Wednesday
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SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
Wrestling solidifies itself as national power
Senior All-American Doug Lee (right) was a force this season for Oregon, which earned its highest national ranking in three years.
Laura Smit
■ An up-and-down 2000-01 wrestling season was
highlighted by mostly ups
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
Results can be deceiving.
If one were to look at Oregon
wrestling coach Chuck Kearney’s
record over the last two years, one
would see a decrease in dual match
wins and only minor improvement in
the Pacific-10 Conference tournament.
What doesn’t translate into record
books, however, is strength of sched
ule, experience and several devastat
ing injuries.
What the record book will tell you is
that the Ducks sent more individuals
to the NCAA Tournament (seven)
since the 1980-81 season and that they
wrestled four top-10 teams.
“We wrestled the toughest schedule
of any Oregon team ever and were an
injury and two losses away from being
Pac-10 champs,” Kearney said. “We
have one team goal left and that is to
place in the top 10 at nationals. If we
can do that, hopefully that will set the
record straight.
“The biggest thing this team went
through was the metamorphosis from
a team that didn’t know what it was
capable of into a national-caliber
team,” Kearney said. “The hard work
and sacrifices they went through have
been exactly what we wanted.”
The 2000-01 wrestling season was
the most successful in Kearney’s
tenure at Oregon and one of the most
successful in school history, even
though the win-loss record may not
have shown it.
Six of the eight losses Oregon sus
tained this season came by fewer
than six points, including three-point
losses to No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 11
Arizona State. Give the Ducks an ex
tra point victory in those six matches
and they finish the season 13-2, in
Turn to Wrestling, page 9
|^JC^
WRESTLING
ii We
wrestled the
toughest
schedule of
any Oregon
team ever
and were an
injury and
two losses
away from
being
Pac-10
champs.
Chuck
Kearney
Oregon
wrestling
coach
Runge mutes women’s team during Civil War week
uregon coacn
Jody Runge
has yet to
comment
about team
members’
request
for her job
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
Tuesday was suppose to bring forth
some truth.
Tuesday was suppose to clear up
some of the misunderstanding and al
low Jody Runge to speak her mind.
But like many aspects of the Oregon
women’s basketball team’s season,
Tuesday was a bit disappointing.
After more than half of the 14 play
ers on the Oregon basketball squad pri
vately told Athletic Director Bill Moos
that Runge, their coach, should be
fired, the Ducks held their first prac
tice, as normal, at 3:30 Tuesday after
noon.
Nothing else, however, was even re
motely normal.
Prior to practice, a group of reporters
— numbering about a dozen — gath
ered in the hallway outside the
McArthur Court gym, hoping to get
some answers about the players’ Sun
day meeting and quotes about this
weekend’s crucial matchup with Ore
gon State.
The only problem was that Runge
apparently instructed her players to
not talk with the media.
David Williford, director of media
services, and Andrew Longeteig, as
sistant director, asked three players
— seniors Angelina Wolvert, Lindsey
Dion and Brianne Meharry —
whether they wanted to speak with
the media. The players agreed to talk,
but it was made clear that they would
only answer questions about Satur
day’s Civil War game.
When asked about Oregon’s focus on
Oregon State in light of last Sunday’s
meeting, Wolvert replied: “No com
ment. Just come out and play like we
normally do, nothing changed.”
Wolvert and Meharry were still be
ing interviewed 10 minutes later when
Runge walked into the hallway,
stopped, and shouted at Williford and
Longeteig for allowing the players to
speak.
“What part of that do you not under
stand?” she said.
After Runge went into the gym,
Longeteig and Williford indicated they
had an earlier discussion with Runge
about the media’s access to the players.
“We had conversations today, let’s
just leave it at that,” Williford said.
The two remaining seniors were im
mediately directed into the gym to start
practice — but not before Meharry de
livered a sarcastic remark as she disap
peared behind Mac Court’s double
doors: “Wish me luck.”
Turn to Women’s, page 9
Crystal McCall Emerald
Oregon seniors Angelina Wolvert and Brianne Meharry, shown here battling for a loose ball
against Arizona, will not be talking with the media this week by order of coach Jody Runge.