Author Archives | Keoni Conlu

Oregon bass fishing club looks to make a name for itself

Bass fishing is a sport that can be taken in two different directions. Some use bass fishing as a way to spend a day on the water with the friends and relaxing. Some compete in tournaments and try to turn it into a career.

The Oregon bass fishing club started in 2005 and recently competed in at nationals in South Carolina on April 16. The club tied for 27th place out of 45 boats.

“The whole thing about college fishing is that it’s pretty prestigious,” Ryan Habenicht, a three month fisher with the club, said. “It’s a gateway to the biggest events in the world.”

There are two bass fishing series that are played in the United States and Habenicht describes them as the Super Bowl for the sport.

Daniel Marshall, vice president of the club, describes the bass fish as aggressive. The fish imitate what it eats like worms and little bait fish, according to Marshall.

“I consider myself a very versatile fisherman,” Jacob Wall, a one-year fisherman with the club, said. “You can go out there and never know what they are going to bite.”

Habenicht’s strategy going into tournaments is much simpler than Wall’s. It’s to catch as many fish as quickly as he can.

This past weekend, Habenicht and Wall competed in the western regional in Sacramento, Calif. Both placed sixth overall out of 20 by catching five fish weighing at 31 pounds and seven ounces. Eastern Washington University’s Laj Tripp and Kyle Sittman took first place.

The club competes in the Western division that consists of Oregon State university (who is ranked 20th out of 25 according to bassmaster.com), Chico state and Sacramento State.

“We’re building on the club and trying to make better by having fund raisers and sending more teams to tournaments,” Wall said.

Follow Keoni on Twitter: @kconlu13

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Oregon bass fishing club looks to make a name for itself

Cali Hipp, Cassy Isagawa and Monica Petchakan look to life after UO

The Ducks left Boulder, Colorado on April 22 in second place. For seniors Cali Hipp, Cassy Isagawa and Monica Petchakan, their run as college golfers came to an end.

Under head coach Ria Scott, Isagawa has been in the women’s record book since she took her first swing as a Duck in 2011. Isagawa currently holds the first (2011-12 with an average of 33), second (2012-13 with an average of 36) and third (2013-14 with an average of 38) spots for season scoring averages. Isagawa can also be found in numerous other spots. Isagawa has earned the Renee Mack Award for the player of the year in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Hipp has won the NGCA All-American Scholars in 2012, as well as the Impact Award for both the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Petchakan has competed in only one tournament in the fall but has worked behind the scenes in the administrative and marketing department.

“Petchakan is kind of our behind the scenes team leader,” Isagawa said.

Petchakan wants to step away from golfing after her time with the University of Oregon is finished.

“I mostly wanted to win tournaments all the time, but I lost that drive a little bit in college when everyone is getting so good,” Petchakan said.

Petchakan started golfing as a way to beat her brother as a kid. The social aspect of the sport also kept her interest.

“I think coach Ria Scott does a good job of recruiting, not only field level but personality,” Petchakan said. “Everybody just gets along really well, I’ve heard so many other teams divided but our personalities really click and it’s a great team.”

Hipp has thought about playing professionally, but due to the cost and commitment, Hipp has strayed away from the thought.

“My aspiration is just to go on and be able to teach (golfing),” Hipp said. “I feel like it taught me so many life lessons and it has been such a good environment for me to be around growing up.”

For Hipp, she knew this was her sport around 12 years old.

“I could tell at that age that golf had a lot of good avenues,” Hipp said. “I could get really good at it and I knew that I wanted to: so I decided to start practicing a lot and learning more and more.”

Now that her collegiate career is coming to an end, Hipp knows that her journey has been a special one.

“I never thought that I would have traveled as much as I did or gone over seas two or three different times,” Hipp said. “Playing with our team like that was something I’ve never even thought about.”

For Isagawa, Hipp and Petchakan it’s about more than competing.

“It’s really sentimental knowing that I’ve been on this ride with those two girls the whole time I’ve been there,” Isagawa said.

Isagawa had the most success as a college golfer during her freshman and sophomore year. Despite her describing her senior year as a ‘phase’, she is hopeful that her game will come back with just patience. Isagawa is ready to end her career with UO and move onto the next chapter of her life.

“It has always been my dream to turn professional and play on the LPGA tour,” Isagawa said. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to make it on the LPGA my first try and if not, I’ll give myself a year to keep trying and work hard.”

Follow Keoni Conlu on Twitter @kconlu13

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Cali Hipp, Cassy Isagawa and Monica Petchakan look to life after UO

Oregon men’s tennis loses in quarterfinal to Cal

The Oregon men’s tennis team’s season ended on Thursday after California won the quarterfinal match 4-3.

The senior team of Daniel Sardu and Joey Swaysland took care of Filip Bergevi and Oskar Wikberg of Cal 8-4. Jayson Amos and Cormac Clissold won against Andre Goransson and Oskar Wikberg 8-5. Cal would have one doubles win as Gregory Bayane and Chase Melton of Cal beat out Daan Maasland and Simon Stevens 8-3.

Singles competitions started out with Cal’s Billy Griffith winning against Oregon’s Swaysland 6-2 in both rounds. Oregon would rebound as Clissold won his match against J.T. Nishimura 6-3 and 6-2. Cal didn’t take that Oregon win lightly as Goransson bested Maasland 3-6, 6-3, and 7-5. Sardu retaliated with a win over Bergevi 2-6, 7-6(6), and 7-6(5). Cal came storming back when Bayane had a comeback win against Stevens 4-6, 7-6, and 6-4.

Pac-12 Championships (Courtesy of Calbears.com)

[4] No. 25 California (18-7) defeated [5] No. 50 Oregon (15-9) – 4-3

April 23, 2015, in Ojai, Calif.

Libbey Park

Doubles

  1. No. 49 Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (Cal) def. No. 77 Daan Maasland/Simon Stevens (Oregon) – 8-3
  2. Daniel Sardu/Joey Swaysland (Oregon) def. Filip Bergevi/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) – 8-4
  3. Jayson Amos/Cormac Clissold (Oregon) def. No. 86 Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) – 8-5

Oregon captured the doubles point

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*

*Clinched the doubles point

Singles

  1. No. 29 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. No. 115 Daan Maasland (Oregon) – 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
  2. Daniel Sardu (Oregon) def. No. 99 Filip Bergevi (Cal) – 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(5)
  3. Gregory Bayane (Cal) vs. Simon Stevens (Oregon) – 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4
  4. Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. Jayson Amos (Oregon) – 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4
  5. Cormac Clissold (Oregon) def. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) – 6-3, 6-2
  6. Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Joey Swaysland (Oregon) – 6-2, 6-2

Order of Finish: 6, 5, 1, 4, 2, 3 ^

Follow Keoni Conlu on Twitter @kconlu13

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Oregon men’s tennis loses in quarterfinal to Cal

Oregon women’s golf takes second at Pac-12 Championship Tournament

The Oregon women’s golf team is leaving Boulder, Colo after a three-day Pac-12 championship tournament by finishing second.

After the first day of the tournament, the Ducks were in first place with a score of 284 with an even par. Stanford was behind Oregon with a score of 286 while being two under par. In individual action, Caroline Inglis was leading the pack and having a career setting day by being four under par with a score of 67. The only golfer that was biting at the heels of Inglis was Noemi Jimenez of Arizona State with a score of 69 and being two under par. Cassy Isagawa tied for ninth place with two other golfers with an even par  score of 71. The Ducks were in a good spot heading into day 2.

As day two of the tournament finished, the Ducks found themselves tied for first place with the UCLA Bruins with the score of 573  Inglis would fall out of the top spot but be tied for third place with two other golfers each having a score of 139 and a three under par. Isagawa crept up to be tied for sixth place with only Anica Yoo from Oregon State sharing the same score of 141 and a one under par.

On the last day of the tournament, Inglis turned it on and had a repeat of her day one career setting day. Inglis would go on to have another four under par day with a score of 67 and capture the individual championship with a total score of 206. Arizona’s Lindsey Weaver would take second place with a score of 208 and have a two under par day. Inglis (who is the 54th ranked player according to golfstatresult.com) beat out Weaver (34th) of Arizona, Bronte Law (5th) of UCLA and Jimenez (23rd) of Arizona State.

Isagawa would end up finishing tied for 13th place with two other golfers each having a score of 216 and a three under par. Cathleen Santoso would catch up to Isagawa by being one stroke behind her to finish out the tournament with a total score of 217 and have a one under par day.

The Ducks will finish this tournament with a score of 858 with the team being six under par. The Wildcats will finish this tournament with a score of 853 and a one under par to bring the championship to Tucson, Arizona.

The Ducks are also leaving Boulder, Colo with the best finish in the Pac-12 tournament in school history. Last season, head coach Ria Scott and her golfers set the school record with a score of 889 and a good third place finish in the Eugene Country club. The second best finish in school history would happen at the Otter Creek Golf club in Ankeny, Iowa as they would take home the sixth place trophy.

Follow Keoni Conlu on Twitter @kconlu13

 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Oregon women’s golf takes second at Pac-12 Championship Tournament

Pac-12 Championships: Oregon’s men’s tennis wins against Arizona and moves onto semifinals

Oregon’s men’s tennis took down the Arizona Wildcats for the second time this season with the same result: A 4-1 win. The Ducks will advance on in the Pac-12 Championships to play the fourth-seeded California Golden Bears.

In doubles action, the senior team of Daniel Sardu and Joey Swaysland beat Arizona’s Will Kneale and Matt Dunn 8-6. Cormac Clissold and Jayson Amos joined the trend set by Sardu and Swaysland and beat Arizona’s Jason Jaruvang and Trevor James 8-4.

The Ducks ran away with the match in singles competition. Simon Stevens won against Kneale 7-5 and 6-2. Amos handled his opponent Shoki Kasahara in a back-to-back shutout wins of 6-0 and 6-0. Clissold took on James and came out the victor with a 6-2 win followed by a 6-0 match. The only point the Wildcats would get was when Jaruvang won against Sardu 6-4 and 6-1.

Daan Maasland and Swaysland’s singles matches were suspended. Maasland was up 3-2 and Swaysland had a 7-6 and a 4-2 match.

The Ducks will look to avenge the regular season 2-5 loss against Cal on Thursday at 12:00 pm.

Final Results:

Doubles

Daan Maasland/Simon Stevens (UO) vs. Naoki Takeda/Shoki Kasahara (UA), 7-7 (susp.)

Daniel Sardu/Joey Swaysland (UO) def. Will Kneale/Matt Dunn (UA), 8-6

Cormac Clissold/Jayson Amos (UO) def. Jason Jaruvang/Trevor James (UA), 8-4

Singles

Daan Maasland (UO) vs. Naoki Takeda (UA), susp. (Maasland up 3-2)

Jason Jaruvang (UA) def. Daniel Sardu (UO), 6-4, 6-1

Simon Stevens (UO) def. Will Kneale (UA), 7-5, 6-2

Jayson Amos (UO) def. Shoki Kasahara (UA), 6-0, 6-0

Cormac Clissold (UO) def. Trevor James (UA), 6-2, 6-0

Joey Swaysland (UO) vs. Tano Zamorano (UA), susp. (Swaysland up 7-6(1), 4-2)

Follow Keoni Conlu on Twitter @kconlu13

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Pac-12 Championships: Oregon’s men’s tennis wins against Arizona and moves onto semifinals

For Daniel Sardu, success with Oregon men’s tennis means more than records

The senior Daniel Sardu has put his stamp on the men’s tennis program after setting records in four different areas.

Sardu from Sopra, Hungary ranks 10th in singles victories in one season with 22. From 2011 to 2013, Sardu and Aaron Clissold jumped Stewart Bartlett and Mark Evans for most doubles victories with 30 – which ranks them sixth. Sardu also holds the sixth spot with the most doubles victories in an individual career with 57. Before the 2015 season started, Sardu had the fourth most singles wins with 64.

“(Sardu) is a team guy,” head coach Nils Schyllander said. “He shows up and plays every team match and if you do that, the record are gonna take care of themselves along the way.”

For Sardu, getting into the record book doesn’t mean as much as success for the team.

“I had some big wins against Washington and Stanford last year which really helped me and the team,” Sardu said. “If you get those wins, then it gives you more confidence that you can win more matches against other teams.”

Daan Maasland, a three-year player with the team, remembers when he clinched the match against Stanford in their freshman year, giving Oregon its first win over the Cardinal in school history.

“Danny (Sardu) was still playing also and he ran over like two courts and joined the group who was celebrating, but his opponent was still serving,” Maasland said. “He was just happy that we won that he didnt even care about himself.”

On April 18, the Ducks had their senior day against Washington. Sardu and Joey Swaysland were the only seniors on the team. The team is full of youth.

For Maasland, playing in a rival match against Washington in the last match of the season meant he and the team wanted to put on a show.

“We had some very close losses on the road early,” Maasland said, “Of course it would have been nice to have won one even two out of those couples but it didn’t happen. So it was good that we stayed on and stayed positive.”

With the Ducks winning in the last Pac-12 match of the season 4-1, thier three wins in the Pac-12 gives them a conference record of 3-4 and fifth place finish. Oregon ended with an overall record of 14-8. The only other time the Ducks have been this successful in Pac-12 matches was in the 1999-2000 season.

“We didn’t have a great non-Pac-12 season,” Sardu said. “But we got three wins in the Pac-12 which is the most since I’ve been here, so overall the season is not over, but it’s been good. We are in a position to make the NCAA tournament and we have to go down to Ojai, California and win some matches.”

Follow Keoni Conlu on Twitter @kconlu13

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on For Daniel Sardu, success with Oregon men’s tennis means more than records

Best selling author Daniel James Brown visits University of Oregon

The lights dimmed in the EMU ballroom. It was time for Connor Benson, a third year rower on the University of Oregon club rowing team, to introduce Daniel James Brown, the author of the New York Times best selling book The Boys in the Boat. 

As soon as Benson mentioned that the book was about the University of Washington rowing team, the crowd let out a huge groan.

“I am not a Huskies fan,” Brown said as he walked to the podium. “I’m a Golden Bear.”

Oregon club sports, the UO Honors College, Pepsi and Lane County all joined together to bring Brown to the University of Oregon campus. The idea for this event came from former Oregon rower and alumni Debbie Knechtel, who helped connect the sponsors with Brown’s agents.

Brown has been in travel mode ever since his book came out in 2013. Despite traveling all around the country, he still enjoys it because of the effect the book has on people.

“It can move people and sometimes even change their lives,” Brown said. “So when I go to these kinds of events, I get a lot of feedback. I get a lot of energy that makes me want to move forward and write more books.”

Crawford Campbell is a first year rower for the club and has found a lot of motivation from the book.

“It really struck me,” Campbell said, “and struck me in the sense that I really wanted to join the rowing team and experience it for myself.”

Ruoxi He, the coxswain for the women’s varsity team, was very impressed with how Brown was able to capture the difficult terminology of the sport. Brown has never been a rower, but he was able to effectively invoke the emotions and feelings that are involved in competitive rowing.

Brown defined himself as a fanatic for the very small details. He said he worked on the book for four years. “If you took all the hours and pulled them out, probably three of those four years was research,” Brown said.

Brown spent those years of research by going through microfilm of old newspapers and interviewing the best college and olympic rowers. To make sure that he got every detail correct, he would have rowers look over the book and fix any mistakes.

That desire to be correct to the minute detail has gotten The Boys in the Boat four awards in its two years of existence. The awards for Brown are sweet – his previous two books were close to winning but it never happened.

As the event reached its end, Brown read the last three paragraphs of the book which describes the end of the olympic race. The same people in the audience that groaned in the beginning, were now hanging on every word.

Follow Keoni Conlu on Twitter: @kconlu13

 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Best selling author Daniel James Brown visits University of Oregon

Mitch Modin impresses at Oregon Relays, two players sign with Oregon women’s basketball

– In the Oregon Relays on Thursday, sophomore decathlete Mitch Modin impressed despite an illness. Modin set new personal records for high jump, long jump, 400 and 100 (wind aided).

– On Tuesday, the San Diego Chargers worked out former Oregon Quarterback Marcus Mariota. Mariota has been linked to several different teams as their top choice at the position.

– Former Oregon defensive linemen Arik Armstead will be the lone representative for Oregon at the NFL Draft. Mariota has decided to stay in Hawaii for the Draft. Armstead finished last season with 2.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for losses.

– The Oregon acrobatics and tumbling team earned the no.3 seed and will face the sixth seeded Alderson Broaddus.First year head coach Chelsea Shaw is looking to take the Ducks to their fifth straight NCATA national championship.

– On Tuesday night, Marshay Moore tweeted from her personal account that she will be transferring to Oregon this upcoming fall for basketball. Moore averaged 24.1 points per game last season while capturing the player of the year award in her conference.

– On Wednesday, Megan Trinder from Northeast Community College announced that she will be transferring to Oregon for basketball in the fall. Trinder averaged 11.8 points and 7.3 assists per game while earning a third-team All-American award this past season.

– Oregon prepares to take on USC in baseball. A roundtable discussion with staff reporters Andrew Bantly and Kenny Jacoby.

Follow Keoni Conlu on Twitter @kconlu13

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Mitch Modin impresses at Oregon Relays, two players sign with Oregon women’s basketball

Oregon women’s golf beats Oregon State in Silverado Showdown

At the end of the Silverado Showdown tournament last year, the Ducks walked away in fifth place. In state rival Oregon State University finished three strokes ahead of the Ducks.

This year, the Ducks beat the Beavers by one stroke at 889-890 to take first place overall.

“It is easy to win when your game is on and the team is firing on all cylinders, but it takes heart to win you’re not at the top of your game,” Coach Ria Scott told GoDucks.com.

Caroline Inglis led the way for the Ducks on both days of the tournament scoring 147 her first day after two rounds and 221 after three rounds.

Inglis was one stroke shy of tying for third place along with Suchaya Tangkamolprasert of Northwestern who shot a 220 on the final day. Inglis (+2) was the top golfer for the Ducks with a score of 74.

Cathleen Santoso (+5) finished second in individual scoring at 77. Santoso tied for 17th overall out of 78 total golfers with a score of 224.

Cassy Isagawa (+4) rounded out the top three for the team by scoring 76 on the day. Isagawa tied for 26th in the tournament with a Tuesday score of 224.

In individual competition, Cali Hipp (+4) finished with a solo score of 75 making her score for the day 230. Marcella Pranovia (+11) gave herself a solo score of 83 tying for 66th place at 240.

This win gives the Ducks the second championship of the spring, this is the first time the Ducks have won twice in the spring since 2000.

“Every score, every shot mattered out there – and it is great to reinforce that headed into the postseason,” Scott said.

The Ducks will be heading back to Eugene to prepare for the Pac-12 Championships in Boulder, Colo., on April 20-22.

Follow Keoni Conlu on Twitter: @kconlu13

 

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Oregon women’s golf beats Oregon State in Silverado Showdown

Oregon men’s tennis beats Utah, 4-0

On Sunday, the Oregon men’s tennis walked away with a shutout victory against the Utah Utes, 4-0.

In doubles, Cormar Clissold and Jayson Amos of Oregon took care of business against Utah’s Parker McGuiness and Jamey Swiggart to give the Ducks their first points in the match. Joey Swaysland and Brent Chin also won in their match against Utah’s Santiago Sierra and Justin Archer.

Jayson Amos won in both doubles and singles matches. His win against Santiago Sierra gave the Ducks their first singles points.

Next to score would be Daan Maasland against Utah’s Cedric Willems match. This brings the score to 3-0 Ducks.

Joey Swaysland of the Ducks took on Louis-Philippe Gasc of the Utes with Swaysland coming out with the final score for the Ducks.

The Ducks take on the Huskies of the University of Washington in Eugene on April 18 at 2pm.

Final Results according to utahutes.com Singles competition

  1. #122 Daan Maasland (Oregon) DEF. Cedric Willems (Utah) 6-3, 6-1
  2. Daniel Sardu (Oregon) VS Parker McGuiness (Utah) 6-4, 5-2
  3. Simon Stevens (Oregon) VS Matt Cowley (Utah) 5-7, 3-3
  4. Jayson Amos (Oregon) DEF. Santiago Sierra (Utah) 6-2, 6-1
  5. Cormar Clissold (Oregon) VS Jamey Swiggart (Utah) 6-3, 5-2
  6. Joey Swaysland (Oregon) DEF. Louis-Philippe Gasc (Utah) 7-5, 6-1

Doubles competition

  1. Daan Maasland and Simon Stevens (Oregon) VS Matt Cowley and Cedric Willems (Utah) 2-4
  2. Cormar Clissold and Jayson Amos (Oregon) DEF. Parker McGuiness and Jamey Swiggart (Utah) 6-1
  3. Joey Swaysland and Brent Chin (Oregon) DEF. Santiago Sierra and Justin Archer (Utah) 6-1

Follow Keoni Conlu on Twitter: @kconlu13

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Oregon men’s tennis beats Utah, 4-0