Zografos earns individual berth in NCAAs
The Oregon women will send
only one runner to the national
meet Monday in Indiana
Mindi Rice
Freelance Sports Reporter
Senior Carrie Zografos will have to
run with a different pack Monday at
the NCAA Championships in Terre
Haute, Ind.
The Oregon women’s cross
country squad did not receive
one of 13 at-large bids for the
NCAA meet, handed out Monday.
However, as one of the top four
finishers from a non-qualifying
school, Zografos earned an indi
vidual spot in the race.
Zografos ran the NCAA course
in October at the Pre-Nationals
meet, where she finished 53rd.
“I’m looking forward to the
course since it’s a comfortable
layout,” Zografos said. “It’s easy
to focus and lock in on just run
ning and not worry about loops
or directions.”
Zografos joins former Duck
harriers Stephanie Wessell and
Marie Davis as the only Oregon
women in coach Tom Heinonen’s
tenure to qualify individually,
without the team.
“It’s a strange situation for the
runner,” Heinonen said. “No one
likes to go by themselves, but I’ve
had two other athletes make it as
individuals, so I have a little
experience with it. She’s upbeat
and I think she’ll handle the
challenge fine.”
Heinonen, coaching his final
season of women’s cross country
after heading the program for 28
years, has coached 24 NCAA
meet teams. In the four years his
teams did not earn a spot, three
of them have had individual
Ducks represent the women at
the national race.
“Both I and the team were real
ly excited about our regional per
formance Saturday,” Heinonen
said. “Our goal was to be really
good at the end of the season when
it counts the most. By far it was
our best race of the season, and
the runners were really compli
mented by a lot of people
afterward.”
UCLA and Washington earned
the only at-large bids from the
West Region. Washington, which
finished just ahead of the Ducks
at fourth in the regional meet,
received the final spot of the
13 teams.
Polls raise and drop
Ducks
In the final national cross coun
try poll of the season, the men’s
cross country team dropped from
its previous ranking. The men had
been ranked fifth in the nation for
the past seven weeks, but dropped
to sixth after the regional races.
“I’m not worried about ranking.
Our original goal coming'into the
year was to have a single-digit
NCAA finish, and that’s very
doable,” men’s head coach Martin
Smith said.
The women earned a national
ranking for the first time this sea
son in the Nov. 4 poll, earning 37th.
In Monday’s final poll, the women’s
Emerald
Carrie Zografos (35), seen here at the Oregon Invitational last April, earned an individual berth ip Monday's NCAA Championships.
squad moved up to 35th.
Do I know you?
At the NCAA Championship
meet, both Zografos and Smith will
see familiar faces.
Zografos, who transferred to Ore
gon from Colorado after two years,
will be running against two former
teammates.
“It was funny, after my 1,500
(meter personal record) last year, I
was talking to one of the Colorado
girls and she said that runners nev
er leave CU and get better,” Zo
grafos said. “She wasn’t trying to be
mean, but more that she was sur
prised, but I was still left with a
feeling of ‘How do I take that?”’
Smith was the head coach for 15
years at Wisconsin before accepting
his position at Oregon. Jerry Schu
macher, Wisconsin’s current head
coach, was a three-time All-American
for Smith between 1988 and 1993.
Schumacher stuck around from 1994
until 1996 as an assistant to Smith.
Mindi Rice is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.
Bowling
continued from page 9
four weeks.
“We’ve got plenty of time. He’ll be back
for the bowl game,” Campbell said. “I
don’t want to rush him along, but he’ll be
in rehab real quick.”
Smith injured his knee Oct. 26 against
in a 44-33 loss to USC. In the previous sev
en games, he was sixth in the country with
133.7 yards per game and 12 touchdowns.
No kidding
If you thought the war of words be
tween the Ducks and Huskies was more
of a whisper last week, you were right.
This week, however, the war has
begun — and it has nothing to do with
the Civil War or the Apple Cup.
Washington wide receiver Paul
Arnold, who last week told reporters
that the Ducks and Huskies have a
“healthy hate,” had a change of heart
this week.
“I lied last week,” Arnold told The
Seattle Times. “It was actually more of
a true hate.”
Arnold had three catches for 21
yards in Washington’s 42-14 win at
Autzen Stadium. That’s no lie.
Kicking butt
Oregon sophomore placekicker Jared
..
Adam Amato Emerald
Seth McEwan (43) and Igor Olshansky (53) are hoping to stuff the Ducks into a bowl game.
Siegel has been named one of three finalists
for the Lou Groza Award, given to the na
tion’s top kicker. Siegel has converted 18
of-21 field goal attempts this season, in
cluding a school-record 15 straight. He hit a
school-record 59-yard kick against UCLA.
Nate Kaeding of Iowa and Mike Nugent
of Ohio State are the other finalists. The
winner will be announced Dec. 10 at a
ceremony in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Contact the senior sports reporter
at adamjude@dailyemerald.com.
Civil War
continued from page 9
action last week after sitting out four games with an
injury. Meeuwesen was a Freshman All-American
last season.
“He’s still tweaked a little bit, but I believe he’ll be
close to 100 percent (Saturday),” Erickson said. “He’ll
play a lot, no question about that.”
The Oregon State defense is stacked against the run
and the pass this season. The Beavers give up an aver
age of 88 rushing yards and 202.4 passing yards per
game. Both numbers lead the conference.
Landing heads-up
The Beaver defense has had success in the one quar
ter that Oregon’s offense has dominated — the first.
Oregon State has allowed a remarkable two touch
downs in the first quarter this season. The Beavers gave
up their first first-quarter touchdown to Washington
Nov. 9, then gave up another to Stanford on Saturday.
Oregon State has outscored its opponents 102-43 in the
first frame.
Oregon, meanwhile, has had success in the first quar
ter this year. The Ducks jumped out to a 14-0 lead
against Washington, racked up 28-straight points on
Stanford and led Arizona State 14-0, all in the first
quarter. Overall, the Ducks have outscored their oppo
nents 145-49 in the first quarter.
So the score reads 102-43 v. 145-49. Expect some
fireworks right out of the gate Saturday.
Contact the sports editor
atpeterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
Volleyball
continued from page 9
“We have a good coach at every
school. These are good jobs.”
Dunning added that Carl Fer
reira, Oregon’s head coach, is the
one who will lead the Ducks back
to a promising record.
“There’s a good person there,”
Dunning added.
Recruit, recruit!
Ferreira announced the signing
of three high school players
Monday.
Gresham’s Heather Madison*
Roseburg’s Kristen Bitter and Sarah
Mason — from Ferreira’s home
town of Hilo, Hawaii — all signed
letters of intent to join the Ducks
for the 2003-04 season.
“Since I got to Oregon, the
number one goal has been to re
cruit the top players within the
state of Oregon,” Ferreira said.
“These players are very athletic
and will make an instant impact
next season, much like the fresh
men we have this year. I know the
top players in Oregon can com
pete at a top-20 level, and getting
these players has been based on
relationships we’ve created.”
Madison, a 5-foot-8-inch setter,
was recently named Player of the
Year in the Mt. Hood Conference.
She played for Jim Hartner at
"This is a Carl
Ferreira-type of
athlete... When the
game gets tougher,
Heather gets tougher.
She's a warrior."
Jim Hartner
Gresham coach
Gresham,, who helped oversee
current Duck Jodi Bell’s play
while with the Nike Northwest Ju
niors Volleyball Club.
Madison also played for the
group as a junior last year, but on a
different team than Bell.
“This is a Carl Ferreira-type of
athlete,” Hartner said. “When the
game gets tougher, Heather gets
tougher. She’s a warrior.”
Bitter, a 6-foot-4-inch middle
blocker, was instrumental in lead
ing Roseburg High School to a sec
ond-place finish in the Southern
Oregon Conference. She was cred
ited with 157 kills and 324 blocks
en route to being named the team’s
most valuable player.
Mason, who also attends the
same high school that Ferreira
once did — St. Joseph’s — was a
2001 All-Star All-State selection.
The 6-foot-3-inch middle blocker
has helped lead the school to two
straight league titles as St.
Joseph’s is currently the No. 1
ranked program in Hawaii.
“I see a lot in Oregon’s future,”
Mason said. “I really liked the
coaches and the campus was beau
tiful. I had never really seen any
thing like it. The team is rebuilding
and I want to make an impact and
improve the team.”
Contact the sports reporter
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.