UO women’s tennis

set for NCAA
One of the goals of the Oregon women’s tennis team at the beginning of the season was to earn respect in the Pacific-10 Conference.
By beating No. 23 Washington and making the NCAA Tournament, the Ducks have accomplished their goal.
The team now has a chance to earn respect nationally.
The No. 39 Ducks will travel to Los Angeles to face No. 18 UNLV on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“During the past month or so, we’ve shown that we can compete with the best teams in the country,” Oregon head coach Jack Griffin said. “We now have a chance to do it in the tournament.”
UNLV (20-3 overall) finished tied for first-place in the Mountain West Conference with No. 26 San Diego State. No. 97 Gyorgyi Zsiros, a freshman, and junior No. 102 Paulina Janus lead the Rebels, who have won seven straight matches.
“They are a very good team,” assistant coach Nils Schyllander said. “But most of their wins came at home.”
UNLV was 2-2 in its matches away from Las Vegas.
Freshman No. 88 Daria Panova and senior No. 112 Janice Nyland lead an Oregon team that has won six out of its last seven matches, including wins over No. 23 Washington and No. 35 Florida International.
The Ducks will play at USC’s Marks Stadium and could face the No. 11 Trojans if both teams win in the first round. The first round begins at 9 a.m.

— Peter Martini

for the Emerald

Cho tied for 17th

at NCAA Regional
Oregon senior golfer Kathy Cho shot a 3-over-par 75 Thursday in the first round of the NCAA West Regional women’s golf tournament at the Stanford Golf Course in California.
Cho, selected to the regional competition as an individual, is tied with eight others for 17th place. She started off well with a birdie on the first hole, but bogeyed on the second, fourth and ninth to finish the front nine with a 38. After bogeys on 11 and 13, Cho closed the round with four pars and a birdie.
The Honolulu, Hawaii, native will tee off for the second round this afternoon.
First-round leader Katherine Hull of Pepperdine shot a 3-under 69. Of the 21 teams, Pepperdine is the first-round team leader with a 1-over 289. Seven Pac-10 teams rank in the top 10 after the first round, led by second-place UCLA (8-over 296).
The top eight teams and two individuals from the West qualify for the NCAA Championship May 21-24.

— Adam Jude