Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2000)
Wednesday Best Bet NBA: Los Angeles vs. San Antonio 5 p.m., TNT SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com All eyes remain on the West for Pac-10 race It may not be between Bush and Gore, but the race for the Rose Bowl between three Northwest schools is just as tight By Jeff Smith Oregon Daily Emerald While most of the nation focused its attention on the heated Presidential race Tuesday, the Oregon football team continued its preparation for its next “huge” step in the race for the roses. The race between Al Gore and George W. Bush for President was de cided largely on the electoral votes of the Northwest states, and the battle for the Pacific-10 Conference title will also be decided by those in the North west. As it stands now, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington are the candi dates for the prestigious Rose Bowl, and there are plenty of scenarios that could take place. First off, the sixth-ranked Ducks clinch the Pac-10 if they beat Califor nia, and Arizona knocks off Oregon State Saturday. The interesting part about those two games is that Oregon’s game begins at 12:30 p.m. at Autzen Stadium, while the Beavers don’t take the field until 7:15 p.m. So, should Oregon knock off Cal, it would have to wait about seven hours after its game to find out if its headed to Pasadena. It's not the most conven tional way to win a title, but the Ducks don’t seem to mind. “It’d be a little weird to win it on T.V.,” cornerback Rashad Bauman said. “But we’ll take it anyway we can get it. It’s not often that a Pac-10 Cham pionship comes around so when we can get it, we’ll take it without a prob lem.” But Bauman acknowledges that the Beavers “are going to play hard,” and that Oregon shouldn’t bank on wrap Turn to Football, page 9 ' _____ Dan Brunell Emerald UP soccer reflects on a tough season, looks to future Junior midfielder Annie Murphy is one of nine Oregon starters that will return for the Ducks’ 2001 Emerald season, giving the team much hope for success. ■After stumbling against top-ranked foes, the Oregon soccer team expects to rebound next season with a more experienced group By Peter Hockaday Oregon Daily Emerald The Oregon women’s soccer team started its 2000 season knowing the road to a first-ever NCAA Tournament bid was littered with potholes. No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Washing ton and No. 6 UCLA were the names of those potholes, among others, and the Ducks were unable to overcome them. Oregon ended the season with a 4-15-1 record and without a trip to the NCAA Tournament. But the record is deceptive and doesn’t reveal its future importance. “When we look back on it, I think we realize what a difficult task we attempt ed,” Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said. “The players feel a little better knowing it’s behind them, knowing they’ve gone through it. I think the season gave them a lot of mental conditioning. ” With a program struggling in the al ways-tough Pacific-10 Conference, Stef fen knew he had to make drastic changes to bring the quality of Oregon soccer to the level of other Pac-10 schools. So, he had his team run the gauntlet of nine top-25 teams. As a result, the Ducks lost nine games by a combined score of 41-2 to those top ranked foes. But the Ducks showed improvement to wards the middle of the season and at the beginning of their Pac-10 slate. After play ing No. 16 Florida State to a close 1-0 loss, Turn to Soccer, page 12 SOCCER ipr i BAYSA
