Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2000)
Thursday Best Bet NFL: Detroit at Tampa Bay 5:30 p.m., ESPN SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com . . , _ Dan Brunell Emerald Julie McLellan (22) in action against Florida State last month. Head coach Bill Steffen says that the forward gives the Ducks’ offense “creativity.” ■ Sophomore forward Julie McLellan ignites her team with her aggressive play on the field, but off the field she’s anything but combative By Peter Hockaday Oregon Daily Emerald If you’ve seen Julie McLellan play soccer, raise your hand. If you’re one of those lucky people with your hands in the air, you know that McLellan is a fighter. She rushes around the soccer field like a kamikaze pilot, barreling through defenders and aggressively attacking any ball that dares to go near her. So how come she’s so nice? McLellan is one of those people that has an exclamation point hanging in the air after almost everything she says. She is anything but soft-spoken, is hesitant to talk about herself, but demands atten tion on the field. She is the perfect com bination for a striker. “I’m a little bit feisty,” the sophomore said. “I’m not a bully, but I’m a speed player. That’s what I do. I run.” The native of Vernon, British Colum bia, started 17 games as a freshman last year on a senior-laden team — a testa ment to her hustle. She scored three goals — two of them game-winners — and added an assist on 24 shots. But any Oregon soccer fan knows McLellan’s oddest talent is her flip throw-in. The Julie-over-the-ball trick is much more than that, and can be a threat when the Ducks have the ball near their opponent’s goal. “The flip throw is a crowd pleaser,” the sophomore said. Oregon head coach Bill Steffen sees McLellan’s “feistiness” another way. “Julie has a lot of athleticism, and she uses it in very creative ways,” said Stef fen. “A lot of times, you don’t know what she’s going to do. “She’s going to try different things. We don’t want robots out there. We want kids to try different things.” McLellan could be the catalyst in this Friday’s Civil War matchup with Ore gon State. With a goal in the 10th minute in Corvallis last year, the sopho more ensured the Ducks a fourth straight victory in the rivalry game and a 3-3-1 finish to the season. It was McLellan’s first goal of her Oregon ca reer. Since that game, however, McLel Turn to Soccer, page 9A a little bitfeisty. I’m not a bully but I’m a speed player,: That’s what Ido. Iran. Julie McLellan Oregon forward Geiczys continues strong play in California tourney The Oregon sophomore tennis player picks up her third win of the season at the Riviera All American Tournament By Robbie McCallum Oregon Daily Emerald Sophomore tennis player Monika Geiczys got her 2000-01 season off to a busy start. Geiczys plans to play her first ten matches of the season in a period of one week in the land of tennis — Southern California. After placing third in her flight at the San Diego State Fall Classic on Sunday, Geiczys made the 130-mile trip north to Pacific Palisades for the Riviera All American tournament. The prestigious tournament is the second stage of the Intercollegiate Ten nis Association’s Grand Slam, along with the T. Rowe National Clay Court Championships and the USTA Indoor Team Championships. Geiczys, Oregon’s No. 1 player, was invited to the tournament as one of the nation’s top-75 returning Division I players in the nation. The native of Sopot, Poland, was Oregon’s No. 2 player last year behind fellow Polish player Alina Wygonowska, who gradu ated last spring. Last season, Geiczys broke into the Oregon record books with her 14-9 dual match record. Her winning per centage was the best ever by an Oregon freshman and her total of 14 Division I wins was good enough for fourth place on the single season win list. On Tuesday, Geiczys split her two matches in the qualifying round. In the first round, Geiczys fell in straight sets to Southern Methodists’ Dee Dee Her ring, 6-3, 6-2. Geiczys rebounded in the back draw Turn to Tennis, page 9A Sophomore Monika Geiczys got off to a bang at the elite Riviera All-American Tournament.
