After enjoying a successful freshman season in 1999, a year in which she finished with 62 kills, 55 digs and nine blocks, Heather Gilmore knew the 2000 season would be like no other. Only, she couldn’t have known it could be as excruciating.
Diagnosed with mononucleosis early in the 2000 season, Gilmore decided to redshirt the year, a decision she does not regret.
“I think it was one of the best decisions I’ve done, because I got to spend a lot of time working on different things,” she said. “But it was really tough because we were playing better, and your team is out there but don’t get the results you want, and you don’t have any part of it. You don’t feel like you can do anything. It was somewhat depressing.”
It was not always going to be that way for the up-and-coming sophomore.
After finishing her career at Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah, Gilmore was highly recruited after finishing her senior year as the Region II MVP. After touring the Oregon campus, Gilmore decided to become a Duck because of the city and how well she enjoyed the surroundings.
“I love Eugene,” she said. “The atmosphere, the people … I love the outdoors. That’s one of the reasons why I came here. I love the campus.”
In 1999, her first season, the outside hitter didn’t expect to play much. She was a young player in a sea of veterans and really didn’t know what to expect. At first she didn’t play, but when the Pacific-10 Conference came calling, Gilmore got her time.
The change from high school to college play was considerable despite her accolades.
“It was a big change because most of us come from high school as the MVP and everyone else is too, so we’re kind of at the bottom,” she said. “The intensity and the concentration levels are higher too. There’s a lot of pressure, especially in the Pac-10 because that’s the highest caliber of teams you can play for.”
As a freshman, Gilmore spent the season under former head coach Cathy Nelson. After the team finished 1-17 that season, Carl Ferreira was brought in to help jump start the program. Not only has the team improved since he was named head coach, but each individual player has made strides. And Gilmore is no exception.
“When I got here, I had questions about whether she could play at this level,” Ferreira said about one of the Ducks’ most improved players. “She had to really work on improving her arm swing, and her jumping ability to be more explosive. The spring when I first got her, we began by having her throw Nerf footballs, getting her arm swing development going.
“This past winter, all the work she put in has began to pay off. She is the most improved player on our team.”
After sitting out half of the 2000 season, Gilmore was finally able to return to practice. She felt she was far behind the play of others on the squad, and didn’t get to catch up to the rest of the team. However, this time gave her a chance to return to playing shape, and as Ferreira mentioned, improved her playing ability.
When the 2001 season rolled around, Gilmore had no idea what to expect. She hadn’t played in a Pac-10 match in more than a year, and had never played a single game for Ferreira. But a summer playing in Croatia and Holland helped the sophomore gain the confidence to play again.
“It gave me a chance to actually compete because I didn’t get to do that in spring,” she said about her participation on a Junior National High Performance squad for the Intermountain region . “I got some game experience and a chance to play with new players. It kind of forces you out of your comfort level to step up and play with different types of people.”
Early in the season, Gilmore has already started off quickly. Despite missing most of the non-conference season due to injury, she has already proved herself during Pac-10 play. With a career high 13 kills against Arizona last week, Gilmore helped lead the Ducks to the Wildcats first loss in a game this season. So far, her success has been a confidence builder, and not just for herself.
“Heather is a powerful player, definitely physical,” senior outside hitter Monique Tobbagi said. “I think that having that second outside hitter that’s physical as well is going to get us a lot of points. She’s drastically going to give us the advantage. I’m excited that she’s out there now.”
Ducks return to McArthur against the Washington schools
The Ducks (8-3 overall, 0-2 Pac-10) return home to McArthur Court this weekend after opening Pac-10 play last weekend in Arizona.
On Friday the Ducks will take on rival Washington, one of two teams they defeated last season in the conference. So far, the Huskies (7-3, 1-1) have looked strong in a win over California and a loss to Stanford. Senior Lisa Underhill has 36 kills in Pac-10 play, and is fifth in the Pac-10 with a .411 hitting percentage. Washington is off to its best start since 1996.
In the second match of the weekend, the Ducks take on Pac-10 powerhouse Washington State. The Cougars (6-3, 1-1) lead the conference in service aces per game (2.21) and digs per game (16.90). Washington State has received 11 ballot points in the USA Today/AVCA Poll, the fifth Pac-10 team to do so.
Ferreira said the Ducks need to play as a team if they want to remain in the matches this weekend,
“Right now, I think we are better individually than we are collectively, because we haven’t had a lot of time to play together,” he said. “When you play high caliber opponents in the Pac-10, it becomes a little more difficult to get what you want because they put a lot of pressure on you. [We] really have to have team chemistry to start the match.
“You have to put yourself in a position to be successful.”
Pac-10 reschedules matches
The Pac-10 announced rescheduled matches for all conference teams yesterday. The Ducks, who had matches canceled against UCLA and USC on Sept. 14 and 15, will be playing a week after the originally scheduled end of the season.
UCLA will visit McArthur Court on Nov. 20 at 7 p.m., and USC will end Oregon’s conference season with a match a day later, also at 7 p.m.
In addition, the Ducks saw their match on Oct. 6 at Stanford moved two days earlier to help alleviate the Cardinal’s scheduling problems due to the cancellations. The Ducks will now play at Maples Pavilion on Oct. 4 at 7:00 p.m., and will visit California the next night as scheduled.