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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2000)
Wednesday Best Bet World Series, Game 4 N.Y. Yankees at N.Y. Mets 5 p.m., FOX SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com Pac-10 teams face lightning, bowl possibilities ■Arizona State’s charter plane is hit by lightning, USC’s Paul Hackett is on the hot seat and the Huskies still smell roses By Scott Pesznecker Oregon Oaily Emerald Lightning usually doesn’t strike, but tell that to the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sun Devils were flying homeward about 60 miles north of Phoenix Saturday when two blasts of lightning rocked the charter plane carrying them. Minor damage was sustained to the fuselage, but the plane was able to land safely. Arizona State was fly ing in from Pullman, Wash., where it edged Washington State in over time, 23-20, just hours earlier. Little did the Sun Devils know, their heroic performance in Pull man would soon be just a trivial af terthought as players, coaches, ath letic director Gene Smith and members of the Arizona media pre pared for the worst. “We were praying,” offensive co ordinator John Pettas said. A interesting anecdote about the incident was that the in-flight movie the team was watching when the strikes occurred was “Gone in 60 Seconds.” “I didn’t know if that was an omen or not,” head coach Bruce Snyder told the Associated Press. “We had people white-knuckled, believe me. Some were praying, some were teary-eyed. When we landed, there was a huge applause within the cabin.” After landing, the pilot jumped out of the plane with a flashlight to look for damages. A hole was dis covered in the plane’s tail. Turns out that the Sun Devils’ most heartfelt touchdown celebra tion Saturday had nothing to do with a football game and everything to do with their plane landing. Oregon faces Arizona State Satur day in Tempe, Ariz. Snyder said that while his team has been preoc cupied with its near-death experi ence, it should be ready for the No. 7 Ducks. “Oregon will take care of that for us,” he said. USCs Hackett in the dog house Southern California head coach Paul Hackett fielded questions about his future with the Trojans af Turn toPac-10, pagelOA Dan Brunell Emerald Freshman Lindsay Murphy (13) records one of her eight digs against California-Riverside as sophomore Kristin Ferris looks on. The Ducks put their two-match winning streak on the line when they host USC and UCLA this weekend. Wins lighten mood for volleyball Dancing Ducks are more confident after sweeping last two opponents and look for more of the same against USC, UCLA By Adam Jude Oregon Daily Emerald Winning is proving to be the best therapy for the Duck volleyball squad. After consecutive sweeps last weekend — the first time Oregon won back-to-back matches since 1991 — head coach Carl Ferreira and his team are riding high this week as they prepare for their toughest test of the season: Southern California and UCLA. The win at Oregon State was the Ducks’ (9-10 overall, 1-9 Pac-10) first in the conference under Ferreira. The team’s nine wins are the most since 1997, when Oregon finished the season with nine victories. “There’s no doubt that winning lends itself to confidence,” said Ferreira, Oregon’s first-year head man. “We started the second half of the Pac 10 how we wanted to start the first half.” The players know they have finally revealed their potential, and understand that they will have to step it up another notch against two top 10 teams this weekend at McArthur Court. “We’re playing together as a team and we’re do ing a great job,” sophomore defensive specialist Kristin Ferris said. “Our chemistry is really strong right now, which just adds to our confidence.” A much more relaxed Ore gon squad showed up for the California-Riverside match at Mac Court last Sunday, when Ferreira was seen dancing during a timeout. Most of the team could only laugh at the coach’s attempt at the two step. It was no laughing matter for the Highlanders, though, as they went home with a 3-0 loss. Turn to Volleyball, page 10A Sprightly recruits energize Ducks ■A recruiting class of eight freshmen gives the men’s cross country team an added boost this season By Robbie McCalium Oregon Daily Emerald The future was uncertain for the Oregon men’s cross country team a year ago. The Ducks’ top two runners, Steve Fein and Andrew Bliss, were seniors. Besides the two All-Americans, the Oregon roster was thin com pared to the days of former coach Bill Dellinger. Also last year, six high school seniors from around the state competed with each other in the prep cross country ranks, unaware that they would end up as teammates a year later. Head coach Martin Smith filled the holes in the Ducks’ lineup with one of the largest recruiting class es at Oregon ever. Now, the future of the Oregon cross country team is bright. With eight of the 13 runners on Oregon’s ros ter being freshmen, the Ducks have a young-but solid lineup this season. “We have a very young team this year,” Smith said. “[The freshmen] are doing a nice job and continuing to make steady improve ments.” Brett Holts, a freshman from Bend, has been impres sive in his first year for the Ducks. Holts won the Bearcat Open in his season opener and has competed with fel low freshman John Lucas for Oregon’s No. 4 spot. Another freshman who has earned a varsity spot is Noel Paulson. The four-time class 3A state champion from Aumsville has been consistent at the No. 6 spot. Chris Clancy, a newcomer from Portland, leads the rest of the pack. The Marshall HS graduate placed third at the Bearcat Open, but has yet to run since then. Smith’s lone out-of-state recruit is Aaron Emery, a Croghan, N.Y. native. The freshmen have had a major impact on Oregon’s top seven and their No. 13 national ranking. “With young athletes, you never know how they are go ing to respond in the cham pionship meets,” Smith said. “We'll answer a lot of ques tions in the next two weeks. ’ ’ Runners expected to red shirt this season are blue chip recruits Eric Logsdon, Kyle Robinson and Mike Pluth. MIA or MVP? Senior Michael Kasahun has made his face known in the college running world and on the Eugene running trails. The Ethiopian native spent much of his off-season putting in miles on Eugene’s famous running trails, preparing for his final col lege cross country season. Kasahun’s hard work has paid off this season, as he finds himself as one of Oregon’s top two runners. “Mike has obviously made substantial improve ments this season,” Smith said. “He made excellent progress last track season, followed by laying down a great base over the summer. “A lot of his improve ments have come from get ting comfortable in a new home and gaining more confidence.” Kasahun, a transfer from Fresno City College two years ago, has recorded or equaled his personal best in both meets he’s competed in this year. Kasahun was Oregon’s top runner at the Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul, Minn., placing 13 th in a personal best 24 minutes, 48 seconds over the 8,000 meter course. At the Pre-NCAA meet in Ames, Iowa, Kasahun equaled his 10,000-meter personal best while im proving his placing from the 1999 NCAA meet by 71 places. Kasahun placed 36th in 31:41 behind soph omore Jason Hartmann.
