Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
adamjude@daiiyemerald.com
Assistant Sports Editor:
Jeff Smith
jeffsmith@daiiyemerald.com
Wednesday, November 21,2001
Best Bet
NBA: Portland at Sacramento,
7p.m., UPN
The odyssey:
a student's
ticket ordeal
It is approximately two inches wide
and five a half inches tall.
It is green and yellow. It has a pic
ture of the Duck mascot riding a motor
cycle. Most importantly, it has those
words written on it—those most heav
enly words:
“Ducks vs. Oregon St.
Dec. 1,2001.
Price: Student.”
I waited six hours and 16 minutes at
the Casanova Center for this piece of
Peter
Hockaday
Two minutes for
crosschecking
paper. I stood the
entire time. It
rained and howled
wind.
I’m not com
plaining. I know
people camped out
for more than two
days. These people
are slightly wrong
in the head, but
nonetheless, I take
my hat off to them.
Still, I waited six
hours and 16 min
utes for a piece of
paper.
Without further
ado, here is one student’s ticket
odyssey.
6:45 a.m.: We arrive at the EMU,
naively thinking that we can get a place
in line and get tickets right when the
ticket office opens at 9 a.m. We find out
that the EMU hasbeenopensince5:50
a.m., and the line snakes up into obliv
ion already. Panic begins to set in.
Noon: After class, we head to the
Casanova Center, knowing that there
are seven open ticket windows. We also
know that students have camped out
there, and we see the carnage immedi
ately when we step out of the car.
Garbage litters the Autzen parking lot.
Empty pizza boxes. Half-full Starbuck’s
coffees from the morning, dumped out
onto the tarmac. Boxes of cookies left
open to face the weather. We get in line.
My prediction: two hours. My compan
ion’s prediction: three. Ha ha. Ha ha.
Oh man, that’s a good one.
1 p.m.: We begin to get the sense that
something’s fishy in Duck land. We call
a friend who camped out overnight, and
she still hasn’t gotten tickets. This can’t
be. We’ve moved maybe 200 feet since
joining the line. We find a friend further
up in line, and we don’t cut because of
nasty looks from other line members.
1:15 p.m.: The guy in front of us,
we’ll call him “Adidas” because of his
sweatshirt, speaks for the first time.
He’s all alone and has had his nose
buried in old copies of Sports Illustrat
ed since joining the line. We start talk
ing about how much the situation
sucked, we haven’t moved, etc. Eventu
ally, we’ve conversed with about six
people around us in hearty conversa
tion. This is only the beginning of the
good times to come.
1:30 p.m.: We start getting reports
from the front of the line. The computers
are slow. It’s taking 10 minutes per per
son. There is a mob of people at the front
of the line. We begin to wonder if we’ll
make it by 5 p.m., when the office closes.
2 p.m.: My girlfriend arrives and
joins us in line. We thank God that she
wasn’t beaten to death with umbrellas.
Adidas, who is ultra-friendly at this
point, offers to run to his car and grab
Turn to Hockaday, page 8
UO seniors near end of winning road
■ The 2001 seniors are 36-10 in their
careers and could seta school record
with 1] wins at a bowl game this year
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
Not even nasty sideways rain could ruin the
sentimental feeling for Justin Peelle as he
strolled onto the Autzen Stadium turf Monday
for practice.
Peelle is one of 14 seniors on the Oregon
football team and the real
ity of preparing for his fi
nal home game was begin
ning to sink in. Just prior
to the practice, as he was
dressing in the locker
room, Peelle chatted with
fellow seniors Rashad
Bauman and Jim Adams about how fast time
has flown.
“I got choked up walking into practice to
day. ... I can’t believe it’s almost over,” Peelle
said. “Look at this place. I love it. I love the sta
dium, the fans, everything. It’s been a great part
of my life and something I’ll never forget. ”
For head coach Mike Bellotti, this senior
class will be one that he never forgets. They all
came into the Oregon program in different
paths. Some were highly recruited out of high
school. Others were middle-of-the-road re
cruits who have worked their way into the
line-up. And then there are those athletes who
entered as walk-ons and, through persever
ance, have solidified their roles on the team.
In all, this senior class has been a part of an
incredible climb. In 1997, when players like
Joey Harrington and Peelle watched from the
sidelines as redshirt freshmen and Bauman re
turned two interceptions for touchdowns as a
freshman, the Ducks went 7-5.
In 1998, Oregon went 8-4. In 1999, the
record improved to 9-3. And in 2000, for the
first time in school history, the Ducks recorded
a 10-win season with only two losses.
Adam Amato Emerald
Oregon seniors Josh Line (47), Justin Peelle (84) and Ryan Schmid (right) celebrate after a touchdown against
Wisconsin. The three starters are part of a senior class that has helped raise the bar for Oregon football.
“I’d call that progress,” Bellotti said. “Every
year we talk about raising the level of play, and
these seniors have not only talked about it,
they’ve done it. And raising our goals and ex
pectations and certainly having the matching
record to back that up is neat. ”
Now the goal is to finish out the season with
win No. 10 against Oregon State on Dec. 1 and
achieve the program’s first-ever 11-win season
with a victory in the bowl game.
“To win 11 games this year would be really,
really special,” senior fullback Josh Line said.
“I’m excited about that possibility.”
Winning has certainly been the norm for this
group. Since 1998, the Ducks are 36-10, with
the majority of those wins coming in the can
you-believe-what-you-just-saw? variety:
After each victory, senior offensive lineman
Ryan Schmid would sit beside his locker, celebrate
with his teammates and think to himself, “Man,
Turn to Football, page 6
Adam Jones Emerald
Senior Julie Gerlach (4) and junior Lindsay Closs (8) helped lead the
Ducks to a game-two win against UCLA on Tuesday night.
UO bows out to UCLA, 3-1
■UCLA win in four sets, but not
before the Ducks make a game of it
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
The volleyball gods were smiling
down on McArthur Court on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for Oregon, they were
looking in UCLA’s direction.
In what could have been one of the
biggest upsets of the 2001 season in the
Pacific-10 Conference, the Bruins (18-8
overall, 12-6 Pac-10) were able to hold
off the underdog Ducks in four games
(30-19, 25-30, 30-16, 30-28).
With UCLA up 25-17 late in game
four, junior
Stephanie Martin
and senior Monique
Tobbagi took it upon
themselves to bring
the Ducks back. Mar
tin’s kill set into mo
tion what would be a
seven-point run by Oregon, with Tobba
gi contributing two service aces and one
kill, bringing the Ducks within one.
The two teams would trade points un
til UCLA again had the lead at 29-27,
only to give Oregon a point with an de
fensive error. However, a kill by UCLA
junior Lauren Fendrick gave the game
and to the Bruins and kept the No. 11
team in the nation afloat.
The Ducks remain winless at 0-17 in
conference play, but put up a fight
against the Bruins. Twice Oregon had
runs of six points or more, including the
seven-pointer late in game four. In game
two, the only set the Ducks (9-20 overall)
won on the night, a six-point run put
them ahead 13-7 and in the driver’s seat.
After UCLA came back within one
point at 23-22, Oregon’s resiliency took
over and led them to the five-point win.
Sophomore Lindsay Murphy ended
game two with an emphatic kill, one of
her three on the night.
But it was all Tobbagi in game two.
With seven kills in the set, the senior
outside hitter led the Ducks not only of
fensively, but with heart as well. When
ever Oregon needed a point, she was
there to provide it, including a crucial
one to keep them ahead 26-24.
Tobbagi, playing in her last game as a
Duck against UCLA and the second-to
last match in her collegiate career, paced
Oregon with 16 kills and 11 kills, her
10th double-double of the season. More
importantly, she had three service aces,
including the two late in game four to
keep the Ducks alive.
“Tremendous character and heart by
our players to learn how to compete at a
level that gives them a chance to suc
ceed against the best in the country,”
head coach Carl Ferreira said. “I thought
we did play extremely well.”
The Ducks were simply overmatched
in games one and three, losing 25 com
bined points. In game one, UCLA got
ahead quickly, and were able to put Fer
reira’s squad away with two runs of four
points or more. Bruin freshman Brittany
Turn to Volleyball, page 8