This is it – my final column at this newspaper. In parting, I offer the top 10 Oregon sports highlights from the 2006-07 year:
10) Aaron Brooks’ breakout season.
Brooks, Oregon’s senior point guard, was inconsistent though unquestionably talented in his first three years at Oregon. But he put everything together last season and was a major ingredient in the program’s resurgence. Brooks hit multiple big shots for the Ducks and won a host of awards last season. He led the Pacific-10 Conference in scoring at 17.7 points per game, though he finished just behind UCLA’s Arron Afflalo for Pac-10 Player of the Year. Brooks finished his decorated career ranked at least 10th in 10 different categories in Oregon’s history books, and he’s now eyeing a shot at the NBA.
9) Volleyball reaches the NCAA Tournament.
Under second-year head coach Jim Moore, the revitalized Oregon volleyball team reached the postseason for the first time since 1989, though the Ducks fell in the first round to Hawaii. Moore appears to have the program, which also recorded its first winning season since 1990, headed in the right direction.
8) Jenn Salling named first-team All-American.
The redshirt freshman shortstop had an outstanding season, breaking five Oregon records, earning first team All-Pac-10 and Pac-10 Newcomer of the year as she led Oregon back into the postseason. Salling was rewarded with first-team All-American honors, Oregon’s first since 1991 and third all-time.
7) Players leaving the women’s basketball program.
Two players, Gabrielle Richards and Kristen Forristall, left the Oregon women’s basketball team before the Ducks even played one regular-season game. Forristall, who later joined the volleyball team, cited “irreconcilable differences between myself and the head coach,” while Richards desired to be closer to her family in Australia. The women’s team still reached the postseason with a berth in the WNIT.
6) Oregon men win Pac-10 track and field title
In a thrilling finish, the Oregon men outlasted Arizona State and USC to take home the Pac-10 Title. Oregon held a slim lead with the final event, the 4x400m relay, remaining. The Ducks’ relay team needed a top five finish in the event to win the title, but had to do so without one of its fastest sprinters in Phil Alexander, who was out with a hamstring injury. With three freshmen and a junior, and one dramatic dive at the finish line, the Ducks secured fourth place in the relay and the Pac-10 title for Oregon.
5) Bill Moos’ tenure ends.
Bill Moos’ successful 12-year stint as Athletic Director came to an end, when he announced he was stepping away in November. Moos said he felt the time was right to exit his post, citing plans to open a cattle ranch near Spokane, Wash. His son, Bo, is also playing football at Arizona State. Under Bill Moos’ guidance, the athletic department’s annual budget ballooned from $18 million to $40 million and included advancements such as the Moshofsky Center and the Autzen Stadium expansion. He also added women’s lacrosse and women’s soccer.
4) Pat Kilkenny takes over as Athletic Director.
The long-time donor, who helped pay for the majority of the $2 million buyout of Moos, steps into office with a two-year contract despite no previous athletic director experience. Kilkenny, who is announced the new AD on Valentine’s Day, deems Oregon’s plans for a new arena his “pet project.”
3) Soccer is snubbed by the NCAA; Garbin, Erickson honored.
As one colleague so eloquently put it, “It was supposed to be a day of celebration” as the Oregon women’s soccer team gathered after its best season ever to learn of its postseason destination after going 12-6-2 overall and 6-1-2 in the Pac-10, good for second place. Except, there was no celebration for the Ducks. Oregon was left out of the 64-team bracket though Stanford, USC and California, teams that finished below the Ducks in the standings, all received bids.
“In my 12 years as athletic director at the University of Oregon, this is perhaps the biggest injustice to any of our programs,” Moos told the Emerald.
But following the disbelief, Oregon coach Tara Erickson was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year and Nicole Garbin was named Player of the Year, which offered some validation for an outstanding season.
2) Oregon defeats Oklahoma, controversy ensues.
Oregon was trailing 33-20 with 3:12 remaining in the game but marched back to take the lead – with a little help, of course. The Ducks narrowed the margin to six with 1:12 to play and attempted an onside kick. The on-field officials ruled that Oregon recovered the ball, and the play was reviewed but the ruling on the field stood. Video later revealed that an Oregon player touched the ball before it traveled the requisite 10 yards and even that Oklahoma actually had recovered the ball, though that portion was not reviewable. Replay official Gordon Riese was offered only one angle and ruled that there was inconclusive video evidence to overturn the ruling on the field. The Ducks scored the game-winning touchdown with 46 seconds left and blocked an Oklahoma field-goal attempt as time expired. But the flood gates opened shortly after when Riese received death threats and Oklahoma President David Boren asked to erase the game from the history books.
“Errors clearly were made and not corrected, and for that we apologize to the University of Oklahoma, Coach (Bob) Stoops and his players,” Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen said.
1) The Oregon men’s basketball team makes Elite Eight run
The Oregon men’s basketball team put together an impressive season that included victories over three top-10 teams. After missing the postseason the previous two years, the Ducks got hot at the right time. Oregon swept through the Pac-10 tournament with surprising ease and won its first three NCAA Tournament games before falling in a close battle against No. 1 seed and eventual champion Florida in the Elite Eight.
Honorable mention: Men’s golf reaches NCAA West Regionals, men’s basketball and football lose assistant coaches, lacrosse knocks off Stanford, softball starts season at 18-1, men’s club lacrosse and club baseball teams reach title games.
Look for the Emerald’s “Best-of-the-Year” section next Monday.
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