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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1997)
TUESDAY April 22,1997 Emerald Wilcox picked up by Minnesota Vikings as free agent ■ DUCKS: At least two more Ducks are still waiting to hear from an NFL team By Ryan Frank Sports Editor Josh Wilcox became the fourth former Duck to join an NFL team when he was picked up as a free agent by the Minnesota Vikings late Sunday. A representative from the Vikings con tacted Wilcox hours after the conclusion of the NFL Draft Sunday night to notify him. Wilcox said he heard from eight or nine teams Sunday, but Minnesota was the team that offered him a spot. “I’m happy to get the chance. I get a good chance to go to a good organization,” Wilcox said Monday afternoon. While Wilcox played tight end for the Ducks, Minnesota tight end coach Dave Atkins said he is planning on using the for mer Duck as an H-back. “He is not quite tall enough to play tight end in the NFL, but he has great hands and moves well and will be able to come out of the backfield,” Atkins said. “Just watching him on film, I was impressed.” Wilcox is 6-foot-3, but Atkins said tight ends in the NFL today are at least 6-foot-5. Atkins, who also coached Keith Byars at the H-back position in Philadelphia, said Wilcox has a good chance of staying with the Vikings through the 1997 season. “He has that size, speed and agility,” Atkins said. “I am confident that he can play as an H-back in the NFL.” Atkins said Wilcox’s work ethic also fac tored in the Vikings’ decision to pick him up. “Josh is a hard worker and will bring that into camp,” Atkins said. The Vikings will also look at Wilcox on special teams, Atkins said For the former Oregon tight end, Sun day’s phone call from Minnesota ended months of waiting. “It has been a long weekend and a long last couple of months,” Wilcox said. And what does the former Duck think about playing for the Vikings? Wilcox said he will fit in just fine. “I’ll fit in nicely,” he said. “I look like an Turn to DUCKS, Page 12A FOOTBALL 1 ■ WILCOX: Picked up by j Vikings ■ OTHERS: Mark Schmidt, Reggie Jordan are still waiting Oregon in good shape after Day 1 ■ GOLF: The Ducks stay within eight shots of the lead and Karen Bristow is just four off of the individual lead By Ryan Halvorsen Sports Reporter The Oregon women’s golf team is in the hunt for the Pacific-10 Conference Women’s Golf Championship after the opening round of the Pac-10 Championships in Tacoma, Wash., at the par-73 Tacoma Country and Golf Club. The Ducks shot an opening round 298, just eight shots back of first-place Arizona State, and that was good enough for fourth place. Arizona finished the first day in sec ond place with a 292, and Stanford finished tmra with 296. Karen Bristow led the way for the No. 12 Ducks, ■ shooting a one-under par 72, which ties her for fourth place. The rest of the team wasn’t far behind as □otn Kyiie Wilson and Amka Heuser tied for 15th both with a two-over par 75. Paula Patterson, who is No. 23 national ly, finished three-over par with a 76, good enough for a 22nd-place tie. And the final team member, Pam Sowden, tied for 38th with a 79. Stanford’s Mhairi McKay led the pack with a five-under par 68, ahead of the na tion’s No. 1 golfer, Marisa Baena of Arizona, who shot a 70. Keri Cornelius finished third with a 71; and Eunice Choi of UCLA, Jeanne-Marie Buauttil of Arizona State, Dodie Mazzuca and Jennifer Stapleton of Washington and Julie Dunn of Stanford all tied with Bristow at one-under par 72 for fourth place. Three other golfers tied at 73 for 10th place. In team competition USC and UCLA are tied for fifth with scores of 301. Washington is seventh with 304, California is eighth with 305, Oregon State is ninth place with 308 and Washington State is bringing up the rear with a 318. The 54-hole tournament will continue to day with 18 holes, and the third and final round will be played Wednesday with 18 holes to decide the Pac-10 team and indi vidual champions. After the Pac-10 Championships, the women play in the Northwest Collegiate Challenge April 28 at Langdon Farms just outside of Portland. Following the Northwest Challenge is the NCAA West Regionals May 9-11 and the NCAA Championships May 21-24. OREGON SOFTBALL MARK McTYR E/Emerald Oregon shortstop Jill Martinez, right, makes the turn at second base for the attempt on the double play against Simon Fraser. The Ducks took two games from the Clan at Howe Field on Monday afternoon. The first game was 5-4. The second was 9-6. Ducks shake pesky Simon Fraser ■ SOFTBALL: Oregon came back from a 6 1 deficit in the second game of the doubleheader By Ryan Halvorsen Sports Reporter Oregon made a couple of late-game comebacks in a non-conference double header with Simon Fraser Monday. The Ducks (16-23-1 overall) turned things around late in both games and came up victorious, winning 5-4 and 9-6. The matchup was originally scheduled to be a single game, but the two coaches decided to play a double-dip at the last minute and Oregon took advantage. In the first game the Clan created multi ple opportunities to score, but the Ducks held them at bay, allowing four runs through 5 1/2 innings. Simon Fraser led 4-0 going into the bot tom of the sixth inning when Oregon made its first move. Melisa Lemke led off the sixth with a base hit, followed by a Heather Holte single. Jenni Cook, the Ducks’ starting pitcher, walked to load the bases, and Jennifer Apfelbaum brought in the first run taking a .base on balls. Pinch hitter Maegan Christie brought in the second run of the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly into foul territory that allowed Jackie Ellis, who was pinch running for Holte, to tag-up and score from third. That run made the score 4-2. Cook retired the side in the top of the seventh and that’s when the Oregon bats went to work. Lindsey Welch led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and was driven in by SOFTBAU UU i lllglLl UV/1\U y LX ipiL> IVJ right field. LeRoy scored on the same play on an er rant throw by the right fielder. LeRoy’s run knot ted the score at four. Oregon attempted to win the game when Lemke tried to steal home on an bad throw, but she was tagged out at home. Then a Simon Fraser passed ball on an attempt to intentionally walk Apfelbaum allowed Cook to score, ending the game at 5-4. Cook picked up the win on the mound for Oregon. The second game was another Oregon comeback, but this time the Ducks got the job done one inning earlier. Simon Fraser went up 6-1 in the top of Turn to SOFTBALL, Page 12A FAST STATS ■ LEADING HITTER: Heather Hotte hit her record tying 11th homer of the season ■ WINNING PITCHERS: Jenni Cook, Maegan Christie ■ NEXT GAME: Doubleheader at Washington Wednesday
