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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 7, 2004)
Sports Editor Hank Hager hankhager@dailyemerald.com -Oregon Daily Emerald SPORTS Best bet MLB: Philadelphia vs. Arizona 5 p.m. Sunday, ESPN Friday, May 7,2004 Jon Roetman Roughing the passer Oregon vaulters epitomize teamwork As senior pole vaulter Trevor Woods prepared himself for an attempt at a new season best during the Oregon Twilight, • words of encouragement flowed from the mouths of his Duck teammates. The determined Coos Bay native then - sprinted towards his takeoff point, lifted himself more than 17 feet into the air and tried desperately to avoid knocking the bar from its resting place. Woods cleared the bar by the slimmest of mar gins, sending the crowd and his team mates into an eruption of applause. Judging by the reaction of Woods' team mates, it was impossible to decipher who had just set a new season best. Each Ore gon vaulter expressed so much joy that it would be easy to think that all four had cleared the bar at the same time. While track and field is often viewed as individual competition, the team-oriented aspect of the sport often goes unnoticed. One peek inside the oval at Hayward Field would introduce an observer into a world where individual successes are treated as team accomplishments. No group of track and field athletes exem plifies this mentality more than a quar tet of Oregon pole vaulters. Tommy Skipper, David Moore, Jon Derby and Woods have about as much fun as ath letes can while competing, and are con stantly pushing one another to succeed. "It's a great group of guys," pole vault ing coach Mark Vanderville said. "They're always helping each other." While each athlete possess a different level of athletic ability, no accomplish ment goes unnoticed and no failure comes without positive encouragement. Skipper is the youngest and most physically gifted of the four Ducks. The freshman from Sandy set the school record in early February (18-8 3/4) and is routinely so far ahead of the competi tion that he is left to vault against him self by the end of the event. Despite his success, the 2003 Track and Field News' Boys Athlete of the Year often shows more interest in the accomplishments of his fellow Ducks. Moore is a the second youngest of the group and recently set a new season best at the Oregon Twilight (16-5 1/2). The redshirt freshman from Orinda, Calif., was a decorated prep athlete and knows his best vaulting is ahead of him. While Moore's marks are improving, he is usu ally left to watch his teammates attempt greater heights by the end of the event. Still, Moore is always utilizing his time on the field in a productive manner. When he's not vaulting, the former prep All American is discussing technique with Vanderville or cheering on his teammates. Moore is also one of the friendliest guys you could run into. Helping answer Turn to ROETMAN, page 10 UO heads out to silence 'Cat calls Tim Kupsick Photographer Second baseman Erin Goodell and the Ducks take to Arizona this weekend in search of at least one win. The Ducks head into the desert to play Arizona and Arizona State in their final conference road trip of the season By Mindi Rice Senior Sports Reporter It has been 15 years since an Oregon soft ball team won a game against Arizona in Tucson, Ariz. Just four times since Feb. 14, 1989, have the Dud<s beat Arizona in Pacific-10 Confer ence play. __ Tonight at 7 p.m., 1T^! >#"*' ^°- 10 Ducks UP ffiV (37-14 overall, 9-6 SOFTBALL Pacific-10 Confer - ence) have their best chance in recent his tory to change their fortune as they face No. 1 Arizona (48-3,12-2). Oregon is 1-1 this season against the Wildcats, with a 6-1 loss and 1-0 win at Howe Field. The Ducks were the first team to beat Arizona in conference play. "I expect that it's going to be a great game," Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen said. "I think we're going to be a lot tougher than they think we're going to be." The Wildcats are coming off a 2-1 upset by No. 7 Stanford at Arizona's Rita I Iillen brand Memorial Stadium on Sunday. It was Arizona's third loss of the season. The Wild cats' first loss came in a preseason tourna ment to Washington. Their second loss was to Oregon. "I know Arizona is going to be an angry and upset team because of the fact that they lost their last game as well," Arendsen said. Turn to ‘CAT CALLS, page 9 UO quintet heads to start of Pac-lOs Four men and one woman will represent Oregon this Friday and Saturday in the decathlon and heptathlon By Jon Roetman and Alex Tam Sports Reporters Entering an athletic event as the fa vorite can be a double-edged sword. On the positive side, an athlete can in timidate his or her opponents before the event even starts. On the downside, be ing recognized as the one on top places a giant target on an athlete's back. In this year's Pacific-10 Conference Championship decathlon, however, it will be a school with a target on its back instead of an athlete. Oregon sports three of the confer ence's top five decathletes, with compe tition scheduled for today and Saturday. Redshirt sophomore Andy Young (first, 7,179 points), redshirt senior Gabriel LeMay (second, 7,175) and red shirt sophomore Ryan Voge (fifth, 7,054) set conference-qualifying marks at the Mike Maynard Wildcat Combined Events decathlon during spring break. The trio is determined to finish 1-2-3 at Pac- 10s, but expects to have plenty of competition. "I don't think we'll have the respect of our opponents," Young said. "I think the/re going to think the same thing that we think about them. They think that we can be beaten and we think they can be beaten. That's all there is to it." A native of Newberg, Young is the team's top returning finisher, placing fifth as a freshman at last year's Pac-lOs (7,017). Young's strengths are the pole vault and the 1,500 meters. LeMay is the oldest in the group and is confident he can close his final season at Oregon on a positive note. The Yoncalla native is a second-year transfer from Lane Community College who excels in the 400 and recendy set a personal record in the pole vault at the Oregon Invitational (16 feet 11/4 inches). LeMay said the Ducks are well pre pared for Pac-lOs because they face top notch competition every day in practice. "It's awesome," LeMay said. "Practic ing with that kind of competition makes you leam to react to pressure." Regardless of how he finishes, Voge has had a successful year by just getting to where he is now. A walk-on who trans ferred from New Mexico, Voge's spring break performance in Tucson was a 606 point personal best. The Hillsboro na tive's best events are the long jump and the high jump. While each Duck decathlete wants the personal glory of being crowned Pac-10 champion, the trio's main goal is to do well as a team and make it to nationals. "I want to beat both of them badly," Voge said. "But I don't wish them to not perform well. I want them to do as well as they can but I hope in doing that, 1 still beat them." Oregon will also use one of its three wild card entries to get freshman Tommy Skipper into the field. The Sandy native will make his event debut after focusing on the pole vault this year. "I'd like to be in a little better shape, Turn to QUINTET, page 9 Lauren Wimer Senior Photographer Gabriel LeMay enters today’s decathlon ranked second in the Pacific-10 Conference. The Ducks will send four men and one woman south.
