Oregon
Northwestern beats Duke and UIC, but loses to Oregon
It was an eventful weekend for Northwestern, as the tennis team powered through an intense schedule of three matches against No. 8 Duke, UIC and Oregon in just two days.
In their first matchup of the weekend, the Wildcats hosted the Ducks, but failed to find any success against the PAC-12 squad, as NU was defeated 4-0.
The ‘Cats showed promise in the early doubles stages as junior Felix Nordby and senior Gleb Blekher defeated David Cierny and Matthew Burton 6-3 on Court 1.
However, that momentum halted after senior Presley Theineman and sophomore Chad Miller dropped their match 6-4 to Avi Shugar and Lachlan Robertson on Court 2, setting up a battle for a doubles point between freshman Greyson Casey and senior Saiprakash Goli against Ray Lo and Lenn Luemkemann.
Casey and Goli fought down to the wire against Lo and Luemkemann but came up just short as the Ducks duo succeeded in a nail-biting 7-6 win to hand Oregon the doubles point.
Once the match switched to the singles portion, NU’s woes on the court continued as the team dropped its first three matches, giving the Ducks the decisive 4-0 victory.
In their second match of the weekend, the ‘Cats bounced back tremendously, beating No. 8 Duke 4-3 in front of their fans at Combe Tennis Center Sunday — but the victory didn’t come easily for NU.
The ‘Cats came out of the gates hot against the Blue Devils, as Blekher and Nordby took down Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas 6-4 on Court 1, and Miller and Goli defeated Faris Khan and Connor Krug 6-4 on Court 3.
After garnering an early 1-0 lead, NU continued its scorching hot start in the singles portion of the match as the ‘Cats won the first two matches against Duke, featuring a commanding win from Nordby, who defeated Andrew Dale in two sets with scores of 6-3 and 6-2.
However, things turned sideways quickly for the hosts as they dropped two consecutive matches, tying the contest at 3-3 and setting up a clash between Goli and Krug on Court 3 for the decisive point.
Goli faced adversity in the match as he lost the first set 7-6, but quickly bounced back and took the second set with a pivotal 6-2 victory. In the third set, Goli and Krug went toe-to-toe, but the former managed to pull away with a 7-6 victory to hand ‘Cats the match point for a thrilling upset win over Duke.
In their third match of the weekend and in the final part of a Sunday doubleheader, NU hosted UIC and maintained momentum from the team’s victory over Duke, defeating the Flames 4-1.
The ‘Cats found the frontfoot once more as Miller and Goli defeated Randy Wilson and Artem Iermolov 6-1 on Court 3, and Casey and Theineman beat Robinson LeMeur and Aleksa Bucan 6-3 on Court 2.
NU carried its success from doubles into the singles portion. Theineman was the first Wildcat to get in the win column during singles as he defeated Bucan in two sets in dominating fashion, winning the first set 6-0 and the second set 6-1. NU then got a second singles victory from Blekher as he easily defeated Wilson with scores of 6-0 in the first set and 6-2 in the second set.
Following Blekher’s win, the ‘Cats dropped Court 3 in their lone singles loss but were able to secure the match victory as Miller defeated Mihailo Savic in a close two-set battle with scores of 6-4 in the first set and 6-3 in the second set.
The ‘Cats will look to secure their third consecutive victory on Friday night when they host Alabama at the Combe Tennis Center.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @JacobKHare
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BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
The Oregon Ducks have been progressing through the class of 2027 with hopes of landing some of their top target’s commitment on both the offense and the defense.
With many names left on the board, the Ducks have started to receive some great news, including some news from someone they have been targeting since they offered back in January of 2025.
Darius Johnson Releases His Top Four Schools
One of the Ducks top targets’ in the 2027 class at the cornerback position is Darius Johnson. Johnson recently released his top schools with Hayes Fawcett, as he is entering a crucial part of his recruitment. The four schools he has listed at the top include the California Golden Bears, Michigan Wolverines, UCLA Bruins, and the Oregon Ducks.
Johnson is one of the better cornerbacks in the country. He currently ranks as the nation’s No. 178 prospect in the country, No. 20 player at the position, and the No. 14 player in the state of California, according to Rivals. Landing his commitment would be major for any of the schools, as he is someone who could see the field early due to his size, and his growing ability to lockdown a side of the field all by himself.
More About Darius Johnson
Johnson currently measures in at 6-1 and 155 pounds, and will be someone who continues to add weight through his high school program, and will eventually have the chance to really improve his frame when he gets to college. As of now, each of the four schools has a solid chance to win its recruiting battle, but there seems to be a clear leader at this moment.
The leader for the Ducks target seems to be the Michigan Wolverines, who have the only scheduled official visit at this moment. It seems likely that the talented prospect will schedule his other official visits sooner rather than later now that he has officially cut down his list. If the Ducks want to land his commitment, they will need to get him on an official visit because they are likely trailing at this point.
What If He Committed to Oregon Today?
If he were to commit to the Ducks today, he would be the ninth commitment for the Ducks in the class of 2027. He would also be the third cornerback commit for the Ducks in the class of 2027, which is a position they have been recruiting heavily. The cornerbacks the Ducks have at this moment are four-star Ai’King Hall from the state of Alabama and four-star Josiah Molden from the state of Oregon.
Some of their other commits at this moment include four-star EDGE Rashad Streets, four-star defensive linemen Zane Rowe, and four-star EDGE Cameron Pritchett. This class is shaping up to be another top-five class if the pieces continue to fall into place for Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff.
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