Nick Medley/Emerald Bowyer drives through two Oregon State defenders at Gill Coliseum Friday. Agent for Rodriguez meets with Mariners The Associated Press PEORIA, Ariz. — For a moment Tuesday, the heaviest hitting at the Seattle Mariners’ camp wasn’t in the batting cage. Agent Scott Boras met with Woody Woodward, the Mariners’ vice president of baseball opera tions, in their first face-to-face dis cussion of the spring over Boras’ star client with the team, short stop Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez is signed through the 2000 season, but so is star center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. Team exec utives have repeatedly said they want to keep both players in Mariner uniforms, but it still has n’t stopped speculation that the only way to afford Griffey in base ball’s soaring marketplace is to trade Rodriguez. “I don’t see anybody tense here,” Woodward said. “We’ll talk through the spring and see what we can get done.” Woodward didn’t say whether the talks Tuesday with Boras cen tered on a new contract for Ro driguez or even a trade involving any of the Mariner players repre sented by Boras. His clients also include first baseman David Segui, who is signed through this season, and minor-league pitch ers Cam Smith and Damaso Marte. Besides meeting with Boras on Rodriguez and Segui, Woodward said the M’s are talking with Grif fey’s agent, Brian Goldberg, plus the agents for pitchers Jeff Fassero and Jamie Moyer, whose con tracts expire after this season. Ro driguez said he wasn’t aware of any talks Tuesday between the team and Boras. “He (Boras) has other players on this team, too,” Rodriguez said. Segui was part of serious trade speculation this winter as the Mariners sought pitching without getting involved in the free agent market. Segui’s presence in a trade equation has diminished, but the Mariners still are pursuing help for the starting rotation, plus a left-handed reliever. Besides Boras, also at the Mariners’ camp Tuesday was Don Fehr, director of the players asso ciation, who held his annual spring meeting with the players. Sports Brief Emeralds head coach resigns due to illness The Eugene Emeralds are in search of a new coach after the Chicago Cubs, the Emeralds’ par ent organization, announced Tuesday that Bob Ralston, who had only been with the team since last December, will resign because of health concerns with in his family. Director of Player Develop ment Jim Hendry hired Tom Pratt and Damon Farmar along with Ralston on December 3rd. Ralston’s resignation was unex pected by the team’s front of fice. “We were very much looking forward to having a manager the caliber of Bob Ralston coming to Eugene in 1999,” Emeralds Presi dent Bob Beban said in a released statement. “However, we would like to wish him the best and would hope that he could return for the 2000 season.” Hedry felt the same way. “I ba sically told him [Ralston] that he had no choice and that he had to do what was best for him and his family. He was depressed about giving it up, but he has to look at his family first.” Hendry is optimistic about finding a replacement. “We should have one named by the end of the spring. We are in no hurry. We want to find the right guy, the best guy for the sit uation.” find fun stuff in the ODE classifieds Bowyer Continued from Page 9 the game she lost. "It took longer than 1 thought to get back in sync,” Bowyer says. “It wasn’t until the trip to Wash ington where I really got back into things.” Against the Huskies in Seattle, Bowyer had eight points and five assists off the bench to help lead her team to an emotional 67-57 vic tory. That victory was one in a stretch of nine in a row, which has put Oregon on the brink of its first Pac-10 title and in the driver’s seat to host the first round of the NCAA Tournament in two weeks. “This whole season has been awesome, it’s been incredible,” Bowyer says. “Everyone is so close, we just haven’t had any ma jor problems this year. That’s been the real key. People have stayed healthy, for the most part, and we have never lost sight of what we want.” Bowyer, a native of Adelaide, Australia, first toured the United States in 1988 with a high school aged club team that was compet ing in the Northwest. Bowyer went to Seattle and Portland and fell in love with the atmosphere of women’s college basketball in America. Where college and high school games in Australia would seldom draw more than a hundred fans, (( This whole season has been awesome, it’s been incredible. Everyone is so close, we just haven’t bad any major problems this year. >> Lisa Bowyer Guard Bowyer says she was “blown away" with number of fans who attended women’s games in the States. Shortly after she returned home, Bowyer told her family that she wanted to come to Amer ica to go to school and play bas ketball. But she didn’t think she'd end up at Oregon. Bowyer origi nally wanted to attend Washing ton, which had an opening at the two-guard position until the Huskies’ top recruit, Jamie Redd, was made eligible by the NCAA after passing her SAT test. When Washington went with Redd, who this season became the school’s all-time leader in points scored, Bowyer contacted an old family friend who was playing at Oregon. The friend sold Bowyer on Eugene and head coach Jody Runge's program and convinced her to give it a shot. "I think I made the right choice,” Bowyer says. "I’ve been given an opportunity to play here and it’s been great.” Bowyer's game is defense. It has been defense since the very first day she stepped into McArthur Court. In high school, and on her vari ous club teams in Australia, Bowyer was primarily a scorer. But over the last four seasons, Runge and her staff have helped to transform Bowyer into the best defensive player on the best de fensive team in the Pac-10. "She has the heart of a lion,” Runge says. "Lisa has worked very hard to improve her game. The team looks to her for leader ship and for a calming presence down the stretch.” Bowyer says that being a leader has always come naturally. But defense has been something she has worked very hard to perfect. “I watch their eyes,” Bowyer says about her opponents. “I try to read where other players are on the court and anticipate who’s go ing to get the ball. A lot of it is just being aggressive and just wanting it more than anyone else.” Which is why Bowyer plays as hard at practice on a Tuesday af ternoon as she does on Saturday night when the whole world is watching. STOREWIDE SALE! 20%-70 OFF Ski Equipment Downhill‘Cross Country Snowboards Starts Noon Today! Open Mon-Sat 10-7 13th & Lawrence • 683-1300 UNivntsnY *Tr theatke rend Theatre] 1 Mar. 3- 6\ \ ''<•< <>/;tr(p)c€* Don't miss out. Work for your college paper. For more information on how to freelance for the Oregon Daily Emerald call 346-5511. 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