Sports Editor:
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Friday, April 30, 2004
-Oregon Daily Emerald
SPORTS
Best bet
MLB:
Atlanta vs. Colorado
12:05 p.m. Saturday, TBS
HUMBLE VAULTER
Tommy Skipper is well-liked by his Oregon teammates because of his selfless attitude
By Jon Roetman
Sports Reporter
He is one of the most talented track
and field athletes in the country.
He's celebrity-handsome and has be
come a Hayward Field icon during his
freshman year at Oregon.
For those who have never met Tommy
Skipper, it would be easy to suspect the
19 year old of being self-absorbed.
It takes only one conversation with the
Sandy native, however, to realize he's one
of the most modest people one could en
counter.
^ "I was a little shocked by how humble
he was," senior pole vaulter Trevor
Woods said. "I tried not to have any pre
conceived notions when he first got here,
but the word that people around Oregon
used (to describe Skipper) was 'wow.' I
wouldn't say they considered him to be
God-like, but almost like a mythical crea
ture. But the moment he showed up, you
could just tell that he was genuine.
There's no fakeness to him."
A combination of strong family values
and a desire to honor his late brother Art
has lead Tommy Skipper on a path to
Oregon, where he has quickly become
one of the school's most well-liked ath
letes. That path, however, wasn't always
clear.
Skipper's choice to become a Duck
wasn't an easy one at first. Coming out of
Sandy High School, the 2003 Track and
Field News' Boy's Athlete of the Year had
the talent to pole vault for any school in
the nation. After a lengthy decision mak
ing process, Skipper decided Tracktown,
USA, was the place for him. It was close
to home and his brothers, Scott and Art,
had also been Ducks.
"Looking back at it, I say 'wow,' it
shouldn't have been that tough for me to
see that Oregon was the place for me,"
Skipper said. "There was so much confu
sion coming out of high school with me
wanting to make the perfect decision and
not wanting to have any regrets on going
to the wrong university. Now that I'm
here, I love the University of Oregon and
there wouldn't be any other place for
me."
After arriving at Oregon during winter
term, it didn't take long for Skipper to
amaze his teammates on and off the
field.
At an indoor meet in Nampa, Idaho,
in early February, Skipper broke the
school pole vault record when he cleared
the bar at 18 feet, 8 3/4 inches. The previ
ous record, held by- Olympian Kory
Tarpenning (18-6 1/2), had stood for 19
years.
Skipper's performance during the in
door campaign earned him All-American
status and gave Oregon coaches an idea
of what he's capable of accomplishing
during his collegiate career.
Once the outdoor season started, Skip
per's success continued. Though he has
n't come close to his record-breaking
height, he recorded first-place marks at
the Oregon Preview (17-6 1/2) and the
Pepsi Team Invitational (17-5), along
with a fourth-place finish at the Texas Re
lays (17-8 1/2).
What impressed Skipper's teammates
even more than his athletic talent was
the way he has handled success.
"He's a great guy," redshirt freshman
pole vaulter David Moore said. "You
would expect someone with that much
talent to be a little more cocky, a little
more arrogant, think he knows every
thing and think he's better than everyone
else. But he doesn't have that attitude.
He's totally down to earth and realizes he
has great talent, but doesn't think he's
Turn to VAULTER, page 8
Tommy Skipper
broke the Oregon
pole vault record
when he cleared 18
feet, 8 3/4 inches at
an indoor meet in
Nampa, Idaho, in
early February.
M
Lauren Wimer
Senior Photographer
Mitt maven
Jenn Poore leads the Ducks behind the plate, in hitting and as a senior,
but she is best known for her funny personality
Danielle Hickey Photo Editor
Catcher Jenn Poore calls most games herself after going over game plans with the
Oregon coaching staff for each player on the opposing team.
By Mindi Rice
Senior Sports Reporter
Jenn Poore is not a stereotypical leadoff hitter.
Tied with Ashley Richards to lead the Ducks with
a .324 batting average, Poore started the season bat
ting in the cleanup spot. The coaches eventually
moved the senior to the top of the order because of
"her experience and ability to adjust to any situa
tion," according to head coach Kathy Arendsen.
Poore is three for five in stolen base attempts this
season but leads Oregon with a .437 on-base per
centage.
"We're not looking at blazing speed," Arendsen
said. "Although she likes to try and convince me of
that."
Instead, the coaches are looking at Poore's ease of
adjusting to different pitchers and teams. Her skills
make her invaluable to the Ducks, who continue Pa
cific-10 Conference play today with a 2 p.m. game
against UCLA. Oregon also hosts Washington at 3
p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Poore learned to adapt to new surroundings and
experiences at a young age.
Bom in Rhode Island, Poore's parents moved
Poore and her younger sister to Italy when they were
young. Her brother was bom in Italy before the fam
ily moved again, this time to Virginia. The military
related moving eventually landed the family in San
Diego.
A self-described military brat, Poore picked up
and moved to Mississippi for her freshman year of
college after taking just two recruiting trips — to Ole
Turn to CATCHER, page 12
Lack of depth
plagues Ducks
during spring
Oregon players will participate in a nontraditional
spring game Saturday, much like last season's
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
DUCK
FOOTBALL
As much as Oregon would love to hold a traditional spring game,
it knows it has other concerns to address.
1 lealth, for one, has become a pressing is
sue for the Ducks during the spring. There
fore, Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said
the spring game, set to be held Saturday at
12:30 p.m. at Autzen Stadium, will be for
matted much like a scrimmage.
"That means due to a lack of depth on the offensive and defen
sive lines we don't have enough to do really two teams," Bellotti said.
"So we'll do offense against defense and we'll set up some situations
to simulate as much as possible game experience for everybody."
Coaches were forced to improvise last season, as well, when Bel
lotti broke the team down and awarded points in "creative" ways.
That can include solo tackles and interceptions for the defense and,
on offense, runs or passes of 10 or more yards and so on.
"It's much the same as last year," Bellotti said. "Maybe an im
proved version of last year."
The Ducks will not be the first team from the Pacific-10 Confer
ence to go the way of the scrimmage. Most notably, California,
which also has had health issues, decided to go even further away
from the spring game.
The Golden Bears participated in drills for 90 minutes, then went
Turn to DEPTH, page 9