– Vernon Adams walked with fellow students during Eastern Washington’s graduation ceremonies on Saturday. Now, Adams is expected to enroll in summer classes at the University of Oregon, which begin June 22. His arrival in Eugene will officially mark the start of the much-anticipated quarterback battle during Ducks fall camp.

– Ducks running back Royce Freeman was one of four college football players to make ESPN Magazine’s college football preview cover. The other players were Alabama running back Derrick Henry, TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin and Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones. Here’s what the cover looks like:

Are Oregon and star RB Royce Freeman back in the hunt? One of four covers created for ESPN's College Football Preview. Photo by John Loomis.

A photo posted by ESPN College Football (@espncfb) on Jun 15, 2015 at 5:22pm PDT

– ESPN NBA insider Chad Ford has former Ducks basketball standout Joseph Young going to the Los Angeles Lakers with the 27th pick in the NBA Draft. Most analysts projected Young as a mid to late second round pick, so this update comes as somewhat of a surprise. Ford had this to say about Young’s draft stock:

“Young brings something to the table that the Lakers desperately need: shooting. And the fact that he hasn’t worked out since the combine is suspicious. Multiple sources believe that a team in the late first round made him a promise in exchange for not working out for other teams. While I have no idea if that’s LA or not, he is a good get at No. 27.”

– Oregon baseball has agreed to play in the Tony Gwynn Classic, a newly-formed preseason college baseball tournament that will begin in 2017. The tournament is a tribute to Gwynn, a former San Diego Padre great. The tournament will feature 12 games in a championship format, splitting games between SDSU’s Tony Gwynn Stadium and San Diego’s Fowler Park.

– Olympic champion distance runner Mo Farah said he is not leaving his coach and former University of Oregon runner Alberto Salazar. Salazar was accused of breaking anti-doping rules in 2002 along with another former University of Oregon star runner, Galen Rupp.

Farah said he has “not seen any clear evidence (of doping)”, and wants further assurances “as soon as possible.”

– Oregon men’s golf head coach Casey Martin reflected on the 2014-15 season and looked ahead to next season, when Oregon will host the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships at the Eugene Country Club.

– Oregon softball pitcher Cheyenne Powell is transferring from the program. As a freshman, Powell appeared in three games for the Ducks in 2015. She gave up four hits and allowed two runs in her three innings of total work.

– Oregon baseball juniors Mitchell Tolman and Garrett Cleavinger claimed top team awards as voted by their teammates. As an infielder, Tolman was named the team’s most valuable player, as well as outstanding offensive and defensive player of the year. Cleavinger was named the team’s best pitcher. A complete list of team awards can be found here.

– As Oregon women’s basketball head into the summer, individual development will be a major focus, writes the Emerald’s Jonathan Hawthorne.

– The Tennesean’s Jim Wyatt named former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota as one of five players who has impressed during Tennessee Titans OTA’s, citing “impressive arm strength and confidence running the offense.”

Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner

After missing the cut at the NCAA Championships last weekend in Bradenton, Florida, Oregon men’s golf finished its successful season with a 23rd-place finish in the tournament.

A few days following the end of its season, the Emerald‘s Will Denner spoke to head coach Casey Martin as he reflected on the season, the challenges of the Concession Golf course during NCAA Championships and looked ahead to next year’s pivotal season, in which the Ducks will host the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships at the Eugene Country Club.

At the NCAA Championships, your team got off to a pretty good start, but momentum seemed to get lost as the tournament went on. Where did it start going wrong for you guys?

We had really good starts in both the first and second rounds but we weren’t able to capitalize. The first two rounds we had a couple players have a tough time finishing. (Zach) Foushee had a triple-bogey on 17 in the first round and (Brandon) McIver had a quadruple bogey on the final hole of the second round. Both times we kind of lost momentum and it took the wind out of our sails a little bit.

We were ready to overcome it on that third round – guys were focused and gave great effort – but we just didn’t have it that day.

What kinds of challenges did the Concessions Club course present?

(Laughs) This is the hardest golf course I’d ever seen, and I’ve been around golf for a long time. It received the highest slope rating ever by the USGA (United States Golf Association) when they rated it. It’s just a really difficult golf course in every respect because it tests you from start to finish. There’s really no easy holes. If you play great, you can shoot a decent score, but it’s there to punish you if you mess up.

There’s been a lot of talk about where this year’s team ranks among the ones you’ve coached. Now that the season is over, where do you think it stacks up to the others?

Well, it’s right up there. I think those teams that made it to the final four finished a little better, but this is definitely one of my better teams. When you look at winning five times, finishing second at Pac-12’s, having a couple individual winners and we set the all time NCAA record for the lowest 18-hole round for a team ever (30-under at the Ka’anapali Classic). It’s been a special year and fortunately the core of this group returns.

For the players returning next year, what, if any, parting words or advice do you give them as they head into summer?

Everyone’s going in a million different directions. All these guys are accomplished players and they have opportunities to go play in tournaments.

The biggest thing I said is, regardless of what happened this week at nationals, we’re going to be a better team because of it. You can’t play that golf course under those stressful conditions without – you know, golf is easier after that. I think another big thing is for each guy to go back, stay in love with golf and keep working on it.

I do think we’ll be in a good position next year with those returning guys, but also hosting the NCAA Championships here in Eugene.

Looking towards next season, who are you looking at as frontrunners to replace Jonathan Woo in the playing rotation?

There’s going to be quite a few guys. We had three kids redshirt this year, and I think all three of them will be in the mix. Sulman Raza, Andrew Bonner, who transferred from Colorado, and Brandon Baumgarten – all those guys have done a lot of good things in the past. Certainly Nigel Lett has done some good. A couple of the freshman coming in could push those guys.

So I think we’ll have a pretty deep squad and there will be a lot of competition to play, which always makes everybody better.

And also next season, with Eugene hosting the NCAA Championships, it seems like a pretty important year for your team. If you guys make it that far, obviously you would have a pretty big home-course advantage. Have you thought about that much?

Oh yeah. Part of the reason we put the bid in is I thought I would have a good team and would love to showcase these guys. It’s going to be a long year, we’ve got to get better and we’ve got to get there.

We’re going to have more pressure on us than any team Oregon has ever had by virtue of hosting, so we’ll have to deal with that. But, it’s a great opportunity for these kids to grow and learn and get better. If we can make it, it would be fun to make a run at our home course. It’s a dream come true if we can do it.

Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner

On May 25, Oregon Fugue took home another championship trophy at the USA Ultimate College Championships. But this one was less of a surprise, almost expected, after last year’s heartbreaking loss in the championship game against Ohio State.

“In a lot of ways, it felt like a continuation,” co-captain Alex Ode said. “It felt like taking what was ours, that was in some ways taken from us last year. We just made sure to earn it this year. We never slacked in our quest to becoming our best.”

Fugue went 7-0 during nationals including a 13-11 defeat over Stanford in the championship game. The final score of the championship appeared to reflect a highly-contested game. However, the game was marred, by high winds that, according to Ode, created an “equalizer” for Stanford. The conditions were ugly and unlike anything Fugue had seen this season.

“It was a bizarre sort of wind,” co-captain Bethany Kaylor said. “It was the most wind we had played in all year, and neither team played a clean, pretty game of ultimate in the finals.”

Despite the conditions, Fugue’s ability to prevail won them their second championship since Lou Burruss took over coaching the team in 2008.

Fugue will certainly take time to celebrate this season’s triumph, but the arguably truest test of continuity will come next year. Although they came within just one win of doing so last year, Oregon Fugue has never repeated as champions. Next year, Fugue will have to find its way back to the championship without Burruss, an innovative coach who introduced the team, and arguably the rest of college ultimate, to a high-tempo style considered unorthodox at its outset. His departure from the team is one of many things that will have to be considered for next year, but Kaylor believes the team is “sitting pretty.”

“Although we’re losing our coach, we’re retaining most of our core talent,” Kaylor said. “What it will take for us to win next year is not only hard work, but thoughtful work. We will need to constantly re-evaluate where we are, where we want to be and how we want to get there.”

Fugue will lose three seniors: Angela Tocchi, Emily Loo and Ashley Young. Tocchi also believes the team can repeat next year because Fugue’s system has become self-sufficient.

“I think part of the reason we’re so successful is that everyone’s allowed to do what they need to do,” Tocchi said, “and not fit into the system but have the system fit into the team.

Two more seniors, Olivia Bartruff and Rachel Hershey are still deciding whether or not to return. Bartruff in particular was “a scoring machine” in the tournament, according to Kaylor. She led Fugue in scoring this season, including six of the team’s 13 goals scored in the championship against Stanford. 

As for co-captains Ode, Kaylor and Jesse Shofner, they will each take a “victory lap,” which is a fifth year to play one last season of collegiate ultimate. The team has yet to decide if any of the three will return as a captain, but their combined experience and leadership will be crucial to next year’s success.

Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner

Oregon men’s golf saw its successful season come to an end on Monday morning as they came up short in the third round of the NCAA Championships.

After thunder and lightning storms postponed round three on Sunday, the Ducks, along with several other teams, were forced to resume early Monday to finish the round. Over three rounds, the Ducks finished 38-over 902 and placed 23rd out of thirty teams.

The 20-over 308 round three was season worst for the Ducks.

Aaron Wise’s 5-over 221 was a great first try for a freshman in the NCAA Championships. His third round was one of the worst of his career, as he shot 8-over including four consecutive bogies from holes 13 through 16. Despite this forgettable round, his freshman campaign was among the best in program history, and his future looks very bright for the Ducks.

Zach Foushee had an overall inconsistent tournament, but his overall 9-over 225 scorecard was good enough for second on the team. Foushee’s senior year will be important to the Ducks’ success next year.

After a strong start to the tournament, sophomore Thomas Lim struggled throughout the remainder of it. However, he rebounded late in the third round to shoot par on his last three holes of the season.

Jonathan Woo finished his Oregon career with a 73.18 stroke average per round. His 8-over 80 in round three was forgettable, but he managed to salvage a couple of holes by shooting par on 8 and 9.

Brandon McIver trimmed two strokes off of his first two round to shoot 4-over 76 in round three. Overall, he and Woo tied for fourth on the team for the the tournament. Like Foushee, McIver’s senior campaign will have a huge impact on how good the Ducks are next year.

Now that the season has concluded, the Ducks will go their separate ways this summer as they compete in various summer tournaments across the country.

If all goes well, the 2015-16 postseason will be one the most important in program history. The Ducks will be hosting the 2016 NCAA Championships at the Eugene Country Club, their home course. If they can make it to the championships, their chances look favorable considering the home course advantage.

Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner

Oregon men’s golf looked comfortable in the second round of the NCAA Championships.

The Concessions Club course in Brandeton, Florida gave the Ducks fits in the first round yesterday, but day two saw them improve by a combined six strokes. Most importantly, they moved up the leaderboard from 18th into a three-way tie with Texas and Virginia for 14th place.

Aaron Wise was, once again, the steadying force keeping the Ducks afloat. He shot a two-under 70 in round two, which included timely back-to-back birdies on holes 11 and 12. Wise is tied for 12th on the individual leaderboard through two rounds.

Zach Foushee also shot two-under 70 today, finding the consistency that evaded him during the latter part of yesterday. Foushee birdied on 3, 8, 12 and 16. He sits in a tie for 40th.

Jonathan Woo and Brandon McIver’s round two scores were identical to their round one scores, as they shot four-over 76 and six-over 78 respectively. McIver once again struggled on the 18th hole, going from a double bogey yesterday to a triple bogey today.

Thomas Lim had a much tougher time on day two, going from a two-over 74 to a seven-over 79 today. His day was marred by six bogeys and one double-bogey compared to just one birdie.

USC jumped two spots to the top of the leaderboard, while Illinois went down to second. Georgia and LSU are in a tie for third.

The Ducks are still on the outside looking in if they’re going to advance to match play, but there is still plenty of hope. Only five strokes separate Oregon from San Diego State and TCU, who are currently in a tie for eighth.

The third and final round will begin tomorrow morning. Tee time for the Ducks is to be determined.

Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner

Oregon men’s golf started strong in the NCAA Championships, but its performance quickly went south thereafter.

The Ducks sat atop the leaderboard briefly, as Zach Foushee and Aaron Wise paced them. The Concessions Club course in Brandeton, Florida became less forgiving as the day went on, however.

Wise shot a team-best 73 (+1) and Thomas Lim finished a stroke behind with a 74 (+2) scorecard.

It was important to for Wise, a freshman, and Lim, a sophomore, to get comfortable early, but for the Ducks to advance to match play on Monday, they’ll need better contributions from upperclassmen.

Senior Jonathan Woo, who carried the Ducks in the Pac-12 Championships and NCAA Regionals, shot a 76 (+4). Junior Brandon McIver shot a 78 (+6) due in large part to a triple-bogey on the 16th hole. And although Foushee started strong with two birdies on the first four holes, his performance dwindled as the day went on.

Illinois led the 30-team field shooting a combined two-under on the day. Georgia sat in second with an even scorecard and Pac-12 foe USC shot one-over to place third.

The Ducks have plenty of time to improve and get into the top eight. Tomorrow’s second round could make or break the Ducks’ national championship hopes.

Tomorrow, the Ducks will tee off at 4:50 am Pacific time.

Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner

With a torrid finish to the NCAA Regional, Oregon men’s golf earned a berth in the NCAA Championships in Brandeton, Florida. It’s the second consecutive season the Ducks have reached the championship tournament, and the sixth time in nine years under head coach Casey Martin.

The championship stage is familiar to several key players. Jonathan Woo, Brandon McIver, Zach Foushee and Thomas Lim all represented the Ducks in last year’s championship, and all of them will be looking to improve on the Ducks’ 14th place finish out of 30 teams.

But this year’s team is better than last year’s top to bottom, due in large part to the emergence of freshman Aaron Wise. This will easily be the biggest stage he’s played on in his young career, but he’s handled most high-pressure situations with ease this season.

Arguably the biggest x-factor going into this tournament is Woo, the Ducks’ lone senior. After the Noblesville Regional, Martin told GoDucks.com, “Woo has played his best golf in his career the past six weeks. He has been the difference.”

Woo has seen his share of ups and downs within the team and within his own game in his four-year career, but Martin is absolutely right. His three-under 69 score in the last round at Noblesville helped the Ducks immensely, and he tied for seventh among individuals in the tournament. If Woo’s hot streak continues at the NCAA Championships, he’ll certainly end his college career on a high note.

Another factor that could end up going in the Ducks’ favor is the weather. According to the Brandeton forecast, there is a good chance of rain on the back-end of the weekend and into next week. This actually bodes fairly well for the Ducks, as they have plenty of experience practicing in rainy conditions in Eugene.

The Ducks, like every other team in the field, will have to readjust to the marathon format of the NCAA Championships. From May 29-31, all 30 teams compete against each other in stroke play – a three-round format. From there, the eight teams with the lowest scores will move on to match play from June 1-3. In this format, teams will compete against another for one-round, with the winner moving on.

Although the Ducks have sometimes started slow this season, they’ve developed a reputation of finishing strong. We’ll see if it holds true in the championship.

Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner

The stage was perfectly set for Bethany Kaylor.

The Oregon women’s ultimate Fugue team was well on its way to another run at nationals, but this one in particular was going to be special for Kaylor.

As president of the Cincinnati Ultimate Players Association, Bethany’s father, Mike Kaylor, had succeeded in campaigning for the 2014 nationals tournament to be hosted in Cincinnati – the Kaylors’ hometown. The tournament was going to be an unofficial homecoming for Kaylor, and an opportunity to play in front of many friends and family once again. Then, one evening, April 15, 2014 to be exact, Kaylor’s season was derailed while practicing with the team.

In a freak-collision, Kaylor’s right foot “got on the back of [her] teammate’s cleat” and a bone snapped.

“I remember her being pretty scared,” co-captain Alex Ode said. “Injuries are common at practice, so we never really know how to respond because sometimes it’s something that will keep you out for five minutes, sometimes five months.”

The broken bone turned out to be the fifth metatarsal, which she had broken the previous summer playing ultimate. She thought the injury had fully healed through the previous fall, but this re-injury was a significant setback that required surgery. And the timing couldn’t have been worse.

“Everyone that I ever knew from Cincinnati that played frisbee was like, ‘you’re coming home, this going to be awesome,’” Kaylor said. “Old high school friends, teammates, opponents were volunteering at nationals, and then I broke my foot. So I came home and couldn’t play.”

“It was just, in so many ways a slap in the face.”

Oregon Fugue would go on to compete in nationals, even making it to the championship game before losing to Ohio State – a school many of Kaylor’s friends went to. She was reduced to watching from the sidelines while her injured right foot remained stationary on a scooter.

Now, a year later, Oregon Fugue is heading to nationals for a seventh consecutive year and this time, Kaylor is back on the field in top-form, fueled by last season’s adversity. Along with Alex Ode and Jesse Shofner, Kaylor was selected by the team to be one of Fugue’s captains this season. During her injury, Kaylor said she became well-versed in the nuances of the team from the sidelines.

“I think captaining would’ve been a lot a harder had I not been sidelined last year,” Kaylor said “It’s been a lot easier to examine emotions, the way things play out with certain people and how they react to certain suggestions and criticisms.”

Combined with her leadership and standout play on the field as the anchor of Oregon’s defensive line, the team elected to nominate Kaylor for the 2015 Callahan Award, considered by many to be the most prestigious individual award in college ultimate.

But perhaps even more important than her on-the-field performances, Kaylor’s sportsmanship displayed throughout her injury made her an ideal candidate for the award in the eyes of her teammates.

“She was so engaged with the games,” former teammate Adie Bovee said. “I’m sure that there were moments when she checked out and was down on herself. But publicly, she kept it together.”

Ode added, “Her initial response (to the injury) was feeling like she let the team down, which I think kind of speaks to her character. She always puts the team first.”

As the team makes the final preparations for nationals, which begin Friday and run through Monday, expectations are high for another run at the championship. Kaylor is as motivated as anyone. When adverse situations arise in nationals, as they do practically every year, Kaylor will ground herself, like she’s done all season, when she remembers where she was only a year ago.

“What’s been really important for me this year whenever I’m frustrated, is realizing that this time last year I was just scooting around,” Kaylor said. “Remembering that simple joy of just being able to walk when I got out of the scoot… I’m able to play.”

Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner

Oregon softball-standout Cheridan Hawkins remains in the hunt for college softball’s most prestigious award.

The American Softball Association (ASA) and USA Softball announced the top three finalists for the 14th annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year. Along with Hawkins, Florida’s Lauren Haeger and Michigan’s Sierra Romero were named finalists.

After winning the Pac-12 Player of the year for the second consecutive consecutive season, Hawkins has the opportunity to become the first player in Oregon softball history to win the award. Through regionals, Hawkins is 29-3 with a 1.40 ERA and 249 strikeouts.

Following this weekend’s Super Regionals, the award will be announced on May 26 prior to the Women’s College World Series at at a team-only banquet.

Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner