– Oregon’s men’s track and field made it eight years in a row with a Pac-12 Championship. The Ducks left the two-day event in Pullman, Washington with a dominating 64.25 difference in points between themselves and second-place Arizona. Freshman Devon Allen highlighted the men’s team as he finished second in 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.47, the third best time in Oregon’s history and second in the 400-meter hurdles. Mike Berry won the 400-meter race in a time of 45.05 while Trevor Dunbar and Eric Jenkins placed second and third, respectively, in the 5,000-meter race.
– Not to be outdone by the men, the women’s track and field team won the Pac-12 Championship for the sixth year in a row. Oregon finished the meet with 176 points while USC took home second at 145. Jenna Prandini dominated the competition in nearly every race she competed in. When the championships were over, Prandini finished with three first-place finishes and a second-place finish. She won the 100-meter (11.21), 200-meter (22.60), long jump (20-11.25) and second place in the 4×100-meter relay (43.77)
– Entering the past weekend with an outside shot at hosting a regional tournament series, the Ducks needed to sweep reigning national champion UCLA in Los Angeles in a three-game series. Thanks to some stealer pitching, exceptional defense and clutch hitting, the Ducks did just that and bettered their chances at hosting that regional. After winning the first game 2-1 thanks to great pitching by Tommy Thorpe and the second game 4-1, Oregon used a late 11th inning rally to defeat the Bruins 5-4 on Sunday. The Ducks, sitting in third place in the conference, will face No. 1 Oregon State on Tuesday before finishing up the regular season with a three-game series against Cal.
– The Oregon softball team will have a chance to make up for last year’s disappointing finish by hosting Minnesota in the Super Regionals at Howe Field on Saturday. The Ducks got to this point by dominating their competition in the Eugene Regional by going 3-0 and outscoring their opponents 24-2. All-American Janie Takeda went 6-for-11 with six runs scored and five RBIs in the Regional and was named as Regional MVP. Oregon defeated Utah Valley 12-1 on Friday before returning Saturday to earn a 6-1 win over Wisconsin. The Ducks then beat the Badgers 6-0 in the championship game to advance to the next round of the NCAA Softball tournament and be two wins away from the Women’s College World Series.
– Oregon’s in-state rival is expected to announce the hiring of new head men’s basketball coach Wayne Tinkle. Tinkle will take over for Craig Robinson and will inherit an Oregon State team in much need of direction and star players to compete in the rugged Pac-12. Tinkle has a career record of 158-91 with Montana and has led the Grizzlies to three NCAA tournament appearances. The Beavers have the potential of not just adding Tinkle as a coach but Tres Tinkle, Wayne’s son, as a player. The 6-foot-6 Tres is rated the 124th best prospect in the Class of 2015 and plays small forward.
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