Sports Editor:
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Thursday, May 13,2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
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Kent, Ducks land nation's seventh-best recruit
A Web site selects Malik
Hairston as the second best
shooting guard in the nation
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
The lure of more potential playing
time apparently weighed heavily on the
mind of Detroit's Malik 1 lairston.
The 6-foot-6 shooting guard orally
committed to Oregon on Wednesday,
becoming the fifth player in head coach
Ernie Kent's heralded 2004 recruiting
class.
And he's one heck of a recruit.
Http://www.rivals.com ranks Hair
ston as the seventh best player in the
nation and the No. 2 shooting guard.
He was named to the 2004 Parade and
McDonald's All-America teams after av
eraging 20 points, 11 rebounds, six as
sists and five blocks per game as a sen
ior at Renaissance I ligh School.
He is such a talent that he has been
compared to North Carolina State jun
ior Julius Hodge, the 2004 Atlantic
Coast Conference Player of the Year.
"Malik is a terrific all-around play
er," recruiting analyst DaveTelep told
CBS SportsLine.com's Gregg Doyel in t
mid-April. 'That's his gift, that he can i
do a lot of things. If you're looking for 1
(former Syracuse freshman) Carmelo I
Anthony, a
guy who's go- ,
ing to come in
and score 25 a (
night, I'm not j
sure he'll be
that for a while. But he's the kind of
guy people rally around. He's just a
great glue guy."
At one point, Hairston had six ]
schools on his potential list, including 1
MEN’S
BASKETBALL
he Pacific-10 Conference's UCLA. But
n recent weeks, he had pared down the
ist, eventually saying on Tuesday that
he Ducks and Kansas were his finalists.
Factors in his decision, according to
various reports, were the amount of
claying time he would receive during
he 2004-05 season, the school's prox
mity to Detroit and whether or not the
>rogram he selected would have a real
stic chance at winning a national
hampionship in upcoming years.
"It was tough," Hairston told the
.awrence Journal-World. "It's a great sit
tation at Kansas. You have to look at
the whole picture to see what was best
in the long run. Kansas is a great pro
gram. They have a great coach in Bill
Self. They'll have a lot of success regard
less of the recruits. I wish them the best
of luck."
Oregon has yet to receive I lairston's
National Letter of Intent, making his
announcement on Wednesday not
binding. However, an Oregon
spokesperson said tire Ducks expect to
announce an official signing sometime
today.
With Oregon, Hairston has the op
Turn to HAIRSTON, page 18
Young veteran
Breanne Sabol has solidified herself as the Ducks' shortstop after a rocky recruiting experience
By Mindi Rice
L Senior Sports Reporter
Breanne Sabol wasn't su
re what to ex
1 ns t wlirn shr finally pa
eked her bags
Mk in mini' to 1 ugene ii
^ nl JO(V In nla\ so
i the summer
ft ball for the
J (Gaudreau)," Sabol said. "It wasn't scary, but 1
hadn't seen them until I actually came up here
my first day that 1 had to report. It was a little
nerve-racking because 1 hadn't met them and 1
wasn't playing summer ball where they could go
watch me play. /
"It was scary at first (when Gamez left), but
then everything worked out."
And it did work out in the end. After the ex
pected adjustment period for players and the
new coaches passed, Sabol stepped right into the
shortstop role and relinquished it just once dur
ing her freshman season, starting 55 of Oregon's
56 games in 2003.
"I figured she was going to have a pretty big
role (when I saw her in her first practices),"
Arendsen said. "She's a gifted player. I had trou
ble understanding her. I didn't read her very well
and it was not the easiest transition, I think we've
all grown since then. "
Sabol has grown into the Ducks' starting
shortstop for her second season as well, provid-.
ing the Ducks with a strong arm and a quick re
action time that is key for a middle infielder.
The Southern California native's strength is
her defense. Sabol has a range that amazes some
opponents, racing to the other side of second
base to routinely field balls for an out at first.
"Defensively, she's consistent," Arendsenjsaid.
"She's pretty brilliant with great range. She gets
to balls that many players can't get to."
Sabol, who committed 22 errors during the
season as a freshman, has cut that number to 12
so far this season for a .943 fielding percentage.
She is part of the Ducks' league-leading 29 dou
ble plays.
The sophomore spent time during the off-season
working on her hitting, something she struggled
with during her freshman season. Alter hitting. 179
last year, Sabol has improved by almost 100 points
to bat .270 through Sunday, three points above the
team's average.
"I think she's really starting to focus on soft
ball after this last season," Arendsen said. "1
think she is starting to understand how talented
she is and there's a price you pay when you're
blessed with this much talent of commitment
and dedication and I think that's all really start
ing to click in for her. 1 think she's just going to
get better and better"
Sabol is not the first in her family to showcase
her athletic ability at Oregon. I ler older brother
Garrett Sabol played football for the Ducks from
1997 to 2000. 1 le married former Duck volley
ball player Amy Banducci.
Breanrte Sabol had been on trips to fugene
since she was in middle school, when her family
would come up for football games. She liked the
weather — "I came in the fall, so it was never
raining" — and the atmosphere and the dis
tance, saying, "It was far enough but not too far."
Staying with her brother when she came for her
recruiting visit helped Sabol decide on Oregon.
Now she's making it her home. She has
reigned over the shortstop role for two seasons
and is most known for one thing within the
team.
Sabol, a Britney Spears fan, said her ai-bat
song is Spears' "Toxic," her bat is named "Brit
ney" and teammates tease her about being a fan.
"Britney Spears is supposed to be a teenage
idol type of person and you're supposed to get
Turn to VETERAN, page 16
Bruins search for Pac-10 title
UCLA looks to repeat for its eighth
consecutive Pac-10 Championship
By Alex Tam
Sports Reporter
Eight schools seek to dethrone UCLA at the 18th
annual women's Pacific-10 Conference Track and
Field Championships in Tucson, Ariz, on Thursday.
The Bruins are the early favorites heading into the
event, along with a contingent of California schools,
including Stanford and Southern California.
No. 1 UCLA
The Bruins hold the Pac-10's top marks in 11
events this season. Sophomore Chelsea Johnson set
a new conference women's pole vault record at 15
feet, breaking the old mark of 14.8 by Oregon's
Becky Holliday set in 2003.
Junior Monique Henderson has scored the
league's best times in the 200 meters (22.71 seconds)
and 400 meters (51.20).
No. 10 Stanford
The Cardinal will depend on youth and strength
to score well in the distance events.
Second-year Alicia Craig leads the pack after set
ting a new collegiate record in the 10,000 meters
(32:19.17) and also holds the conference's top time
in the 5,000 meters at 15:31.15.
No. 14 USC
The sprint events are the
strengths of the Trojans,
headed by freshman Virginia
Powell in the 100 meters
(11.39 seconds) and first-year
Dominique Dorsey in the
200 meters (23.70 seconds).
Junior Inga Stasiulionyte, the 2001 NCAA Javelin
Champion and two-time runner up, is the defend
ing Pac-10 Champion in the event in which she
threw 182-4 inches last season.
No. 21 California
This season is a historic year for the Golden Bears.
Five school records have been broken so far.
Sophomore Antonette Carter leads the squad in
the 100 meters (11.53 seconds) and 200 meters
(23.59 seconds).
Turn to BRUINS, page 16
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io
UO women are ‘excited’
about chance at Aggies
The Oregon women’s Club
lacrosse team, ranked No. 12,
will face off against No. 5
Texas A&M today in St. Louis
By Kirsten McEwen
Freelance Reporter
The Oregon women's Club lacrosse
team has heard all about nationally
ranked teams. But today at the US
Lacrosse Women's Division Intercolle
giate Associates National Champi
onships, the Ducks (16-4 overall, 8-1
Northwest Region) will finally see what
the hype is all about.
Oregon, 12th in the nation, will play
No. 5 Texas A&M at 9 a.m. in St. Louis at
the Anheuser-Busch Sports Center. The
tournament starts today and will run
through Saturday.
Nineteen women are representing the
Ducks in their first National Champi
onship appearance. Oregon also repre
sents the newest region to join the tour
nament - the Northwest - and will serve
as the first team from the region to com
pete at Nationals.
"I think we are
most excited about
playing teams from
different regions and
skill levels," co-Co
ordintor Marissa
White said. "We haven't seen any teams
from the East Coast, so that should be a
great learning experience."
The Ducks began their trek to the Na
tional Championships at Linfield Col
lege on April 17 and 18 during Regional
Tournament action. Oregon began the
tournament ranked third in its region,
Turn to NATIONALS, page 18
Club
Sports