When the postseason comes, some strange and unfamiliar teams sneak into the NCAA tournament. They are one-season wonders, and they are usually the first teams to be eliminated.
The University of Oregon, however, is not one of those teams. The Ducks will make their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament Saturday when they take on the San Diego State women in a first-round match-up in Knoxville, Tenn.
So, you ask, who are these Ducks? Where do they come from? Can anybody really think in a place that gets more rain in one week than San Diego gets all year? Who on earth would play for a team called the Ducks?
The University of Oregon is located in Eugene. Founded in 1876, it is home to 17,100 students.
The Ducks’ most bitter rivalry comes in-state. U of O’s rivalry with Oregon State is one that has lasted for many years. Despite not having won at OSU since 1992, the Ducks found the way to win, sweeping both games in the series this season and guaranteeing themselves a postseason spot.
Oregon is led by head coach Jody Runge, who is in her fourth year at the helm of the Ducks. Runge has compiled a 77-36 overall record and a 48-27 record against Pac-10 opponents.
Runge inherited a team that had gone four years without a winning season. In her first season, she took control of the reins and has led Oregon to the NCAA tournament every year since.
She was also voted Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1994.
Who wants to play for a team called the Ducks? People from all over the country and other parts of the world can claim to be in love with the mighty Green and Yellow.
Of the 15 players on the women’s basketball roster, four are from California, three are from Oregon or Washington, and one is from Alaska. Also represented on the roster are a Canadian and three Australians.
Athletics and brains come together when Renae Fegent and Cindie Edamura enter the conversation.
Fegent, a 6-foot-3 senior from Frankston, Australia, was named to the District-8 Division I Women’s Basketball All-American Team for the second straight year. Fegent, a double major in sociology and psychology, maintains a 3.8 grade-point average.
Edamura, a 5-foot-6 senior from Kamloops, British Columbia, sports a 3.9 GPA as an exercises and movement major.
People in Eugene claim that there is some magic at the MAC, or MacArthur Court. The home of the Ducks and the second oldest on-campus arena in NCAA Division I hoops (it was built in 1926), it has seen many victories over the past few years.
Oregon has won 26 of its last 31 games, including 11 home victories this season. Even more impressive may be Oregon’s record under Runge. Since she took over, the Ducks are 44-10 at home. They have not lost two in a row since February 1993, the month Runge took over.
So there’s a little information on the Aztecs’ weekend opponents to keep you salivating for women’s hoops.
T minus two days and counting…