Men’s Club Lacrosse
Oregon earned two Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League victories against California and Texas State at home this weekend.
Coordinator Ryan Warren said the Ducks, who were defeated by the Washington Huskies last weekend, won 16-7 on Friday against the Golden Bears and 24-5 Saturday against Texas State.
Oregon is currently ranked 8th in the country by the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association.
“We played fairly solid,” Warren said. “We were still shaky just because it is the beginning of the year and it got the season going.”
Oregon, which Warren said is a preseason favorite to win its conference, opened up the season this fall by playing exhibition games against Oregon State and the Portland Lacrosse Club, and a tournament in Los Angeles.
Warren said he is even more confident that the Ducks will win their fourth consecutive PNCLL title after the pair of most recent victories.
“We practice every day and have taken the sport to the next level,” Warren said. “Even though it is a club sport, we take it seriously.”
Oregon, which returns Second Team All-American attacker Julian Coffman and Third Team All-American specialist Scott Miller, has also earned berths to the national tournament the last four years.
“Julian always performs, and Scott is a machine,” Warren said.
Last year, the Ducks were knocked out in the first round by Arizona, which Warren said the Ducks will play in a few weeks.
The Ducks next battle Colorado State on Friday at 6 p.m. and Sonoma State on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both matches will be held at South Eugene High School. Warren said Colorado is ranked first in the MCLA national poll and Sonoma is ranked fourth.
Snowboarding
Oregon’s snowboarding regional tournament in Colorado was canceled this weekend due to a lack of teams and a fierce blizzard with high winds that bombarded the area, said Oregon coordinator Austin Dekoning.
Dekoning said his team, which includes around 130 student snowboarders and 15-20 upper-tier riders, has struggled to compete because many other universities in the Northwest have yet to become involved in United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association events.
“We have always been strong with competitive skiing and downhill skiing, but freestyle snowboarding has been difficult to start up,” Dekoning said.
Despite the cancellation, the members of the team still plan on taking a bus up to Mount Bachelor on Saturday. He said that anyone who is interested in hitching a ride for $10 can sign up and pay at the club sports office, which is located in the bottom floor of the EMU. Dekoning said a day pass costs $50.
The deal is part of a fundraiser to raise proceeds for the snowboarding team to go to Washington and compete in a freestyle event called Snow Warz at the end of the season in late March.
“Right now we are still just growing as a team and in a new league,” Dekoning said. “We think it is going to be even bigger next year.”
Women’s Rugby
Chalk up another conference victory for the Oregon women’s rugby team.
The “Dirty Ducks,” who are seeking their seventh-straight Pacific Northwest League Championship this year, earned their second victory against Reed College, this time on the road in profound fashion. The Ducks won 40-0 before losing to non-conference opponent Western Oregon 5-0 on Saturday.
“Reed graduated the majority of their players so they have a young team,” Oregon junior and team coordinator Kara Winek said. “Western Oregon is a fantastic team, though, and should be (Division I).”
Junior Katie Kaiel, a second-year member of the team, “came in and tore it up” against Reed, Winek said.
Nearly half of the “Dirty Ducks” team returned from last year, rounding out a roster of about 32 women. The team utilizes the veteran leadership of four seniors and seven juniors.
The Ducks are now 3-0 in the PNL after beating Oregon State in Corvallis and Reed at home earlier this season. They next play the Seattle Breakers.
– Dan Jones