Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2001)
Wednesday Best Bet NBA: Portland at Philadelphia 5 p.m., TNT SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com Ducks emerge from holidays ranked No. 10 A tough holiday schedule puts the Oregon wrestling team on the map By Robbie McCallum Oregon Daily Emerald They entered the holidays as an un known team with a few standout wrestlers. They emerged as the No. 10 team in the nation with six wrestlers ranked nationally. The month of December may go down as one of the most successful in Oregon wrestling history. What is de ceiving about the holiday break, how ever, is that the Ducks picked up their first three losses of the season in that time. On Dec. 13, Oregon began the break by defeating in-state rival Oregon State for the first time since 1997. Sophomore heavyweight Eric Webb provided inspiration and a key six points with his pin over the Beavers’ Jason Cooley to begin the match. Webb tangled with No. 2 Cooley for three rounds before earning a pin with only eight seconds remaining. “It was exciting,” Webb said. “I final ly wrestled my match. It was me con trolling the match and I was mentally prepared.” Oregon State stormed back, taking a 16-15 lead with two matches remain ing. Seniors Doug Lee and Chael Son nen came through for Oregon, each earning decisions to seal the upset. “On paper we had five solid weight classes that we knew we could win,” Oregon head coach Chuck Kearney said. “We got the extra win at heavy weight and that really gave us momen tum.” The Ducks also participated in two prestigious tournaments where they Turn to Wrestling, page 9 Azle Malinao-Alvarez Emerald Oregon junior Eugene Harris (left) is one of six ranked Duck wrestlers in the nation. Runge s kids bounce back after a tough December Tom Patterson Emerald ■ Oregon dropped three straight during the holiday break, but regained its poise to win the next four games By Adam Jude Oregon Daily Emerald It was a December to remember for the Oregon women’s basketball team — but for all the wrong reasons. After a remarkable 4-0 start, which included wins over then-No. 16 Wis consin and 18th-ranked North Carolina State, the Ducks (8-3 overall, 1-0 Pacif ic-10 Conference) were propelled to a No. 10 ranking in the Associated Press poll. With the second toughest schedule in the country, though, head coach Jody Runge’s early success didn’t last. Ore gon dropped three straight games on the road to ranked opponents, all in the span of one week. The first loss of the season came at the hands of the Texas Longhorns on Dec. 9 — and it wasn’t a pretty sight for the Ducks, who suffered a 82-58 thrash ing. The loss was the team’s worst loss since 1994. “Texas just ran us through the floor,” said Angelina Wolvert, who is leading Turn to Women’s, page 9 On Tap: Oregon Women vs. California January 11 7pm at McArthur Court Men's basketball ‘tested,' enjoys four winter break wins The Ducks found a way to win every game except Auburn, and took positives from their four wins over the school’s winter break iftSKETiiiii By Peter Hockaday Oregon Daily Emerald While most Oregon students nestled snug in their beds with visions of sug arplums this break, a small band of Ducks — the men’s basketball team — set out to complete an undefeated pre season. After defeating Massachusetts in the Pape Jam just before finals, Oregon was 5-0 and off to its best start under fourth-year head coach Ernie Kent. The Ducks would continue their streak one more game into December, beating Illinois-Chicago 110-87 at McArthur Court Dec. 12. The streak would end, though, with a 101-97 overtime loss to Auburn at the Las Ve gas Showdown. Oregon then rattled off three wins against Northern Arizona, South Car olina State and Louisville to cap a 5-1 December. The Ducks’ victory over Oregon State last week moved their overall record to 10-1. “This team has tremendous charac ter,” Kent said. “We’ve been tested with the altitude, with the third game in seven days, we’ve been tested at Louisville on the road in front of 16,000. “The one thing we have yet to con quer is understanding what it takes to win at the Pac-10 level. We’ve con quered the preseason.” Each of Oregon’s wins in December highlighted one of the team’s individ ual strengths. Against Illinois-Chicago, forward Bryan Bracey and guard Fred die Jones poured in 20 points each to lead the Ducks to the 23-point victory. Turn to Men’s, page 12 Adam Amato Emerald Oregon freshman guard Luke Ridnour ranks fifth in the Pacific-10 Conference in assists per game.
