:07 p.m.
Seattle at L.A. Angels, 1:07 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers at Boston, 4:05 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East
Atlanta
Washington
W
54
48
L
37
42
Pct
.593
.533
GB
—
5½
Philadelphia
47 44 .516
7
New York
40 51 .440
14
Miami
34 55 .382
19
Central
W
L
Pct
GB
Chicago
48 43 .527
—
Milwaukee
47 44 .516
1
St. Louis
44 45 .494
3
Pittsburgh
44 46 .489
3½
Cincinnati
41 47 .466
5½
West
W
L
Pct
GB
Los Angeles
60 33 .645
—
Arizona
47 45
.511 12½
Colorado
45 45 .500 13½
San Diego
45 45 .500 13½
San Francisco 41 48 .461
17
———
Friday’s Games
Chicago Cubs 4, Pittsburgh 3
Washington 4, Philadelphia 0
Boston 8, L.A. Dodgers 1
Miami 8, N.Y. Mets 4
Arizona 4, St. Louis 2
Colorado 3, Cincinnati 2
Saturday’s Games
Pittsburgh (Lyles 5-5) at Chicago Cubs
(Lester 8-6), 11:20 a.m.
N.Y. Mets (Syndergaard 6-4) at Miami
(Gallen 0-1), 3:10 p.m.
Arizona (Kelly 7-8) at St. Louis (Hudson
7-4), 4:15 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Stripling 3-3) at Boston
(Sale 3-8), 4:15 p.m.
San Francisco (Bumgarner 5-7) at Mil-
waukee (Davies 7-2), 4:15 p.m.
Washington (Corbin 7-5) at Philadelphia
(Nola 8-2), 4:15 p.m.
Cincinnati (Roark 5-6) at Colorado (Free-
land 2-6), 5:10 p.m.
Atlanta (Teheran 5-6) at San Diego (Luc-
chesi 7-4), 5:40 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Washington at Philadelphia, 10:05 a.m.
N.Y. Mets at Miami, 10:10 a.m.
San Francisco at Milwaukee, 11:10 a.m.
Arizona at St. Louis, 11:15 a.m.
Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs, 11:20 a.m.
Cincinnati at Colorado, 12:10 p.m.
Atlanta at San Diego, 1:10 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers at Boston, 4:05 p.m.
TENNIS
WIMBLEDON RESULTS
LONDON (AP) — Results Friday from
Wimbledon at The All England Lawn
Tennis & Croquet Club (seedings in
parentheses):
Men’s Singles
Semifinal
Novak Djokovic (1), Serbia, def. Roberto
Bautista-Agut (23), Spain, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3,
6-2.
Roger Federer (2), Switzerland, def.
Rafael Nadal (3), Spain, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3,
6-4.
Women’s Doubles
Semifinal
Barbora Strycova, Czech Republic and
Su-Wei Hsieh (3), Chinese Taipei, def.
Kristina Mladenovic, France and Timea
Babos (1), Hungary, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Yifan Xu, China and Gabriela Dabrowski
(4), Canada, def. Barbora Krejcikova,
Czech Republic and Katerina Siniakova
(2), Czech Republic, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
Mixed Doubles
Semifinal
Robert Lindstedt, Sweden and Jelena
Ostapenko, Latvia, def. Matwe Mid-
delkoop, Netherlands and Zhaoxuan
Yang, China, 7-5, 6-2.
Ivan Dodig, Croatia and Latisha Chan
(8), Chinese Taipei, def. Kveta Peschke,
Czech Republic and Wesley Koolhof (5),
Netherlands, 7-5, 6-4.
CYCLING
TOUR DE FRANCE RESULTS
Friday
At Chalon-sur-Saone, France
Seventh Stage
A 143-mile ride from Belfort to
Chalon-sur-Saone, the longest stage
in the race:
1. Dylan Groenewegen, Netherlands,
Team Jumbo-Visma, 6:02:44.
2. Caleb Ewan, Australia, Lotto Soudal,
same time
3. Peter Sagan, Slovakia, Bora-Hans-
grohe, same time
4. Sonny Colbrelli, Italy, Bahrain-Merida,
same time
5. Jasper Philipsen, Belgium, UAE Team
Emirates, same time
6. Elia Viviani, Italy, Deceuninck-Quick-
Step, same time
7. Giacomo Nizzolo, Italy, Dimension
Data, same time
8. Jasper Stuyven, Belgium, Trek-Sega-
fredo, same time
9. Michael Matthews, Australia, Team
Sunweb, same time
10. Alexander Kristoff, Norway, UAE
Team Emirates, same time
11. Jasper De Buyst, Belgium, Lotto Sou-
dal, same time
12. Andre Greipel, Germany, Arkea Sam-
sic, same time
13. Andrea Pasqualon, Italy, Wanty-Gob-
ert, same time
14. Mads Wurtz Schmidt, Denver, Katu-
sha-Alpecin, same time
15. Maximiliano Richeze, Argentina,
Deceuninck-QuickStep, same time
16. Rick Zabel, Germany, Katu-
sha-Alpecin, same time
17. Ivan Garcia, Spain, Bahrain-Merida,
same time
18. Niccolo Bonifazio, Italy, Total Direct
Energie, same time
19. Jan Tratnik, Slovenia, Bahrain-Mer-
ida, same time
20. Oliver Naesen, Belgium, AG2R La
Mondiale, same time
Also
73. Ben King, United States, Dimension
Data, same time
108. Joey Rosskopf, United States, CCC,
1:19.
158. Tejay van Garderen, United States,
EF Education First, 3:13.
161. Chad Haga, United States, Sun-
web, 3:13.
Overall Standings
(After seven stages)
1. Giulio Ciccone, Italy, Trek-Segafredo,
29:17:39.
2. Julian Alaphilippe, France, Deceun-
inck-QuickStep, :06.
3. Dylan Teuns, Belgium, Bahrain-Mer-
ida, :32.
4. George Bennett, New Zealand, Team
Jumbo-Visma, :47.
5. Geraint Thomas, Britain, Team Ineos,
:49.
6. Egan Bernal, Colombia, Team Ineos,
:53.
7. Thibaut Pinot, France, Groupama-FDJ,
:58.
8. Steven Kruijswijk, Netherlands, Team
Jumbo-Visma, 1:04.
9. Michael Woods, Canada, EF Education
First, 1:13.
10. Rigoberto Uran, Colombia, EF Educa-
tion First, 1:15.
11. Jakob Fuglsang, Denmark, Astana Pro
Team, 1:19.
12. Emanuel Buchmann, Germany,
Bora-Hansgrohe, 1:22.
13. Enric Mas, Spain, Deceuninck-Quick-
Step, 1:23.
14. Adam Yates, Britain, Mitchel-
ton-Scott, 1:24.
15. Xandro Meurisse, Belgium,
Wanty-Gobert, 1:39.
16. Nairo Quintana, Colombia, Movistar
Team, 1:41.
17. Mikel Landa, Spain, Movistar Team,
1:43.
18. Daniel Martin, Ireland, UAE Team
Emirates, 1:46.
19. David Gaudu, France, Groupama-FDJ,
1:52.
20. Vincenzo Nibali, Italy, Bahrain-Mer-
ida, 1:56.
Also
36. Tejay van Garderen, United States, EF
Education First, 10:26.
72. Joey Rosskopf, United States, CCC,
25:33.
100. Ben King, United States, Dimension
Data, 39:41.
172. Chad Haga, United States, Sunweb,
1:02:02.