DUCKS' SICA IS ACES WHEN IT COUNTS.

Byline: Rob Moseley The Register-Guard

When a golf team takes 885 shots at regionals and qualifies for nationals by one stroke, as the Oregon men did earlier this month, it's difficult to pick one shot and label it the most important.

Mike Sica's final-round hole-in-one, then, if not most important, was certainly the most spectacular shot for the Ducks at regionals on May 17.

During the final round of the NCAA West Regional in Auburn, Wash., Sica stepped up to the par-3, 204-yard eighth hole at Washington National Golf Course and hit a 6-iron that landed to the right of the pin, bounced and then rolled to the left before dropping into the cup.

It was the fifth hole-in-one of Sica's playing career, and the most unlikely, he said.

"On a couple of my holes-in-one, I've watched the shot and said, 'That's got to go in,' ' said the junior from San Francisco who is Oregon's No. 3 player behind two seniors. "On this one it was, 'No chance.' I'll admit it."

The shot sparked Sica to an even-par 72 for the round and helped the Ducks finish tied for ninth with San Diego State in the region, one shot ahead of Texas-El Paso. Shooting 886 instead 885 for the tournament would have meant a playoff with the Miners for the final spot at nationals.

Instead, the Ducks are in Stillwater, Okla., this week for the NCAA Championships, which run today through Friday at the Karsten Creek Golf Course.

Sica will be joined by UO seniors John Ellis and Chris Carnahan and freshmen Gregg LaVoie and Kyle Johnson this week, Oregon's third appearance at nationals under coach Steve Nosler and first since 1999.

Seeded 18th in the West Regional, the Ducks were the lowest seed to advance to nationals.

"Obviously we weren't picked to be there, so the fact that we did qualify was sort of a bonus, though personally I thought we would qualify the whole time," Nosler said. "But if we go back there and play intelligent golf, and on a very difficult course, we can be in there.

"To me right now, it's absolutely great that our golf team is representing the university in another national championship. Now let's be as prepared as we can to go back there and pull some good numbers."

The Ducks were doing just that in the final round at regionals, finding themselves among the top four or five teams during the front nine of the final round. And that was without much help from Sica, who was 1 over after consecutive three putts on Nos. 5 and 6.

But he birdied No. 7 to get back to even and came to the eighth tee box hoping to keep up the momentum.

Sica, who had his first hole-in-one at age 16 at San Francisco's Olympic Club, had bogeyed the eighth hole in the first round of regionals and had a par in the second. The pin was back-right, there was a bunker in front of the green on the right side and Sica had a slight wind at his back.

When he hit the shot, though, Sica knew the ball was going father right then he had planned. Even though he knew the green funneled back to the left, Sica thought he was in trouble.

The ball hit the green after clearing the trap and disappeared. Sica and Nosler both completely lost sight of it; members of the gallery later told them it took a big bounce.

Suddenly the ball reappeared, rolling back into view before falling into the hole.

"I was kind of in shock, because it wasn't the greatest of shots, to say the least," Sica said.

Providing proof that one shot cannot make a tournament, however, the Ducks - and Sica - began to stumble after the turn. Sica and Johnson both double-bogeyed No. 14, and with four holes to play Oregon was right on the cusp of finishing in the top 10 and qualifying for nationals.

More important than the hole-in-one, Nosler said, was the way his top four finishers of Ellis, Carnahan, Sica and LaVoie played the final four holes collectively 1-under, including a birdie from Carnahan.

"I'm really impressed with the demeanor they had and the confidence they had within themselves, when the chips were really down, how they finished those final four holes," Nosler said.

Still, the coach had to admit, Sica's was the first hole-in-one during competition for a Nosler-coached Oregon team. And though avoiding that double-bogey on No. 14 would have helped just as much, Sica's hole-in-one still helped provide the difference in the Ducks making nationals.

"In hindsight it ended up really big," Nosler said. "You can make a huge deal about it, but (at the time) I told Mike to get back down to earth. Every stroke counts, but it was an ace, and it's something to talk about."

CAPTION(S):

Oregon's Mike Sica will join his teammates in the Ducks' first appearance at the NCAA Championships since 1999.