In a hard-fought battle through three pain-staking games, the Oregon women’s club sports water polo team finished second last weekend in the Regional Championships.
The Ducks competed in their first two matches on Saturday where they defeated Simon Frasier 17-5 and also delivered a 12-2 beating to Oregon State.
As the women expected, it came down to Sunday’s match with Washington to decide who would be crowned champion and have an automatic bid to nationals.
The Huskies came out fighting hard and scored two quick goals that caught the Ducks somewhat off-guard. But Oregon roared back to make the game close and even forced a tie on two occasions. It just wasn’t enough, however, as Washington prevailed, 11-8.
“Their depth was a little too much for us in the end,” Oregon head coach Lea Bonebrake said. “There was a little disappointment but Washington deserved to win that game.”
Then the unexpected happened, as Washington head coach Mike Wallen announced the team would be deferring its nationals bid to Oregon. Washington decided this because four or five starters from its team would not be able to make it to the national competition and the Huskies realized they wouldn’t be able to best represent the Northwest.
“It wouldn’t be fair to not take the same team that was able to qualify,” Wallen said. “University of Oregon is the best team to represent the Northwest.”
Bonebrake said it was very admirable on their part to do such a tremendous thing. Now though, the women must have better communication and get their conditioning back to a high level in order to be a strong contender at nationals in Oxford, Ohio, on May 5-6, according to Bonebrake.
The Ducks will have one more tournament in two weeks in Arizona to prepare for the nationals and after that it will simply be a matter of working and practicing hard. Sophomore Jordan Scheffler, who was the leading scorer throughout the regional tournament for the women, is confident that Oregon will be strong and surprise other teams.
“The goal is to represent the Northwest the best,” Scheffler said. “University of Oregon is something bigger than people think we are.”

Triathlon club has successful weekend in Corvallis
With clear, blue skies and despite one flat bike tire, the Oregon triathlon club had an outstanding performance last weekend in the Beaver Freezer Triathlon.
The men and women competed in a 500-yard swim, an 11.4-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run where 11 of the 13 people who competed received awards. The event took place on the Oregon State University campus.
The top men’s finisher for the Ducks was Ignacio Rodriguez, who finished third overall out of 211 competitors. In the women’s race, Terry Legg finished fourth in her 20-24 age group, which was the fastest time for the women.
“For my first triathlon in three years, I did pretty good,” Rodriguez said. “The team overall did very good.”
It was the Ducks first competition this season and the training is all leading up to the National Intercollegiate Wildflower Triathlon in San Louis Obispo, Calif., on May 5-6. With one triathlon under their belt, the Ducks feel strongly about their outlook on the upcoming season.
“It’s a good feeling that it was so successful for everyone,” coordinator Jay Williams said. “It gives us a deep sense of pride.”