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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.