Sports Editor:
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
SPORTS
Best bet
MLB:
Los Angeles vs. San Diego
7 p.m., ESPN2
Giving back
Golf co-captain Mike Sica excels off the course as well as on
By Brian Smith
Freelance Reporter
Some would say that an athlete's
dream of making it to the big-time is
primarily about the bling.
Oregon men's golfer Mike Sica doesn't
embody such a mentality, instead working
hard on and off the course to better him
self, his teammates and the community
around him.
The senior and co-captain will be re
membered for a number of accomplish
ments during his time with Oregon, and
while his on-course achievements have
made an impact, his off-course compas
. sion will continue to make an impact for
years to come.
Mike Sica, the golfer
Sica came to Oregon in the 1999-2000
season, a winner of! 6 prep tournaments
and a three-time West Catholic Athletic
League selection for San Francisco's St.
Ignatius High School. His resume also
includes wins at the 1999 Robert O'
Brien Junior and the California GolfTour
Amateur.
"I came up here and I just really liked
the atmosphere and the college town,"
Sica said. "I had some good friends from
high school who went here. And when I
signed here, (the men's golf team) was
ranked No. 10 in the country, and the Pac
10 was the best conference in my opinion,
so that was a pretty key factor."
Oregon's coach Steve Nosier also was a
key in Sica's decision to come to Oregon.
"I really liked him," Sica said. "He was
pretty honest with me, said that I would
have to probably redshirt my freshman
year, which I did, because we had four or
five seniors on the team that year. (He told
me) work hard and you'll play, and that's
what happened."
What Nosier saw in Sica was a player
who had good Division I potential.
"Mike's a good kid, a smart kid," Nosier
said. "I knew I would never have trouble
with him on the academic side. He had a
lot of enthusiasm, he cares a lot and he
wanted to play."
On the course, Sica is described jokingly
by his teammates as the most deliberate
* and slowest player on the team, a honor
that is not fully understood by Sica.
"Honestly, that's the complete opposite.
• I think I am one of the fastest players on
the team," Sica said. "Matt Ma has to be
the slowest player by far. I guess he just
does things the Hawaiian way, you know,
half as slow as everyone else."
Jeremy Cook Courtesy Oregon Media Services
Mike Sica has finished in the top 30 in his past two events and looks to continue his strong spring
play this week. Sica has steadily improved since coming to the Ducks’ program
Joking or not, what the players do see in
him is a leader by example to a team com
prised of almost entirely freshmen and
sophomores — the only other upperclass
man being co-captain and fellow senior
Jimmy White. Sica does not dispense
much swing advice or tips on how to play
the game. Instead, his experience becomes
most valuable because Sica is someone
who is always available to provide some
tips about a particular course or how to
cope with the amount of travel players
may have to face.
"He tries to help out the younger guys a
lot," Ma said. "It's obvious during the prac
tice rounds, I think. Obviously, he's been
there and seen it all before."
Nosier said Sica tries to instill knowl
edge to the team in his own way.
"How individuals take a leadership sit
uation, that's kind of an individual thing,"
Nosier said. "I can't fault Mike. Mike is a
team player, Mike really cares about the
team, and 1 think that he has tried to share
what experiences he's had with the team,
and that's really all I can ask."
Sica sees his leadership role in much the
same way as Nosier.
"I just try to answer any of the questions
guys have," Sica said. "When we go to a
tournament, they'll usually listen to me
and ask for advice because I've probably
played the course three or four times. And
as far as practice goes, (1) just encourage
them to get out there and practice, stuff
like that. Our schedule is pretty hectic, so
there is some adjustment period, and 1 just
try to help them out."
The softer side of Sica
The impact of Sica's leadership is felt far
beyond the 18th green.
Most only see the student/athlete side of
Turn to GIVING, page 9
Defensive bumps plague Oregon
The Ducks have been on a roller
coaster of defensive success
and disappointment during the
past month of the team'splay
By Mindi Rice
Senior Sports Reporter
It is perhaps the ultimate Jekyll and
Hyde situation for a collegiate softball
program, or at least Oregon's version —
impeccable defense one game followed
by a deluge of errors in a losing effort the
next game.
It can happen in
a day, a weekend or
a week apart, and
this season it has
happened for the
No. 15 Oregon
softball team.
Most recently, the Ducks won Friday's
DUCK
SOFTBALL
game against Oregon State, 2-0, and did
n't commit an error while helping starter
Ani Nyhus earn a third one-hitter.
Saturday, Oregon (30-10 overall, 4-2 Pa
cific-10 Conference) lost its final game of
the season to the Beavers, 7-4, behind four
errors. Both teams had eight hits and just
three of the seven runs given up by Duck
pitchers were earned.
"For me, personally, when you make an
error you kind of think about it for the rest of
the game and you're kind of pressing," short
stop Breanne Sabol said. "1 think that's what
kind of happens when you notice other peo
ple making errors on the dirt or you see bad
hops and you start thinking about it."
Sabol, second baseman Erin Goodell
and catcher Jenn Poore are the returning
infielders from last season's squad. Sabol
started all but one of Oregon's 56 games at
shortstop last season and has started all 40
games in the same place this season.
Both Sabol and Goodell say the snowball
effect of errors is more a mental hurdle than
anything else.
"Especially individually, when you
make an error yourself, you kind of lose a
bit of confidence and that can affect the
way you play the rest of the game," Good
ell said. "Once you get down on yourself
and one thing happens, you start thinking
about that too much and it's going to just
keep going like a domino effect."
The split personalities have been re
stricted to the infield this season. The regu
lar outfielders have drastically fewer errors
than the infielders, as is common in soft
ball and baseball.
"(The outfielders) have a good under
standing of one another and where people
are going to be," outfielder Dani Baird
said. "We have a lot of trust knowing that if
I'm going to go and lay out for this ball,
someone's going to back me up and cover
Turn to BUMPS, page 8
LiaBraaten's
shift to defense
suits Oregon
Nate LiaBraaten switched to defense for
Oregon's first scrimmage and impressed on
both sides of the ball despite the challenge
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
Nate LiaBraaten saw the best part of Oregon's 2003 season.
He caught two passes in the team's first four games, all of
which ended in victories.
Along the way, he established himself as a valuable tight
end during a time when the Ducks were thin at the position.
Tim Day, who eventually staked his claim to the starting posi
tion and made the most of it later in the season — finishing
with 23 receptions — hadn't made his mark yet.
But in Oregon's defeat of Michigan on Sept. 20, 2003,
LiaBraaten injured his ankle, prema
- turely ending his season.
" I ' N'° LiaBraaten's back this spring,
FOOTBALL healthy an<^ ready to challenge for the
__ backup tight-end spot. But he's been
making his mark elsewhere early on.
That is, he's the newest member of the Oregon defense.
"It's definitely different, but it's a lot of fun," LiaBraaten
said. "Ask me again in a month, at the end of spring, and we'll
see what happens."
In the team's first scrimmage Saturday, LiaBraaten played
on an injury-depleted defensive line and was credited with a
sack for 11 yards. He also caught three passes for 11 yards.
LiaBraaten effectively neutralized himself.
"Probably primarily for the second half of spring, he'll be a
defensive player," Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. "It'll
be two-to-one or three-to-one in terms of the reps he'll take
on defense versus offense. I think he is filling an immediate
need for us, but Nate has looked good at (die defensive) posi
tion. Either way, whether it was at tight end or defensive end,
he would probably be at the two-deep."
LiaBraaten's presence on defense will be necessary in the
spring because of injuries and recovery that have claimed both
Devan Long and Haloti Ngata on the defensive line. Senior
Robby Valenzuela has also been banged up, which, coupled
with the departures of Igor Olshansky and Junior Siavii after
the 2003 season, has left a lack of depth on the defensive line,
especially among the team's tackles.
"We've got two of our big-time guns — Haloti and Devan
— out. We could use some help," linebacker Jerry Matson
said. "Why not try him out a little bit?
"We have so few guys, in regards to talent, that you get so
fatigued that you really can't (play) your talent anymore. First
of all, it's really nice of him to do it because (he has his) own
family, (his) own side of the ball. It's good to see him come
over to our side and try hard for us. It's a team effort when you
Turn to DEFENSE, page 10
Adam Amato Senior Photographer
Nate LiaBraaten normally plays tight end, but spent some time on the
defensive line in Oregon’s first scrimmage on Saturday.