Thursday, January 26, 2023
For older Asian American immigrants, ballroom dancing was supposed to be a safe haven Matt Pearce and August Brown Los Angeles Times
Davis Cordova
Defense suffers rare lapse in loss to Texas The OSU defense gave up a season-high 89 points against Texas on Tuesday night.
Braden Bush Assistant Sports Editor For once, OSU’s defense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. Texas knocked down a high percentage of its shots, but even when the defense was clicking, it gave the No. 10 Longhorns too
many second-chance opportunities. While the Cowboys scored their highest point total in five weeks, the defense gave up a season-high mark in an 89-75 loss in Austin on Tuesday night. “Eighty-nine points, you know, that’s just something we don’t do,” guard Woody Newton said on the postgame radio show. “We always say we’re a defensive team, and we can’t go on the road and allow a team score 89 points in their crib.” Just two weeks removed from a 56-point outing against the Cowboys, Texas (17-3, 6-2) turned its offense around. Four Longhorns
scored in double digits, and they scored season-highs in 3-point and field goal percentage for an OSU opponent. OSU trailed 17-6 just seven minutes into the game, which stemmed from an 11-0 Texas run. But the Cowboys closed the gap. Then, after closing the score to within three with more than four minutes until halftime, OSU (11-9, 3-5) didn’t score again in the first half, while Texas extended the lead to eight.
See Texas on page 3
studio — who included immigrants from Taiwan, China and the Philippines — were in their 50s, 60s or 70s. LOS ANGELES Yutian Wong, a profes— When a gunman sor at San Francisco fatally shot 11 people State University‘s and wounded nine School of Theater and others in Monterey Dance who specializes Park over the weekin Asian American end, it was more than dance studies, said her just the latest tragedy father, a 70-something in America’s horrific Malaysian immigrant, mass-shooting epiprobably would have demic. been at the ballroom The gunman at- when the shooting tacked the Star Ballhappened Saturday room Dance Studio, night, if he hadn’t been one of the best-known dropping off a relative hubs of the vibrant somewhere else. Asian American “It’s pretty horballroom dance comrible. That’s the thing. munity in Southern You just imagine these California — a longplaces that are thought time safe haven for of as safe community older immigrants, the spaces, where one isn’t kind of place where going to be harassed,” they knew they would said Wong. “I know be welcomed. a lot of people think, “In Asia, ball‘Ballroom dancing, it’s room is an incredibly so odd, why do Asian popular sport and people like it?’ But it’s social dance,” said been a big, thriving Marisa Hamamoto, a community for a long professional ballroom time.” and salsa dancer in The once strictly L.A. who had been to European practice of Star on occasion. ballroom dancing has “Ballroom is long since internaone big activity where tionalized and taken Asians are able to on a life of its own, gather and meet people with dancers of all with that shared exages and nationaliperience. It’s a place ties finding joy, comto find belonging and munity and a healthy connection,” said workout in swaying Hamamoto. “Many through the waltz, Asian Americans are the foxtrot, swing and traumatized by this. rumba. “Dancing with When we started see- the Stars” was a staple ing photos of victims, of ABC’s programwe can’t help but feel ming for more than 30 like these people are seasons before recently our parents and grand- moving to Disney+. parents. Especially California ballroom after all the phobia competitions can draw during COVID, it’s hundreds of competitriggering.” tors of every ethnicity. All of the victims See Immigrants on page 5 slain at the ballroom
Cowgirls to host handful of teams during ITA kickoff weekend
Payton Little Staff Reporter Familiar faces and new challengers are serving it up in Greenwood Tennis Center this weekend. The OSU Cowgirls look to start their home season during ITA Kickoff Weekend. Teams in Oregon, Kansas and Michigan are headed to the Greenwood Tennis Center to take part in a four team bracket lasting Saturday and Sunday. OSU starts out its draw with a matchup against Oregon. In his 13 years of coaching at OSU, coach Chris Young has never had a team play against the Ducks, creating a new opportunity to leave a mark on a different program. “You just don’t know a lot about them and just how their players react,” Young said. “I think it’s pretty exciting just to see somebody new because oftentimes we
can play the same teams year after year.” While not on the same side of the bracket, Kansas is a familiar conference opponent for the Cowgirls. Since Young’s time at the helm of Cowgirl tennis, he has never lost to the Jayhawks in Stillwater. Regardless of this fact, the Cowgirls may not even face off against the Jayhawks during the weekend. This conference matchup is only possible if both Kansas and Oklahoma State win or lose their respective matches. Undoubtably the hottest team hitting the court in Stillwater this weekend is Michigan. The Wolverines are making waves in the NCAA early, as the team took down No. 4 Oklahoma in a swift defeat of 5-2 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan looks to cause even more of a stir in the Big 12 in facing Kansas and potentially Oklahoma State. “They made a statement that they’re probably a top 10 team this year,” Young said. “They could be higher ranked when the rankings come out. You never know. That’s going to be a really strong team. A
lot of older players on the team.” Michigan won five of the six singles matches played against Oklahoma, surrendering the doubles point before blitzing the Sooners in singles. While singles play is where most matches are won, the Cowgirls look to attack strong in doubles. Ayumi Miyamoto, a senior for the Cowgirls, is taking on a new role in doubles this season. With her usual partner Lisa Marie Rioux not yet on the roster, she has the opportunity to share her experience with the youngest player on the team, Lucia Peyre. “She likes to play singles, not doubles,” Miyamoto said. “We need to find a way to find a new strategy, and we are still working on it.” The team is wanting any and all fans to be in attendance for kickoff weekend, with the official Cowgirl Tennis Twitter account stating “Show up. Show out. Get rowdy.”
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Cole Gueldenzoph Ayumi Miyamoto is gaining experience playing in doubles this season for the Cowgirls.