NCAA high jump champ Hooker hopes to make US Olympic volleyball team
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas' Destinee Hooker, the two-time defending NCAA high jump champion, will skip track this season to train with the U.S. women's national volleyball team before the Olympics.
Hooker is a standout hitter on the Texas volleyball team that advanced to the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament. She and volleyball teammates Juliann Faucette and Lauren Paolini were among a group invited to train with Team USA and compete for a spot on the roster for international play.
Hooker won the NCAA outdoor high jump as a freshman and sophomore. She will have two years of track eligibility when she returns to UT.
"I will definitely miss the track competition this spring, but I am looking forward to a great opportunity that I have ahead of me with USA Volleyball," Hooker said Monday. "I am giving up a major part of me by taking a year off from track to play volleyball."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
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