Emerald
Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Sports Editor: Tim Pyle
Best Bet
NBA Basketball
Portland vs. Utah
5 p.m., KEVU
Volleyball
proves skid
was a fluke
Football is usually the first thing
that comes to mind when Oregon
sports fans hear the words “Civil
War.” In the winter, fans may
also think about basketball.
Volleyball, which is present in most ath
letic programs, goes unnoticed by most
sports fans. It lacks the glamor, spectator
base and media exposure that thrusts other
sports into the national limelight.
And when your school’s volleyball team
has an overall record of 7-16, it is even less
compelling to follow.
But on a weekend when the Oregon foot
ball team rolled over Washington State and
H the women’s basketball team won its exhi
bition game, an intense Civil War matchup
was overlooked.
To see the volleyball team dominate Ore
gon State the way it did Friday night was
nothing short of sensational.
It was spectacular.
It was something special.
Oregon’s victory over the Beavers should
have come much easier than it did. The
week before the match, Oregon State offen
sive-leader Sarah Bjeldanes quit the team
for personal reasons and setter Brandi
Bonnarens injured knee, putting her out for
the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, outside hitter Monique Tob
bagi returned to the Ducks and led her team
in kills through the four matches she
played.
But by 7 p.m. Friday at McArthur Court,
Tobbagi was not in uniform. The sopho
more had aggravated her previous injuries
and was in too much pain to play.
Then, early in the first game, outside hit
ter Heather Gilmore left the game with a
sprained right ankle.
On any other day, Oregon would have
been in trouble.
Perhaps it was the Civil War. Maybe it
was a chance to pay back a team that domi
nated the Ducks before. Maybe the Oregon
volleyball team just got tired of losing.
Or maybe the players finally realized
that they can win.
Whatever happened, the Ducks turned
up the intensity to a level at which Oregon
State couldn’t survive.
Oregon blocked. Oregon killed. Oregon
hustled. One play in the third game had a
shot going long, clearly out of the Ducks’
reach. That didn’t stop three Oregon jer
seys from sprinting off the court and diving
for the impossible hit.
Besides an overall team effort, something
happened that has been waiting to happen
all season — a leader emerged.
It may not last beyond that match, but ju
nior Amy Banducci was repeatedly the go
to girl of the Oregon offense. She rose to the
occasion, scoring a career-high 21 kills at
the time her team needed her most.
The Ducks’ first conference victory
should have come much sooner than Nov.
5. Constantly plagued by unforced errors,
lapsing defense and injuries, Oregon’s con
fidence seemed to plummet early as it lost
matches it should have easily won.
Had Oregon shown the poise it showed
against Oregon State throughout its season,
this would not have been the team that set
a school-record losing streak. This could
Turn to Pesznecker, Page 12
Howry following Hartley... again
■ The Ducks’ starting wideouts,
who attended the same high
school, are both making marks in
the record books
By Tim Pyle
Oregon Daily Emerald
Keenan Howry is quickly making a
name for himself.
The true freshman wide receiver from
Los Alamitos, Calif., has claimed a spot in
the Oregon football team’s starting lineup
despite being underaged — he’s just 18 —
and undersized — he’s listed as just 5
foot-9,160 pounds.
Good is what the split end is.
With two regular-season games and a
probable bowl game left in the Ducks’ sea
son, Howry has 22 receptions for 367
yards and four touchdowns.
“When I came in, what I was working
for was just playing a little here and there,
backup, whatever,” Howry said. “But nev
er to this extent, where I’d be starting by
the third game. I had no idea that it’d come
that soon.”
Comparatively, senior flanker Tony
Hartley, who became Oregon’s all-time ca
reer receiving-yardage leader Saturday,
had 25 catches for 387 yards and one
touchdown as a true freshman.
The similarities between the Ducks’ two
starting wide receivers don’t end there.
Hartley is also from Los Alamitos, and
both played for John Barnes at Los Alami
tos High School.
Is Howry trying to follow in Hartley’s
record-breaking footsteps?
“Yeah, it’s been like that for the last five
years,” Howry said with a chuckle. “The
things he’s done are so far ahead of where
I’m at right now. I’ve got three more years
to look at that, so right now I’m just gonna
worry about the present. ”
Hartley doesn’t hesitate in anointing
Howry the next great Oregon receiver.
“He’s doing awesome,” Hartley said.
“These records will probably be his in a
couple years.”
But before Howry turns his attention to
the all-time marks, he has a more imme
Turn to Football, Paged
Jeffrey Stockton Emerald
Freshman Keenan Howry has surprised even himself by becoming an integral part of Oregon’s attack.
Baumgartner expects good Ducks in Hawaii
■ The No. 21 women’s golf team has had a
roller coaster ride of a fall heading into the
Hawaiian Fall Golf Classic today
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
The roller coaster continues for the No. 21 Oregon
women’s golf team.
After four tournaments — two good, two bad — it is
still tough to tell what kind of team this is.
Head coach Renee Baumgartner has not lost faith,
and she is expecting big things as the Ducks participate
in the Hawaiian Fall Golf Classic today and Wednesday
at the Kapolei Golf Course in Kapolei, Hawaii.
“There’s an incredible amount of talent on this
team,” Baumgartner said. “I still truly believe that this
team is the best team I’ve ever coached, and it’s time
for them to start believing that. ”
The fall got off to a great start for the Ducks with a
seventh-place tie at the NCAA Fall Preview on Sept.
15, but then two weeks later Oregon couldn’t defend
its home turf in the Oregon Invitational as it crumbled
on the final day and finished second behind Pacific-10
Conference rival California.
But the Ducks’ spirits were lifted Oct. 3, as they cap
tured the Fall Nittany Lion Invitational in convincing
fashion, setting a three-round school record with a
score of 885. But then Oregon went downhill on Oct.
24, placing in a tie for 16th out of 18 teams at the Stan
ford Invitational.
“I feel we’ve been through so many peaks and val
leys this fall,” Baumgartner said. “A lot of it has to do
with self-doubt. We learned a lot from Stanford by get
ting embarrassed. But there was a lot of positive talk af
terwards, and I know it will make us better in the long
run.”
Baumgartner has been pleased with
the play of senior Pam Sowden and ju
nior Jerilyn White, who led the team at
the Nittany Lion Invitational and
Stanford Invitational, respectively.
“Pam and Jerilyn have really taken
on the responsibility of knowing what
their role is and going out there and do
ing it,” Baumgartner said. “As soon as we start to get the
rest of the girls going, we’ll step it up. I think we’re a
spring team, and we’re using the fall season as a learning
curve.”
The Ducks.participate in a field of 15 teams, head
lined by defending tournament champion Oklahoma
State, which is ranked No. 8. The field also includes
fellow Pac-10 rivals Oregon State and No. 25 UCLA.
“It’s a good field with three or four teams that can po
tentially win,” Baumgartner said. “I’m optimistic about
our chances because it seems that the harder it is, the
better we play.”
The tournament consists of an opening round of 36
holes today, followed by 18 holes Wednesday, with tee
time for both days set at 7:30 a.m. It is the Ducks’ final
tournament of the fall, as the team won’t resume play
until Feb. 21,2000.
( i I’m opti
mistic about
our chances
because it
seems the
harder it is, the
better we play.
Renee J J
Baumgartner
Head Coach