Thursday, March 15Distracted Ducks reach tourney
Associated Press
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – A dispute with coach Jody Runge didn't prevent the Oregon women's team from sneaking into the NCAA Tournament Sunday, as the Ducks were selected among the field of 64 for the eighth straight year. Oregon (17-11, 10-8 Pac-10) will be in the Midwest Region as the No. 13 seed, a relatively low seed considering Oregon's success during the 1990s. They will play No. 4 seed Iowa in a first-round game in Salt Lake City on Saturday in the first meeting between the Ducks and the Hawkeyes. Normally, the top four seeds in each region play host to a subregional. But because Iowa is playing host to the NCAA wrestling championships beginning Thursday, the subregional was moved to Salt Lake City because Utah is the No. 5 seed. "I think they have to look at this bracket and say, 'Hey, we've got a great opportunity here,' " Runge said in a statement Sunday. "Every team in the tournament is a great team and you have to play your best to beat them." Oregon was a team in turmoil all week, after it was revealed that eight players went to athletic director Bill Moos and asked for Runge to be fired. The coach refused to speak to the media, and reportedly threatened the players with suspension for Saturday's season finale against Oregon State if they spoke publicly. The relationship between the coach and players, who have criticized Runge's demanding style, took a bizarre turn before Saturday's Civil War. During a pregame ceremony honoring the five seniors, Runge hugged each one, but after the game player Angelina Wolvert said Runge had threatened to bench anyone who didn't embrace her. Runge told The Oregonian newspaper that she told players that "the media attention was becoming a huge distraction and we needed to be focused." She said she did not threaten to bench seniors if they did not hug her during the ceremony. "I told (senior women's administrator Renee Baumgartner) what was going to happen for the seniors and that I had every intention of hugging them, and I had her communicate that to them," Runge said. "At no time did I tell her I was going to bench them. It was either a communication problem between Renee and Angelina, or a misunderstanding on Angelina's part." Wolvert, or any other player, was unavailable for comment. Runge, however, says that that attention drawn to her program will not be a distraction as they get ready for postseason play. "It wouldn't behoove us to bring that up and deal with that right now," Runge said. "I'd like to deal with that after the season. ... I don't anticipate any more problems this week." Moos, meantime, said he and Runge will "visit about the other issues at the end of the season. "I know this all has been a challenge but we want to keep our focus on the tournament," he told The Register-Guard. "It will not benefit anyone to deal with these issues now." The Ducks went on to beat Oregon State 72-60 on Saturday, their fourth straight victory. Runge, who became the third Pac-10 coach to record 100 conference victories, has guided the Ducks to the NCAA tournament all eight years she has been at Oregon. Wolvert, who is the Ducks' leading scorer at 14 points a game, said the tournament is a chance to go out on a good note. "We did not have that great of a year, but we're so happy to make the tournament," she said. "I want to beat Iowa ... I want to play Utah. I want to go back to Salt Lake City and win."
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They're No. 1: UConn, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Duke Stanford's Powell named Pac-10 Freshman of Year | ||
