It was an exciting weekend in Oregon. Athletics had many reasons to celebrate in the week leading up to finals. While some athletes received great news and promises of a better future, another athlete will have a chance to compete with the world’s best in his sport.
– Christmas came early for the Oregon softball team. A week after being eliminated in the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series, the Ducks had a reason to celebrate as Robert Sanders donated $10 million to the contents of a new softball facility at the Women in Flight dinner on Saturday evening, as announced by athletic director Rob Mullens. The field will be named after Jane Sanders, Robert’s wife, as the two of them have deep ties to the Oregon community. The project has a start time that is yet to determined.
– Although it is finals week, junior golfer Brandon McIver may face an even tougher test this week as he heads to Pinehurst, North Carolina to play in the 2014 U.S. Open. After finishing as the third alternate in the amateur qualifying, McIver received a call on Sunday notifying him that he had indeed been selected to play in the tournament.
– With the Major League Baseball Draft finishing up on Saturday, the Ducks now have a total of five players who were drafted into professional baseball. Juniors Jake Reed and Tommy Thorpe were selected on Friday and were joined by fellow junior Scott Heineman, sophomore Porter Clayton and senior Brando Tessar on Saturday. With those selections, Oregon has now had 29 players drafted into the major leagues since the program started up again in 2009 with 48 total over the duration of the Oregon’s career baseball program.
– The Ducks football program picked up a new player on Friday when Eddie Heard signed his financial aid agreement to attend the University of Oregon. Heard is a former defensive lineman from Laney Community College in Oakland, California but will transition to outside linebacker in Oregon’s defensive scheme. Heard, who stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs 240 pounds, will provide immediate depth at the linebacker position for the Ducks and is expected to be on campus this summer for Oregon’s summer program.