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.