Getting crowded
at the top
Not quite halfway through,
and both men's and women's
races are much too close to
call. See Pac-10 notes. PAGE 9
Morris’ coach says it’s UO
According to many recruiting services,
the Oregon football program has re
ceived a non-binding verbal committ
ment from Fresno City College running
back Maurice Morris. Two recruiting
services, PrepStarand SuperPrep, listed
Morris as the top junior college running
back.
The announcement by Morris’ junior col
lege coach, Tony Caviglia, that the 6-foot
2, 195-pound, sophomore had chosen
the Ducks over the Southern California
and South Carolina, was a complete turn
around from earlier reports by Morris’ fa
ther, saying that Maurice was headed to
Southern California.
PrepStar reported on its’ web page that
Morris would have had to taken two
more classes to qualify for the Trojans in
the fall, while he has already qualified
for Oregon.
At Fresno CC, Morris set a national junior
college rushing record when he amassed
3,708 yards in 20 games during two years
of play.
Out with a bang
ST. LOUIS (AP) — On Tuesday, two days af
ter winning his first Super Bowl and after
a long talk with his wife, 63-year-old
coach Dick Vermeil decided to retire.
A team source confirmed the retirement,
and the announcement was to come at a
news conference Tuesday night. The de
cision elevates offensive coordinator
Mike Martz to head coach.
The Rams signed Martz to a new two-year
contract in December that assured he
would inherit Vermeil’s job.
Vermeil coached two Super Bowl teams
19 years apart. He led the Philadelphia
Eagles to the NFL title game in 1981, and
that 27-10 loss fueled his return to the
profession in 1997.
Better luck next year
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In a blur of Ti
tans blue, thousands of fans filled down
town to thank the team for an unlikely
journey that fell 3 feet short.
The parade Tuesday wound through
downtown where players and coaches
rode in convertibles and were showered
in confetti in near-freezing temperatures.
The motorcade ended up at Adelphia Col
iseum, where the team went undefeated
en route to its first Super Bowl and a
heartbreaking loss to the St. Louis Rams.
Best Bet
Women’s college
hoops
Tennessee vs.
Connecticut
4 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday
February 2,2000
Volume 101, Issue 88
Emerald
Excitable
guard Felicity
Willis leads
her Arizona
women’s
basketball
team into
McArthur
Court for a
meaningful
matchup
with the
Ducks
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
It’s a hot, still-90-degrees
at-dusk type of summer
evening in Apple Valley, a
small high desert city in
Southern California.
And a group of 13- and
14-year-old softball players
are playing catch in front of
a couple hundred people:
family, friends, middle
aged guys on their way to
slow-pitch games. A whole
range of folk.
Felicity Willis stands
alone, chillin’ near the
dugout, looking on.
The girls on the field, nat
urally, proceed to discuss
who’s here and with whom,
gossiping and giggling and
sneering like only 14-year
old girls can.
Someone on the team no
tices Willis. And, surely,
that someone has to com
ment.
Saying something like:
“Look who’s here ... Over
there, look, it’s that girl Fe
licity.”
A statement that rever
berates with her teammates,
along the lines of: “She
thinks she’s all that. Thinks
she’s too good to play soft
ball.
“Trying to be a guy, play
ing baseball.”
That’s people for you.
Jealous.
Or just raucous. Check
out the crowd’s reaction at
McArthur Court this Friday
when Willis’ Arizona
women’s basketball team
visitse.
Turn to Basketball, page 8
Oregon’s Shaquala Williams will ‘D’-it-up against her friend Felicity Willis again this Friday.
Oregon finishes poorly in Arizona
■ The Ducks' display
a weak team effort at
the Ping Arizona
Intercollegiate
By Peter Hockaday
for the Emerald
The men’s golf team
turned in a below-par per
formance at the Ping Ari
zona Intercollegiate Tourna
ment Tuesday.
Unfortunately that de
scribes their execution and
not their score.
The Ducks shot a com
bined 46-over par 898 over
the two day, 54 hole tourna
ment. They finished in a tie
for 14th place with
Louisiana-Lafayette. Eigh
teen teams competed in the
tournament.
Southern California, with
a four-under par 848, won
the tournament by seven
strokes over host Arizona.
New Mexico, San Diego
State, Stanford and UCLA
rounded out the top six.
Individually, senior An
drew Tredway finished tied
for fourteenth overall with a
seven-over par 220. Tredway
is co-captain of the team with
Senior Ryan Lavoie.
Lavoie, who had been in
third place after the first
round, ruined his chances
of placing in the top 20 by
shooting a ten-over par 81
in the second round. Lavoie
finished in a tie for 31st.
The other Ducks to com
pete in the tournament were
Chris Carnahan (tied for
74th), Aaron Byers (tied for
93rd) and Matt Genovese
(tied for 95th).
The three underclassman
golfers finished only six
strokes apart.
Oregon was the only Pa
cific-Ten Conference team
to compete in the tourna
ment and not finish in the
top ten. Oregon State, who
finished 10th with a team
total 887, was the closest
Pac-10 team to the Ducks.
Washington State was the
only Pac-10 team not to
compete in the tournament.
Arizona freshman Ricky
Barnes won the tournament
with a nine-under par 204.
USC’s Nick Jones was the
runner up with a five-under
208.
Oregon’s finish was their
lowest of the 1999-2000 sea
son. The Ducks had placed
third, eighth, second and fifth
in their four previous tourna
ments. The Arizona Intercol
legiate was the team’s first
tournament of2000.
The Ducks will travel to
Hawaii Feb. 17 for the Tay
lor Made Intercollegiate at
the Beach and Kings Golf
Course in Waikoloa.
Top
individual
finshers
1. Ricky Barnes,
Arizona 204 (-9)
2. Nick Jones, USC
208 (-5)
3. Han Lee, Cali
fornia 210 (-3)
Ducks
T14. Andrew Tred
way 220 (+7)
T31. Ryan Lavoie
222 (+9)