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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 30, 2000)
Best Bet NCAA Slam Dunk contest 6 p.m. ESPN Thursday March 30,2000 Volume 101, Issue 120 Emehdd Spring previews Emerald Jermaine Hanspard and the Ducks intend to pick up the pace for the Hayward Relays on April 8. Group effort the focus for men’s track team The Ducks are ready for their second season under head coach Martin Smith By Scott Pesznecker Oregon Daiiy Emerald When Martin Smith replaced Bill Dellinger as the Oregon men’s track coach in fall 1998, he spoke about his plans for Tracktown, U.S.A. That he wanted to rebuild the Ducks to a national powerhouse. That he wanted to rekindle the mystic of Hayward Field. That he wanted* to put a champi onship attitude in the hearts of Oregon athletes. One out of three isn’t bad. The Ducks are buzzing about Smith’s team work philos ophy — a simple motto that turns the usually indi vidual nature of track and field into a team contest. Turn to Men, page 16A Catharine Kendall Emerald Katie Crabb finds herself an eider stateswoman on the 2000 Oregon women’s track team. Oregon women expect for youth to be served ■ The Duck women’s track team looks for a growth season By Mirjam Swanson Oregon Daily Emerald Any realist would tell you that the Oregon women’s track team is hard-pressed to im prove on the fifth-place Pacif ic-10 Conference finish that it has had the previous three sea sons. Because the Ducks are young. Talented, for sure. But also young after losing 14 seniors — several of them key — to graduation. “We’re going in the right di rection,” head coach Tom Heinonen said. “We want to do as good as we can be in the Pac-10 meet in May. It’s just go Turn to Women, page 13A It's World Series or bust for the 2000 Oregon softball team The Oregon softball program, loaded with big bats and strong arms, sets its sights on its first College World Series since 1989 By Matt O'Neill Oregon Daily Emerald As the old saying goes, hope springs eternal. And for the Oregon softball program this spring is full of hope. While the ultimate goal is the school’s second-ever College World Series berth, nothing less than an appearance in the NCAA Regionals will be con sidered satisfactory, senior in fielder/outfielder Jill Robinson said. “Our No. 1 goal is to get to the World Series,” Robinson said. “As a senior, I don’t want to end with [Pacific-10 Conference] play. I want to go to the next step. “I think this team can.” But along the way, the Ducks have to contend with some of' the toughest com petition in Division I-A softball. “The Pacific-10 Conference is one of the toughest around,” head coach Rick Gamez said. “Everyone is really tough. You can’t afford to take any games off because there is no weak sis ter in the bunch.” Among that tough competi tion are some of the top-ranked teams in the country. Eight of the top 25 teams reside in the Pac-10. Washington, Arizona, UCLA, California, and Arizona State are the top five, while Stanford also cracks the top 10 at seven. Oregon State is ranked 11th, and the Ducks are the sev enth team, ranked No. 23. Robinson feels that despite the high rankings of some of the Turn to Softball, page 12A Home runs Robinson 9 Custer 6 Ray 6 Coe 5 Batting Average Custer .446 Robinson .392 Hutchinson .381 Gustafson .380 RBIs Robinson 31 Welch 30 Gustafson 25 Custer, Coe 23 Wins Vidlund 12 McMurren 9 Haag 2 ERA Haag 2.41 Vildund 2.50 McMurren 2.68
