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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 8, 2004)
Sports Editor Hank Hager hankhager@dailyemerald.com Thursday, April 8,2004 Oregon Daily Emerald SPORTS Best bet NHL Playoffs: St. Louis vs. San Jose 7 p.m., ESPN Mindi Rice The girl and the game Time has arrived for Duck softball If ever Oregon wanted to make a name for itself in Pacific-10 Conference softball, now would be the time With a 3-1 start, the No. 14 Ducks are third in the Pac-10, right behind Ari zona and Washington, and playing with the confidence of a team that has done this before. This? What is this? This is making a mark. This is Oregon reminding the confer ence and the country that there are more teams than those that practice in Califor nia and Arizona. This is the Ducks making it known that they will be going to an NCAA Re gional tournament in May. This is Oregon trying to not get swept by any Pac-10 team for just the second time in conference history. This is the Ducks looking for a confer ence record above .500 for the first time ^-since 1989. It's a difficult thing to do in the Pac-10. Oregon has finished the season with a .500 conference record three times — 1990, 1993 and 1994 — and above .500 once, in 1989. Last season, when the Ducks finished tied for third in the Pac 10, they were 10-11 in the conference. This isn't your average 3-1 start, either. All three teams — then-No.16 Oregon State, then-No. 3 California and then-No. 11 Stanford — were ranked ahead of Ore gon when the teams played. Perhaps the biggest win — although an argument could easily be made for each of the three — was Friday's 4-0 vic tory at California. The Ducks hadn't won a game in Berkeley since 2000. "It always feels good to beat Cal," Oregon catcher Jenn Poore said. "Or any of those teams. It felt really good (Friday) because it felt like, for once, we had everything together. Our defense was playing well, we had pitching and we had offense." If Oregon keeps everything together, the Ducks will be one of the feared teams when the time comes for regional tour naments. For now, Oregon is still working to gain respect from other Pac-10 schools. Even after last season's third-place finish, the Ducks were unanimously picked to finish eighth in the eight-team confer ence in the preseason coaches poll. No. 1 Arizona and No. 2 UCLA re main at the top of the national standings, despite UCLA losing two during the weekend. Both losses were to the Wild cats. California dropped a whopping one spot to No. 4 after losing to Oregon and splitting with Oregon State. Washington, which is tied for first in Pac-10 standings, is No. 7 nationally, while Stanford stayed at No. 11. Oregon State remained, literally, one step behind the Ducks, moving up to No. 15. Arizona State fell victim to the rare Turn to RICE, page 14 Erik R. Bishoff Photographer Sarah Malone has come back to a revamped Oregon program with new hopes and goals for the 2004 season. Throwing for more Sarah Malone overcame injuries and personal issues to prevail as one of Oregon's best athletes in 2004 By Alex Tam Sports Reporter One year ago, Sarah Malone contemplated quit ting her javelin career. Her frustrations boiled over to the point that the de sire to throw for the Oregon women's track and field team nearly disappeared. Communication between the redshirt junior and the previous coaching staff broke down. "Throwing has been the one thing that I always felt I could hold on to," the Newberg, Ore., native said. "But the last three years were starting to slip away. I wasn't happy toward throwing, and that real ly took its toll on me personally because that is such a huge part of my life." Malone also struggled with chronic back pain dur ing her first three years in Eugene, which led to her sit ting out last season. After never being given any signif icant time off from her coaches, she batded a case of depression and wondered whether Oregon was the right place for her. Then, a change in command occurred. Men's head coach Martin Smith entered this year to oversee the women's team and revive a rebuilding pro gram. Four-time Olympian Lance Deal joined to be the new throwers coach. Deal created a renewed sense of en ergy throughout the squad, and especially in Malone "Coach Deal is the best thing that's ever happened to me," Malone said. "He is the reason why I'm still throw ing, to be honest with you. He cares about us as people — not just as athletes — on and off the field." Malone now sits atop Oregon's record books in the javelin section at 179 feet, 7 inches — a mark achieved at last weekend's Texas Relays in Austin. The former All-American will compete at the Pepsi Team Invita tional meet Saturday at Hayward Field. Her performance in Texas stands now as her proud est accomplishment in her career. "Lance has done a lot for me," Malone said. "To be able to use my performance (at Texas) as a reflec tion of his coaching means a lot to me. I want people to realize he is an exceptional javelin coach. I want to prove to other people that he knows what he's talking about." The first time the two met was at a local track camp. Deal, a 1996 Olympic silver medalist, was nervous about instructing javelin throwers in an event he never competed in. He asked Malone to help him out, and she willingly did. Since then they've developed a close relationship. "It was really nice to have somebody that mature and knowledgeable," Deal said. "All of the athletes are just a pleasure to work with, and Sarah is no exception. I love my job, and a lot of that has to do with Sarah ." Malone's javelin career may not have existed with out the persistence of her high school track and field coach at Newberg High School, )oe Boutin. Mal one's first true passion was basketball; she started each game for her freshmen squad and led it to an undefeated record. But her life changed one afternoon her freshman year. While watching her friend compete in the discus, a man tapped her shoulder from behind, and she turned around. "He asked me to come over and throw a javelin," Malone said. "I've never seen one before, and I was like 'hell no.' I was wearing jeans and street shoes, and I wasn't in any position to be doing any athletic activity." An argument transpired during the next 10 minutes Turn to MALONE, page 14 Dotts set to make outdoor debut Roderick Dotts will make his outdoor debut for the Ducks on Saturday at the Pepsi Invite By Jon Roetman Sports Reporter WIEN'S TRACK Roderick Dotts is anxious. The junior transfer from Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kan., will make his 2004 outdoor debut for the Ducks during Saturday's Pepsi Team Invitational at Hayward Field. Dotts will compete in the 800-meter race as Oregon battles Washington, Colorado and Minnesota. Just getting the chance to compete during the outdoor season has been a challenge for Dotts. The East St. Louis, 111., native battled through knee and hamstring injuries during what he called a "non-impres sive" indoor season. Dotts said he's pain free now, but has a mental chal lenge to overcome. He has yet to adjust to the added scrutiny that comes with ninning track in the Pacific-10 Conference, rather than at the junior college level, Dotts said. "I thought it would be pretty good, but I'm finding it hard to adapt," Dotts Turn to DEBUT, page 14 Injury has UO’s White sitting out Jimmy White's experience will be missed as the Ducks face tough competition By Brian Smith Freelance Reporter Senior Jimmy White, the co-captain of the men's golf team, has been nurs ing a broken wrist since early March. White suffered the injury dur ing a strength and condition ing workout of pickup foot ball. DUCK GOLF That s where things got a lit tle murky. According to White, the team was playing tack le football on the turf field in side the Moshof sky Sports Cen ter when White and a fellow White teammate collided in a freak accident. "During work outs, we play a little football for Turn to OUT, page 14
