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Sunday, Aug. 31
Women's Soccer: MSUB Blanks Eastern New Mexico
Montana State Billings got goals from Kari Foreman, Amy Remsberg and Melissa Carlson in shutting out Eastern New Mexico 3-0 Sunday to improve to 2-1 on the season.
MSUB's first goal came in the 23rd minute when Ali Gamberg fired a shot that squirted through the hands of ENMU's keeper and Foreman was there to convert the empty netter.
The 'Jackets converted two corner kicks by Mandy Ploskonka into goals by Remsberg and Carlson in the second half.
For the game, MSUB outshot ENMU 12-6, including 8-2 in the second half. Jordan Fenwick had three saves to earn a shutout.
Saturday, Aug. 30
Football: Central Beats Dixie State 44-38 In Overtime
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| Bronson |
In other openers, Western Oregon and Humboldt State both lost to Division I Championship Sub Division teams.
The Wolves held Portland State to seven first-half points before falling to the Vikings 31-14 before 8,239 fans at PGE Park. Humboldt State lost at Sacramento State 45-13. (SID Game Stories: WOU-Portland State / CWU-Dixie / HSU-Sac State.)
Quarterback Mike Reilly, tight end Jared Bronson and wide receiver Johnny Spevak keyed Central Washington's victory.
Reilly completed 26 of 39 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns, while Bronson caught four for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
Spevak had 11 receptions, for 133 yards, including three on a last-ditch drive in the fourth quarter which set up a 44-yard field goal by Garrett Rolsma as time expired to force the extra period.
Bronson's second TD reception - a 24-yarder - had put CWU, which trailed 31-21 at one point, ahead 35-31 with 2:07 left. However, Dixie then drove 60 yards in nine plays to go ahead 38-35 on a 21-yard pass from Dexter Hill to Nash Fowler with 30 seconds remaining.
But, Reilly then completed four passes, three to Spevak of seven, eight and nine yards, to set up Rolsma's tying field goal.
In the overtime, Hill's 13-yard pass to Fowler gave Dixie a first down at CWU's 11, but lineman Tyrell Nielsen nailed Hill for a four-yard loss and then safety J.R. Jamerson intercepted Hill on the next play in the end zone. Hasty then quickly ended the game with his touchdown gallup.
CWU finished with 492 yards in offense, including 58 on 12 rushes by Hasty.
Dixie netted 411 yards. Hill completed 21 of 32 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Skyler Ence caught seven for 114 yards, including a 58-yard TD catch in the second quarter. Running back Tauni Vakapuna had 84 yards on 20 carries, including touchdown runs of three and 27 yards.
Defensively, linebacker Buddy Wood led CWU with 10 tackles. Linebacker Teddy Owens had 13 tackles and also recovered a fumble to lead Dixie.
Running back Bobby McClintock accounted for 116 yards and four touchdowns to lead Portland State past Western Oregon. He scored on runs on five, three, one and seven yards and netted 48 yards on 15 carries. He also caught seven passes for 68 yards.
PSU's run-and-shoot offense netted 499 yards, including 457 through the air as quarterback Drew Hubel completed 28 of 40 for 305 yards.
Western Oregon finished with 255 yards, 137 rushing. Ben Kuenzi had 78 yards on eight carries. Mississippi State transfer Josh Riddell was seven of 14 for 93 yards and two touchdowns for the Wolves.
Demario Ballard scored on a six-yard pass in the third quarter and Shaun Kauleinakoka completed the scoring with a 21-yard catch with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Defensive back Andrew Jackson had 12 tackles to lead the Wolf defense. Linebacker J.T. Gilmore and DB Gavin Romanick had 11 and DB Calen Singleton had 10. Jackson and Romanick had interceptions.
Sacramento State built a 28-0 lead early in the second quarter in beating Humboldt State. The Hornets rushed for 259 yards - 105 by Bryan Hilliard and 103 by Evander Wilkins - and also added 137 yards through the air.
Humboldt was held to 172 yards, 64 rushing and 108 passing. QB Brian Hildebrand completed 11 of 20 passes for 102 yards. Hildebrand scored HSU's lone touchdown on a nine-yard run in the second quarter.
Volleyball: Scott MVP as Seawolves Win Invitational
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| Calli Scott |
Earlier in the day the Seawolves, who finished the tournament unbeaten in four matches, completed round-robin play with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-13 win over Texas Woman's.
The Seawolves, who are now 4-1, ended the week with the most victories in the conference, earning one more win than Central Washington and Western Oregon, which each posted 3-1 records in tournaments in California.
CWU split two matches Saturday beating the Academy of the Art 25-15, 25-22, 25-15, before losing to Cal State L.A. 25-15, 25-23, 17-25, 25-22 in the Cal State Dominguez Hills/Cal State L.A. Invitational.
Western Oregon split two matches to finish 3-1 in the Cal State Monterey Bay Invitational at Seaside, Calif.
The Wolves lost to Division I North Dakota 29-27, 15-25, 26-24, 25-22, but then bounced back to beat Humboldt State, 25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19.
GNAC teams didn't fare as well at Rohnert Park losing all six of their matches.
Northwest Nazarene, which finished the event with a 2-2 record, lost to Chico State 25-20, 25-14, 25-19 and to host Sonoma State 25-16, 12-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-9.
Seattle Pacific also lost to Sonoma 25-20, 25-21, 20-25, 25-15 and to Chico State, 25-12, 25-17, 25-19 to finish 1-3.
Montana State Billings overcame five match points in the third set before losing 3-1 to San Francisco State, 25-16, 25-22, 24-26, 25-22. The Yellowjackets also lost to Cal State Stanislaus, 25-19, 25-23, 25-21 ending up 0-4.
Alaska Fairbanks (1-1) earned its first victory of the season surprising nationally 13th ranked Central Missouri, 25-20, 22-25, 28-26, 25-22 at Fairbanks.
Saint Martin's lost to Metro State, 21-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-8 to finish the Hawaiian Style Classic with a 1-2 record.
Alaska Anchorage earned the championship of its own tournament for just the third time in 14 tries. It also won back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003.
Rhea Cardwell pounded 15 kills on .342 hitting and Rachel Kidwell provided 13 kills with a .310 hitting percentage in the championship match. Cardwell and Kidwell were joined on the all-tournament team by libero Stacie Meisner, who had a match-high 14 digs.
Texas Woman's (2-2), of the Lone Star Conference, got seven kills from all-tourney pick Danielle Veitenheimer and 10 digs from libero Arden Richardson.
The Seawolves also got a team season-best eight blocks from Cortney Lundberg as they matched the program's best start to a season since 2004.
UAA's four total wins are already just one shy of its entire win total from 2007.
Lundberg led UAA with 10 kills in their first match Saturday. Three players - Kidwell, Joanna Johnson and Cardwell - each had nine. Meisner and Kidwell had 17 digs and Johnson had 16 to pace the UAA defense.
Central Washington needed just 72 minutes to dispose of the San Francisco-based Art school and earn coach Mario Andaya his school-record 188th career victory.
Kady Try led a balanced attack with nine kills. Kayla Roof and Rachael Schurman each had eight. Maggie Olson had 28 assists and Brandie Vea had 16 digs. Erin Norris had six kills and five of CWU's eight aces.
Schurman had 13 kills and Try had 11 in CWU's loss to Cal State L.A. Olson had 34 assists and 14 digs and Vea had 29 digs in the match. CWU also got six blocks from Morgan Zamora.
At Rohnert, MSU Billings scored the final seven points in Set 3 against SFSU, getting the winning point on a kill by Ashley Wellborn. The Gators, however, scored the final three points of the match to snap a 22-22 tie in the fourth set.
MSUB's Devon Crotteau led all players with 17 kills and also had 19 digs. Jennifer Boe and Jessica Lechner each had four blocks and Jill Trabing was credited with 25 digs for the 'Jackets.
Boe had a team-high 10 kills and the 'Jackets only block against Stanislaus, which outhit MSUB .337 to .243. Crotteau had eight kills and a team-best 12 digs.
The Warriors had 10 service aces, but also were charged with 13 service errors. Stanislaus converted on 42 of 92 kill attempts and made only 11 errors.
Chico State nearly tripled Northwest Nazarene's hitting percentage (.345 to .127) in its victory. Lindsay Macias led three players in double figures with 12 kills for the Wildcats.
Cammy Dranginis had 10 kills and a .333 percentage for the Crusaders, but the rest of the team had nearly as many errors (12) as kills (17). Haley Hevern led NNU defensively with 19 digs.
Lindsay Forseth had 18 kills and 14 digs and Dranginis, who was named to the all-tournament team, had 14 kills and four blocks in NNU's second loss. Hevern added 31 more dig and Amy Higginson had 35 assists, seven kills and 13 digs.
Nikki Finley had 17 kills and Sarah Risser had 14 as Seattle Pacific had three more kills than Sonoma State in its loss, but the Falcons were outscored 16-9 from the service line, committing 11 service errors.
Torii Mount had 24 digs and Finley, who also had two aces, had 19 digs. Robin De Jong had four blocks, including the only solo of the match.
Lindsey Wodrich had a team-high nine kills and Anna Herold had 18 digs in SPU's loss to Chico. The Falcons were outhit .298 to .088 and also had just one block as they finished the tournament with a 1-3 record. Chico ended up 4-0.
Western Oregon outscored North Dakota by three points, but still lost 3-1 as they outscored UND by 10 points in the second set and lost the other three sets by margins of two, two and three points.
Stacey Bennett led three players in double figures with 13 kills. Laura Sakala had 12 and Lisa Martini had 10 kills and four blocks. Amy Herron had 28 assists and Danielle English was credited with 24 digs.
Haley Kostrba had 18 kills and Bennett and Sharon Peterson had 10 each in WOU's win over Humboldt. English had 22 digs and Peterson had four blocks to pace the defense.
Alaska Fairbanks rebounded from a 3-0 loss to Central Missouri on Friday to beat the Jennies as Korlyn Bolster led the way with 16 kills and three blocks.
The Nanooks also got 14 kills from Jessica Hill and 13 from Megan Thigpen. Alexa Sherman had 41 assists and 12 digs. UAF outhit the visitors .209 to .176.
Women's Soccer: SPU Wins On Charette Goal
Jocelyn Charette tallied the game-winning goal in the 25th minute lifting nationally fourth-ranked Seattle Pacific to a 1-0 victory over San Francisco State in a NCAA Far West Region women's soccer game at Interbay Stadium Saturday.
In other games, Montana State Billings defeated Fort Lewis, Colo., 2-1, Saint Martin's edged Cal State San Bernardino 1-0 and Western Washington lost to UC San Diego 2-1. All three were decided in overtime.
Elsewhere Central Washington nipped Humboldt State 1-0 and Western Oregon beat Corban 2-0 in a doubleheader at Monmouth and Northwest Nazarene fell to Notre Dame de Namur 4-1.
Charette ran on to a long through pass from Meredith Teague and slid a five-yard shot into the goal at 24:50 for the only goal as SPU extended its home unbeaten streak to 20 games.
Meanwhile, the SPU defense tightened up in the second half and did not allow a Gator shot after intermission.
The Falcons had 13 shots in the second half, including several dangerous chances from sophomore Amanda Johnson.
For the game, SPU took 21 shots compared to just three for the Gators. Goalie Maddie Dickinson made just one save in recording the shutout.
Montana State Billings evened its record at 1-1 in the sixth annual MSUB Cup with its victory. Dixie State beat Eastern New Mexico 3-1 to win the tournament with a 2-0 record.
Trailing 1-0, the Yellowjackets pulled even in the 56th minute on a goal by Kari Foreman who converted a cross from Samantha Sandau.
In the overtime, each team had two good looks, but were unable to capitalize thanks to great saves by both goalkeepers.
With just 1:40 left in the first overtime, the Yellowjackets were on the attack and the ball was crossed into the center of the goal where it somehow squeezed through a number of players from both teams and went into the net for an own goal.
The Yellowjackets outshot Fort Lewis 13-6. Jordan Fenwick made seven saves in earning the victory.
Jessica Wilson scored an unassisted goal in overtime in SMU's victory. The Saints were outshot 14-7, but Ashley Engel made seven saves to earn the shutout.
Wilson's goal into the high left corner was the only shot in the extra period. CSUSB goalkeeper Laura Lyons made four saves prior to giving up the game-winner.
Alexia Zatarain scored two goals, including the game winner in overtime, lifting UC San Diego to its victory and snapping a five-game win streak for the Vikings.
WWU trailed nearly the entire game, but leveled the score at 1-1 with just under seven minutes left in the second half.
Forward Molly Shannon scored the equalizer, sprinting down the right side to take a long cross-field pass from Emily Frankland and finishing just inside the far post from 12 yards.
But the Tritons won the game just 2:04 into overtime. Midfielder Natasha Belak-Berger dribbled nearly 40 yards through the midfield and fed Zatarain on the right corner of the penalty area.
Zatarain cut inside and took a shot from 15 yards that deflected off a Western defender and slotted inside the near post.
The Vikings (1-1) had a 15-9 advantage in shots despite being without two starting midfielders for much of the match. Stephanie Janigo left the game with an arm injury, and Kasey Hostetler suffered a shoulder injury.
Serena Tomaso scored the game's only goal off of assists from Alex Jensen and Brittany Franks in the third minute of the second half in CWU's victory as the Wildcats leveled their record at 1-1.
Central dominated the flow of the contest outshooting the Lumberjacks 11-4 and taking twice as many corners (6-3). Amber Easterbrook had two saves to record the shutout.
Melinda Ingalls scored both goals, one on a header off a corner kick, and the other off of a center pass as Western Oregon improved to 2-0. Kristen Werhane and Jordann Gilmer were awarded assists.
The Wolves outshot the NAIA squad 20-6. Brittney Rigtrup had thee saves in posting the shutout.
Sarah Biser scored three second-half goals as Notre Dame de Namur overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to beat Northwest Nazarene.
The Crusaders led at the break 1-0 on a goal in the 10th minute from just two yards out by Hannah Mohs. Biser, however, scored in the 48th, 52nd and 76th minutes.
Notre Dame finished the contest with a 23-5 advantage in shots, including 12-2 in the second half. Pip Herman had seven saves for the Crusaders.
Men's Soccer: NNU Improves To 2-0 With 2-1 Victory
Benjamin Mangeac scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 68th minute as Northwest Nazarene beat Great Falls 2-1 in a non-conference soccer game Saturday at Nampa.
In a NCAA Far West Region game, Western Washington opened its season with a 1-0 home win over Cal State Monterey Bay.
Mangeac's goal from 15 yards out came off a pass from Chris Voth. Voth scored NNU's first goal off of a cross from Jeremy Mangeac in the 39th minute.
NNU, which improved to 2-0, was outshot 12-11, but only four of the visitor's shots were "on goal". Alexander Engemann made three saves in earning the victory.
Tyler Bjork scored from the left side on a hard, low shot from 22 yards as Western Washington won its opener. Joel Grossman was credited with an assist.
Last year as a senior at Juanita High School, Bjork earned first-team Associated Press Class 4A all-State honors, finishing his prep career with 49 goals. Grossman missed all of last season with a torn ACL.
The Vikings controlled the action outshooting Monterey 24-7, including 16-1 in the first half. Cameron Copps-Tilley was called upon to make just one save in posting the shutout.
Cross Country: Nanooks, 'Jacks Split Dual
Alaska Fairbanks won the women's dual 24-31 and Humboldt State won the men's race 17-42 as the two West Region teams completed their two-meet series Saturday at Fairbanks.
UAF's Theresia Schnurr won the women's race in a time of 15:39.4, while Eric Malain of Humboldt State finished first in the men's in a time of 13:05.5. Both races were 4,000 meters.
On Thursday, the HSU men won 22-35 over 8,000 meters, while the Nanook women won a 6K race 24-31.
UAF Birch Hill Invitational (Aug. 30 at Fairbanks): Men - Humboldt State 17, Alaska Fairbanks 42. Individuals (4,000 Meters) - 1. Eric Malain, HSU, 13:05.5; 4. Matthew Scerbak, UAF, 13:19.1; 8. Chris Eversman, UAF, 13:45.8; 9. Einar Often, UAF, 13:46.5; 10. Ray Sabo, UAF, 13:59.5. Women - Alaska Fairbanks 24, Humboldt State 31. Individuals (4,000 Meters) -1. Theresia Schnurr, UAF, 15:39.4; 2. Anna Coulter, UAF, 15:45.8; 4. Julia Pierson, UAF, 15:57.9; 7. Aurelia Korthauer, UAF, 16:44.6; 10. Elisabeth Habermann, UAF, 17:02.6.
Friday, Aug. 29
Volleyball: Two Wins For UAA, WOU, CWU, NNU
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| Cardwell |
Northwest Nazarene, Western Oregon and Central Washington also earned two victories each as GNAC teams won 10 of 14 matches.
Rhea Cardwell had eight kills and UAA held Ohio Valley to just seven kills and a GNAC-record minus .192 hitting percentage in a 25-12, 25-12, 25-5 victory. The old record was minus .151.
Setter Calli Scott led the UAA defense with 11 digs and three blocks and also contributed 27 assists and four aces.
Scott also had team-highs of 53 assists and 17 digs in a 25-23, 19-25, 23-25, 26-14, 15-6 win over Harding, Ark. Cardwell and Rachel Kidwell had career highs with 24 and 21 kills, respectively, as UAA hit .335, its best percentage since 2003.
UAA rebounded from a 2-1 set deficit to win, nipping Harding 26-24 in the fourth set and then scoring 10 of the final 11 points to win the fifth set 15-6.
Northwest Nazarene didn't lose a set in the Sonoma State Invitational defeating San Francisco State, 25-23, 27-25, 25-16, and Cal State Stanislaus, 25-20, 28-26, 25-22.
Western Oregon earned a pair of 3-1 victories, defeating Wayne State, 25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 25-14, and Cal State Monterey Bay, 25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 25-11.
Central Washington beat Grand Canyon, 25-16, 25-8, 18-25, 32-30, and Cal State Dominguez Hills, 25-20, 26-24, 25-12 as Mario Andaya tied the CWU school record for most career coaching victories.
Elsewhere, Saint Martin's evened its record at 1-1 outlasting the University of Charleston 25-18,22-25,27-25,25-22 in the Hawaiian Style Classic in Hilo. Charleston won its conference tournament a year ago and was picked to finish second in its league this fall.
Seattle Pacific split two matches and Montana State Billings lost twice in the Sonoma State tournament.
The Falcons beat Cal State Stanislaus, 25-27, 25-22, 25-19, 25-23, before losing to San Francisco State, 25-17, 22-25, 10-25, 25-13, 15-12. The Yellowjackets were swept by Chico State, 25-16, 25-18, 25-13, and Sonoma State, 25-14, 25-12, 25-12.
Meanwhile in Fairbanks, Central Missouri beat Alaska Fairbanks, 25-10, 25-19, 25-11.
Lindsay Forseth led Northwest Nazarene with 25 kills and 28 digs in its two wins. “Lindsay really did a nice job,” NNU head coach Jared Sliger said. “She played well, was patient and asserted herself on the court.”
Cammy Dranginis added 22 kills and seven blocks, while Eki Punimata handed out 42 assists in the six games.
Stacey Bennett and Kayla Mainer led Western Oregon to its two victories.
Bennett recorded 19 kills and three service aces while Mainer posted a .412 kill percentage (10-3-17) in the win over Wayne State. Amy Herron added a team-high 34 assists.
"It was a very good start to the season," said first-year head coach Brad Saindon. "We were a little anxious at times but I thought we played great, especially down the stretch, against a very good Wayne State team."
Mainer had 16 kills and hit for a .324 percentage against Monterey Bay. Danielle English had 24 digs and Sharon Peterson had five blocks. Jordan Burrows was credited with 30 assists, three kills and three blocks.
Central Washington's two victories were the 186th and 187th for Andaya, tying John Pearson's school record.
Rachael Schurman had 14 kills and Morgan Zamora hit for a .600 percentage (10-1-15) in Central's win over Grand Canyon.
Setter Maggie Olson had 25 assists. Brandie Vea had 28 digs and Schurman participated in four of CWU's six blocks to lead the defense.
Schurman added 11 more kills and four blocks against Dominguez Hills. The Wildcats also got eight kills and 11 digs from Kady Try, 18 digs from Vea and 22 assists from Olson in the victory.
Shealun Campisi led three players in double figures with 16 kills in Saint Martin's victory. The Saints also got 10 kills each from Andrea Tarbet and Nicole Ostlund and 38 assists from Kanoe Kalalau.
Kristeen Juarez had seven service aces along with nine kills and three blocks. The Saints had twice as many aces (14-7) as the West Virginia school.
Sarah Risser had 21 kills and 15 digs to lead Seattle Pacific to its victory over Cal State Stanislaus. Paige Hoffman converted on seven of 17 kill attempts and also had four blocks.
SPU was also led by Alexa Vondrak with nine kills and 10 digs and Jessica Bettencourt with four blocks.
Hoffman had 17 kills and Risser had 12 in SPU's loss to San Francisco State. SPU also got 41 assists from Joelle Perez and nine kills from Vondrak.
After winning the third set convincingly 25-10, the Falcons lost the final two 25-13 and 15-12 as they hit for a minus percentage (.034) in the two.
Devon Crotteau had 15 kills in Montana State Billings' two matches. She led the way with nine against Chico, but the Yellowjackets were outhit .252 to .048. Jill Trabing had a team-high 16 digs.
Crotteau had six kills and Trabing had 13 digs against Sonoma State. MSUB, however, finished with a minus .023 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, SSU hit .326 and also outblocked MSUB 7-1.
Central Missouri earned its second straight sweep in Alaska in beating Alaska Fairbanks as Rachel Fister led the visitors, who beat UAA on Thursday, to a .312 percentage with 11 kills.
Jessica Hill had 10 kills and Megan Thigpen was credited with 10 digs for the Nanooks.
Men's Soccer: Yellowjackets Beat Dixie State In Opener
Montana State Billings forced overtime with a goal in the 88th minute, then got an "own" goal in the second extra period to defeat Dixie State 4-3 Friday in its season opener at Salt Lake City, Utah.
Earlier, Saint Martin's lost to Metro State 3-0 at Salt Lake City to fall to 0-2.
The Yellowjackets' winning goal was set up by Scott Dixon whose 35-yard shot was deflected right into the goal by a Dixie player.
MSUB's tying goal at 87:51 came on a breakaway as Jarred Weisen converted a through ball from Kyle Moriarty.
The 'Jackets also scored twice in the first half as Justin Hoskins and Sam Charles found the net in the 12th and 13th minutes. Charles and Dixon had assists.
MSUB had a narrow 17-14 shot advantage and took twice as many corners (10-5) as the PacWest school.
Saint Martin's was outshot 12-6, including 8-1 in the second half in its loss.
Metro scored late in the opening period (41:30) and early in the second period (47:26) to take command before adding their final goal in the 86th minute.
Cross Country: WOU Finishes Second In "Summer End"
Western Oregon's men and women both captured second place finishes Friday at the WOU Summer End Invite.
The women's team earned 67 points as four runners finished the race in the Top 20 led by Jessica Harper who placed eighth with a 4,920 meter time of 19:35.6.
The men's five runners averaged 25:04.72 over the 7,650 meter course to earn 70 team points for Western Oregon. Zeke Van Patten led the Wolves' charge as he finished fifth with a time of 25:01.2.
"We had a pretty good day considering we only had four days to prepare," said head coach Mike Johnson. "I thought the other teams at the Summer End Invite were maybe a little more prepared and it took a great effort from our teams to rally for second place."
WOU Summer End Invitational (Aug. 29 at Monmouth): Men - Portland 28, Western Oregon 70, Concordia 77, Lewis & Clark 83, Linfield 92. Individuals (7,650 Meters) - 1. Alfred Kipchumba, Portland, 24:14.2; 5. Zeke Van Patten, WOU, 25:01.2; 16. Kyle Larson, WOU, 25:45.0; 17. Braxton Jackson, WOU, 25:46.2. Women - Portland 20, Western Oregon 67, Concordia 80, Linfield 94, Lewis & Clark 119. Individuals (4,920 Meters) - 1. Marci Klimek, Linf, 18:39.6; 8. Jessica Harper, WOU, 19:35.6; 10. Jackie Dent, WOU, 19:48.1; 17. Annan Applebee, WOU, 20:11.8; 20. Amanda Wright, WOU, 20:23.2.
Football: Perry Sharp in WWU Scrimmage
Quarterback Adam Perry threw touchdown passes on four of his first five attempts, highlighting the second scrimmage of the preseason for the Western Washington football team Friday night at Civic Stadium.
Perry ended up completing nine of 10 passes for 187 yards and five touchdowns.
Three of the scoring tosses went to wide receiver Pat McCann, including a 70-yarder on the first play from scrimmage. McCann, who also had a pair of 14-yard scoring catches, finished with four receptions for 104 yards.
No.2 quarterback Cole Morgan completed seven of 12 passes for 89 yards and two scores, engineering a 6-play, 70-yard drive in a two-minute drill near the end of the scrimmage.
Chris Bolt was four of eight for 51 yards with one interception, that by cornerback Jabari Mu'ied on the final play of the night.
Randall Eldridge keyed the running game with 60 yards and a score on just six carries. Kevin Sampson had 17 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries and Domenique Hill had 11 yards on six attempts.
Wide receiver Travis McKee had four receptions for 99 yards, including a 22-yard scoring catch from Perry, and tight end Logan Cullen added two short touchdown catches.
Ami Faalevao had a sack for the defense and David Johnson recovered a fumble.
Thursday, Aug. 28
Women's Soccer: Wolves Edge Humboldt In Debuy
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| Gilmer |
Western Washington also earned a region victory defeating San Francisco State 1-0 on an "own" goal in the 79th minute. Seattle Pacific battled to a 1-1 draw with Cal State San Bernardino.
Other GNAC teams didn't fare as well as Central Washington, Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene were outscored by a combined margin of 15-2.
The Wildcats lost to UC San Diego 2-0. Dixie State blanked MSUB 4-0 and Cal State Stanislaus crushed NNU 9-2.
Gilmer received a touch pass from Katrina Kem on the left side of the field and made one move to the left to free herself for the game-winning shot in Western Oregon's victory.
"Gilmer's goal was a beautiful shot," said head coach Rod Fretz. "We could not have asked for anything better our first time out. There was plenty of excitement and it was the perfect way to end the game."
Western Oregon appeared headed to a 1-0 regulation victory in its game after getting an unassisted first-half goal from Melinda Ingalls, but Anna Erway got the equalizer in the 82nd minute to force the extra period.
In the overtime, Humboldt State did not get a shot off, while WOU launched two prior to the game-winner. For the game, WOU outshot the Lumberjacks 22-15.
Western Washington had a 20-4 advantage in shots in its victory. The Vikings lone goal was set up by a 40-yard free kick by forward Claire Morgan.
Gator goalkeeper Emily Hart made a diving save, but the rebound ricocheted off a nearby defender and past Hart into the net.
The Vikings nearly grabbed an early lead, forcing three tough saves in the first 11 minutes on a Morgan free kick, a shot from inside the area by Emily Frankland and a header by Katie Warner.
Jocelyn Charette's header in the goal mouth off an assist from Meredith Teague in the 79th minute earned nationally second-ranked Seattle Pacific a draw with San Bernardino. A year ago, Teague set a GNAC record with 16 assists.
The Coyotes jumped to a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on a goal by Ashley Haagsma and held it for the next 55 minutes despite being outshot 19-5.
SPU also had a 5-2 corner kick advantage. Falcon keeper Jesslyn Rahm had three saves.
UC San Diego scored two second-half goals to beat Central Washington. The Wildcats had two more shots than the Tritons (8-6) in the first period, but were outshot 10-3 after intermission.
Tanaya Pattnaik scored an unassisted goal at 68:57 and Natasha Belak-Berger added an insurance tally 2 1/2 minutes later.
Dixie State scored four first-half goals, three by Erika Mouritsen, in defeating Montana State Billings. Dixie outshot MSUB 16-5, 11-1 in the opening period.
Cal State Stanislaus jumped to a 5-0 lead in its victory over Northwest Nazarene. Bri McClain and Adrienne Sorenson each scored twice for the Warriors.
Molly Tipton scored one of NNU's goals and assisted on the other by Whitney Teague. The Crusaders were outshot 24-9 in the contest.
Men's Soccer: Crusaders Win Opener on OT Header
Freshman Jose Oregon scored a pair of goals, including one on a header 34 seconds into overtime as Northwest Nazarene defeated College of Idaho 2-1 Thursday in its 2008 men's soccer season opener.
It was the first win for the Crusaders since the school suspended the sport following the 2002 season.
In other men's games Thursday, Seattle Pacific and Cal State Monterey Bay battled to a scoreless draw and Saint Martin's lost to Mesa State 2-1 in overtime.
Oregon converted a cross from Skyview (Nampa) High School teammate Alex Mangeac for the winning goal in NNU's victory. In the first half he converted an assist from Benjamin Mangeac.
The Crusaders also got a goal from Alex Mangeac with 90 seconds remaining in regulation to force the overtime as the Mangeac brothers - their are four of them and three started - contributed to three of NNU's four tallies.
NNU outshot the Coyotes 22-12 to earn the win. Goalkeeper Alexander Engemann made three saves.
Seattle Pacific dominated the play in its draw outshooting Monterey Bay 18-3 and taking seven of the 10 corner kicks, but only three of their shots against Brenden Baca were on goal.
Ben Lovelace was called on for just one save in recording the shutout for SPU. Alec Nelson launched seven of the Falcons' 18 shots.
Tucker Maxwell's penalty kick in the 81st minute gave Saint Martin's a 1-0 lead in its game, but Mesa State tied it at 84:10, then got the game winner from Tim Lynn in the ninth minute of overtime.
The Saints' Zac Lubin made six saves before giving up the game-winner. SMU was outshot 16-11.
Volleyball: Seawolves Lose Opener to Central Missouri
Alaska Anchorage played a spirited third set but could not overcome nationally 13th-ranked Central Missouri as the visitors earned a 25-17, 25-16, 25-22 sweep in the season-opener for both teams Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
Meanwhile in Hawaii, Saint Martin's fell to Hawaii Hilo, 25-12, 25-18, 25-19 in its opener.
UAA got a combined 15 kills and 13 digs from senior outside hitters Rachel Kidwell (8 kills, 6 digs) and Rhea Cardwell (7 kills, 7 digs), but it was not enough to overcome early deficits in each set.
UCM benefited from a match-high 14 kills from freshman outside hitter Allie Huffman, plus 10 kills and 12 digs from sophomore outside hitter Rachel Fister.
The Jennies, of Warrensburg , Mo., and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Conference, are led by 33 rd-year head coach Peggy Martin, the all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division II history (1,036-271-8).
Meanwhile, it was the UAA coaching debut for Chris Green, whose Seawolves struggled to negative hitting percentages in the first two games.
UAA showed more life in the third set, however, hitting an impressive .234 (14-3-47) and fighting off four match points before Fister's final kill went down.
UAA got solid debuts from a pair of junior-college transfers as sophomore middle blocker Cortney Lundberg tallied six kills and four total blocks (2 solo), and junior libero Stacie Meisner made a team-high 12 digs and dished four assists.
Another transfer, junior setter Calli Scott, ran the offense in her Seawolf debut, finishing with 21 assists and nine digs.
UHH held Saint Martin's to just 19 kills and a minus .038 hitting percentage in sweeping the Saints. Andrea Tarbet led SMU with eight kills.
Cross Country: Coulter Sisters Lead UAF
Sisters Anna Coulter and Julia (Coulter) Pierson finished first and second to lead Alaska Fairbanks to a 24-31 win over Humboldt State in the UAF West Ridge Invitational Thursday at Fairbanks.
Anna finished in a time of 24:01.8, 3.7 seconds ahead of Julie. Elisabeth Habermann finished sixth for the Nanooks in a time of 25:24.4.
Humboldt won the men's race taking the first three places and outpointing UAF 22-35. Eric Malain finished first in a time of 27:13.4. Matthew Scerbak led the Nanooks, placing fourth in a time of 27:30.3.
UAF West Ridge Invitational (Aug. 29 at Fairbanks): Men - Humboldt State 22, Alaska Fairbanks 35. Individuals (8,000 Meters) - 1. Eric Malain, HSU, 27:13.4; 4. Matthew Scerbak, UAF, 27:30.3; 5. Einar Often, UAF, 27:47.4; 6. Ray Sabo, UAF, 27:56.8; 8. Chris Eversman, UAF, 28:02.0. Women - Alaska Fairbanks 24, Humboldt State 31. Individuals (6,000 Meters) - 1. Anna Coulter, UAF, 24:01.8; 2. Julie Pierson, UAF, 24:05.5; 6. Elisabeth Habermann, UAF, 25:24.4; 7. Aurelia Korthauer, UAF, 25:43.8; 8. Jana Benedix, UAF, 25:50.7.
Football: Raiders Sign WWU's Simmons
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Simmons was signed by the Raiders as an undrafted free agent May 9 before being placed on waivers and released June 12.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Simmons, a graduate of Kentlake High School, was a D2Football.com honorable mention All-American and a first-team North Central Conference all-star last fall as a senior at Western.
He led the North Central Conference and ranked fourth nationally among NCAA Division II schools in total tackles (12.5 avg.), and was ninth nationally in solo tackles (6.3 avg.).
As a junior, Simmons was the national leader in solo tackles (9.8 avg. per game) and topped the NCC in total tackles (11.2 avg.) through the first five games before suffering a season-ending injury.
Simmons was a first-team GNAC all-star as a sophomore for the Vikings after seeing action as a true freshman at Division I-BCS University of Idaho.
Golf: Vikings Ranked 10th In Inaugural Poll
Western Washington, which will host the 2009 NCAA Division II National Men's Golf Championship, is ranked No.10 in the Golf World/Nike Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Vikings, who tied for eighth at nationals last spring, return four of their top five players. Leading the list is senior Jake Koppenberg (Everett), who was a second-team GCAA All-American and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.
He set a school record with a 71.3 scoring average and this summer reached the round of 32 at the U.S. Amatuer.
Western, which placed second at the 2008 West Regional and won the GNAC title, opens its season on Sept. 26-27, playing host to the 37th annual Viking Invitational at the Bellingham Golf and Country Club.
WWU's women are also ranked 10th, tying Northeastern State for that spot.
Wednesday, Aug. 27
Polls: Five GNAC Teams Begin Season Ranked
Five Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams are ranked in national pre-season polls as the 2008-09 sports campaigns begin this week.
In women's soccer, Seattle Pacific is ranked fourth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) pre-season poll. In volleyball, Western Washington is ranked 10th in the AVCA poll. Northwest Nazarene is among "others receiving votes" and is 38th overall.
In football, Central Washington is ranked 11th in both the National Football Coaches Association (NFCA) and D2Football.com polls. Western Oregon is among "others receiving votes" and is 38th overall in the NFCA poll.
In cross country, Seattle Pacific is ranked second and Western Washington is 12th in the USTFCCCA polls.
Tuesday, Aug. 26
Football: Five On D2football.com Pre-Season Team
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| Bronson | Reilly |
CWU was one of five schools to place two or more players on the first team. Central first team picks include quarterback Mike Reilly (6-3, 212, Sr., Kalispell, MT) and tight end Jared Bronson (6-4, 255, Sr., Kent, WA - Thomas Jefferson).
Named to the second team were CWU wide receiver Johnny Spevak (6-3, 200, Jr., Edgewood, WA - Puyallup), Dixie State offensive lineman Ryan Delrosal (6-5, 305, Sr., Miami, FL) and Western Oregon linebacker J.T. Gilmore (6-4, 260, Jr.. Lincoln City, OR).
Last year Reilly threw for 3,386 yards and 30 touchdowns to earn D2football.com first team All-American honors. Bronson caught 35 passes for 477 yards and Spevak caught 92 balls for 1,210 yards and 14 touchdowns. Gilmore led WOU with 122 tackles and also had three interceptions.
Delrosal has been mentioned as a possible NFL draft pick and possibly a "combine invite."
Saturday, Aug. 23
Football: Perry Stands Out In Viking Scrimmage
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| Perry |
While the purpose of Western Washington's first preseason scrimmage was to give the coaching staff a good look at its new players, it was returning starting quarterback Adam Perry who stood out Saturday night at Civic Stadium.
Perry, who completed 10 of 16 passes for 112 yards, opened the scrimmage session by directing a five-play, 70-yard scoring drive. It began with a 17-yard run by transfer running back Randall Eldridge and ended with a 25-yard pass to senior Travis McKee, the Vikings' leading receiver the last two seasons. McKee caught three passes for 57 yards on the night.
Perry's next series resulted in a 39-yard field goal by Ace Younggren. That drive featured a 16-yard run by Eldridge and a 15-yard pass to junior transfer Augustine Agyei from Drake.
On another drive starting from 40 yards out, Perry tossed a 20-yard pass to McKee and another covering 19 yards to tight end Logan Cullen, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by Eldridge.
While the offense, which returns nine starters, dominated in the first half of the 80-plus play scrimmage, the defense performed well in the second. Outside linebacker C.J. Green had a tackle in the end zone for a safety and freshman Dustin Adams intercepted a pass.
Junior quarterback Cole Morgan, a transfer from Washington State, threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Hekker. Highlighting that drive was a 22-yard run by redshirt freshman running back Kevin Sampson.
True freshman running back Domenique Hill scored on a 1-yard run. He finished with 43 yards on 11 carries. Younggren also kicked a 23-yard field goal and Josh Lider connected on a 36-yard effort.
Four Stations to Carry Western Oregon Football
Western Oregon football fans will have six listening options this fall to follow the Wolves via the radio or the internet.
The Wolves Radio Network will feature four radio stations – KPJC in Salem, KLOO in Albany, KOHI in St. Helens and KMVS in Monmouth.
On the internet games will be streamed at MidValleySports.Net and are also available on the WOU web site.
“We wanted to have a radio network for quite some time, and the Mid-Valley folks really helped get the idea up and running,” Associate Athletic Director Russ Blunck said.
“We got a late start on it this summer, but we really look forward to growing the network in the coming years. Western Oregon is truly ‘Oregon's Team'. We have kids from all over the state like no other university in Oregon.”
In addition, MidValleySports.Net will carry a Wednesday night Coaches Show, with Central High School featured at 7 p.m. and WOU at 8 p.m., live from Rookies Sport Bar in Monmouth.
All Wolves home football games will also be televised on a tape-delayed basis by Capital Community Television (CCTV) in Salem. The games can be viewed on channel 22 in Salem, and on various channels on the MINET or Comcast cable systems in Polk County.
Western home games (football and volleyball) will also be video streamed through the Wolves website and can be purchased on a pay-per-view basis.
Volleyball: Kidwell, Cardwell Lead UAA In Exhibition
Outsidehitters Rachel Kidwell and Rhea Cardwell combined for 25 kills and 28 digs Saturday as Alaska Anchorage began its season with a 25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 19-25, 25-10 exhibition victory over a team of Seawolf alumni and other local players at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
New UAA setter Calli Scott, a junior transfer from Glendale(Ariz.) Community College, dished 32 assists and served three consecutive aces to begin the fifth set. The Seawolves served seven of their 16 aces in the final set, including three of Joanna Johnson's match-high five aces.
Cardwell finished with 13 kills, a .290 hitting percentage and 11 digs, while Kidwell had 12 kills and match-high 17 digs. UAA also got impressive debuts from true freshman McKenzie Moss (5 kills, match-high .333 hitting pct.) and sophomore transfer Cortney Lundberg (6 kills, .333, 2 solo blocks).
Seawolf all-time assist leader Janelle Veith (1998-01) led the Alumni with 34 assists and made 11 digs, while outside hitter Vanessa (Tsukano) Epure (1997-00) delivered eight kills and 13 digs.
Thursday, Aug. 21
Golf: Koppenberg Loses In Round of 32
Western Washington University golfer Jake Koppenberg saw his outstanding run end, losing 6 and 5 to Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, Calif., in the morning match-play round Thursday at the 2008 U.S. Men's Amateur being held at the Pinehurst Resort and Country Club.
Koppenberg, a senior from Everett, had reached the round of 32 Wednesday by defeating Sam Smith from Turlock , Calif. , 2 and 1, in the first round of match play.
Koppenberg got to match play by tying for 20th in the stroke play portion of the tournament Monday and Tuesday, shooting a 1-over par 141 for the 36 holes. That pared the 315-man field to 64.
Fowler, a sophomore at Oklahoma State , is the No.2 ranked amateur in the world and played in the U.S. Open this summer. He was a first-team NCAA Division I All-American and received the Phil Mickelson Award recognizing the most outstanding freshman in Division I golf.
Koppenberg got to Pinehurst by placing second in a sectional qualifier held at Chamber's Bay Golf Club near Tacoma . There he shot a 36-hole total of 2-under 142.
Wednesday, Aug. 13
Western Washington University 's Audrey Coon is in this week's (Aug. 18 issue) Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd.
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| Audrey Coon |
The 21-year-old Coon was in Western's varsity eight that won an unprecedented fourth straight NCAA Division II national championship last spring. She has been a member of the Vikings' last two national title-winning squads.
A grad of Central Kenai High School (Alaska), Coon was named a 2007CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine College Division Women's At-Large Academic All-American.
A Spanish/elementary education major, Coon is maintaining a 3.96 (4.0 scale) grade point average. She has been the school's Female Scholar Athlete of the Year for all sports the past two seasons.
Tuesday, Aug. 12
Football: CWU 11th In NFCA Poll
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| Bennett |
The Wildcats, who went 10-3 last season and advanced to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals, are ranked 11th in the 2008 preseason poll by the AFCA.
Preseason national rankings are nothing new for CWU this season, as the Wildcats were tabbed fifth by Lindy's College Football Magazine and eighth by The Sporting News in the preseason Division II polls of those respective publications.
Two of Central Washington's opponents - Mesa State and fellow GNAC member Western Oregon - also received votes in the poll.
Mesa State, whom the Wildcats will host Sept. 6, is ranked 23rd. WOU was "among others receiving votes" and 37th overall with 14 ballot points. Defending national champion Valdosta State (Ga.) is the top-ranked team.
Wednesday, July 30
Football: Rotary Bowl To Be Televised
The Dixie Rotary Bowl Association has signed a one-year national broadcast deal with FANZ-TV Network, a 24-7 Sports Television Network.
The Rotary Bowl, which will be played Saturday, Dec. 6 in St. George, Utah, will match the champions of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and GNAC.
If the champions qualify for the NCAA playoffs, the runnerups from each conference would be matched in the game.
“We are delighted by our agreement with FANZ-TV to broadcast the bowl game,” said Richard Isom, Assistant Director of Marketing for the Dixie Rotary Bowl.
“After reviewing several proposals, we selected FANZ-TV to assist us in bringing national recognition to the Rotary Bowl and to Division II football. Their energy, vision, and market exposure are an excellent fit with our goals.”
Production of the game will be under the direction of Phil Tuckett and the Dick Nourse Center for Media Innovation at Dixie State College of Utah. Tuckett is a faculty member for the Dixie State film program and operates Bristlecone Films, his documentary production company.
Prior to forming Bristlecone Films in 2006, Tuckett spent 38 years with NFL Films and has received 30 individual Emmy Awards for his work. Tuckett will provide the color commentary during the game broadcast.
Paul Bulkley will join Tuckett on the broadcast, providing the play-by-play for the game. Bulkley is an award winning play-by-play broadcaster with nearly ten years of experience in sports broadcasting.
United Sports Media will handle the advertising and syndication for the game. FANZ-TV will distribute the game across its affiliates nationally reaching over 12.5 million homes and the game will be made available to other sports networks.
FANZ-TV has reached agreements with the Lone Star Network (2.3 million) and Altitude Sports (5.4 million) to broadcast the games, adding an additional 7.7 million homes.
The games will also appear on the Altitude's DirecTv Ch. 644 & 661 and DISH Ch. 410, bringing another 30 million homes to the footprint.
Friday, July 18
Awards: GNAC Athletes Win Two ESPYS
GNAC athletes were presented with two ESPY awards Wednesday night during ceremonies in Los Angeles.
Earning an ESPY in the "Best Moment" category was the act of sportsmanship in a Western Oregon - Central Washington softball game in April.
CWU's Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace carried WOU's Sara Tucholsky around the bases to complete her home run trot after Tucholsky went down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rounding first base.
Montana State Billings softball player Shay Oberg also won a ESPY in the "Best Female Athlete with a Disability" award.
Oberg, who was born without a left hand, was a starting outfielder this spring for the Yellowjackets and hit .280. She finished the season with three home runs and 13 RBI.
In addition to the two ESPYs won by current GNAC athletes, former Western Oregon tight end Kevin Boss and his New York Giant teammates won ESPYs for "Best Game" and "Best Upset".
The ESPY Awards will be aired Sunday at 6 p.m. PDT on ESPN.
Women's Basketball: Dolfo Reelected To WBCA Board
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| Carmen Dolfo |
Dolfo was one of 10 existing members either reappointed or reelected for second terms and three new members were added to make up the 29-member board of coaches and professionals.
"I am so pleased to have such a wonderful group of fellow coaches and administrators around me during my second year in office," said WBCA President Sherri Coale. "Every one brings their own unique perspective and experience to the table which will certainly enhance the Board."
The WBCA Board of Directors develops policies, procedures and regulations for the operation of the organization. They also monitor the organization's financial health, programs and overall performance and provide the chief executive officer with the resources to meet the needs of those the organization serves.
Dolfo is beginning her 18th season as head coach at Western. Her career record of 356-143 puts her No.25 among active coaches in NCAA II in victories, and her 17 seasons are fewer than any coach ahead of her. Her winning percentage of 71.3 ranks No.9 among active NCAA II coaches.
Dolfo also has served on the Kodak All-American Selection Committee as well as the WBCA national rating committee and the West Region rating committee.
CoSIDA: Pixler Earns Academic All-America Honors
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| Jessica Pixler |
She is just the sixth GNAC athlete in history to earn CoSIDA first team academic honors joining soccer players Jennifer Hull of Seattle Pacific (2004) and Ana Gutierrez of Seattle University (2006), basketball player Martina Kartikova of Saint Martin's (2005), baseballer Bryce Gardinier of Western Oregon (2003) and track athlete Nathan Carlson of Saint Martin's (2003) to earn first team honors.
Pixler (English, So., Sammamish, WA), who has a 3.90 GPA, won the NCAA Division II cross country title last fall and the indoor mile title last winter before sitting out the outdoor season.
She was one of three GNAC athletes to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors during the 2007-08 academic year. Soccer players Ashley Porter of Seatle University and Katie McNutt of Northwest Nazarene earned second and third team honors, respectively.
A total of 26 GNAC athletes earned CoSIDA All-Region Academic honors during the 2007-08 season, including Porter, who became only the fifth player in GNAC history to earn all-region honors three times.
Athletes from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA schools are eligible for the CoSIDA College Division Academic All-America awards.
Thursday, July 17
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| Sanders |
The Crusaders piled up a total of 145 points in winning their first GNAC Academic all-sports title. Seattle Pacific, which won titles in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06, edged defending champion Seattle University 132-130 for second place, while Montana State Billings nipped Saint Martin's 111-110 for fourth place.
The Crusaders also won their first-ever men's title, finishing first in both basketball and golf, and scoring a total of 65 points. Seattle Pacific (with 54 points) nipped Seattle University (52 points) and Saint Martin's (50 points) for second-place.
NNU, which won women's academic team titles in soccer and softball, won their fourth women's all-sports title in a photo finish. The Crusaders, who also finished first in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2004-05, garnered 80 points, two more than Seattle University and Seattle Pacific. MSUB finished fourth with 70 points.
"We are very proud of the academic discipline our student-athletes have displayed over this past year,” NNU athletic director Rich Sanders said. “It has been a very good year both athletically and academically at NNU. Our student-athletes have done a great job dealing with the travel demands of our conference and the rigors of their academic programs.”
Wednesday, July 16
Track and Field: Twenty-Two On USTFCCCA Team
Twenty-two GNAC track-and-field athletes have been selected to the USTFCCCA All-Academic team.
To qualify for the team, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met the NCAA Division II Indoor or Outdoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard in their respective event.
In addition six GNAC teams were selected as Scholar Teams of the Year. Four of the teams were ranked in the Top 10. Seattle Pacific was ranked second in the men's division and its women were ranked third. Northwest Nazarene's men and women were each ranked eighth.
Scholar Teams of the Year: Men - 2. Seattle Pacific 3.41; 8. Northwest Nazarene 3.19; 11. Seattle University 3.17. Women - 3. Seattle Pacific 3.54; 8. Northwest Nazarene 3.46; 28. Seattle 3.29.
All-Academic Team: Men - David Kiplagat, UAA; Tyler Fischer, CWU; Greg Hamm, NNU; Josh Heidegger, NNU; Keith Lemay, WWU; Jordan Welling, UAA. Women - Sarah Benson, CWU; Marcie Mullen, CWU; Amy Carroll, NNU; Elisa Decker, NNU; Ashley Puga, NNU; Jaclyn Puga, NNU; Lisa Anderberg, SPU; Jane Larson, SPU; Jessica Pixler, SPU; Karin Rohde, SPU; Susie Stricker, SPU; Lauren VerMulm, SPU; Katie Hansen, SU; Heidi Dimmitt, WWU; Monika Gruszecki, WWU; Christy Miller, WWU.
Women's Basketball: Three On WBCA Top 25
Three Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams made the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) 2007-08 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll list announced this week.
The award is for the entire academic year based on nominations submitted by WBCA-member head coaches.
Saint Martin's had the eighth highest GPA (3.515), while Seattle Pacific ranked 19th (3.412) and Montana State Billings ranked 21st (3.405).
Wednesday, July 16
Track and Field: Twenty-Two On USTFCCCA Academic Team
Twenty-two GNAC track-and-field athletes have been selected to the USTFCCCA All-Academic team.
To qualify for the team, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met the NCAA Division II Indoor or Outdoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard in their respective event.
In addition six GNAC teams were selected as Scholar Teams of the Year. Four of the teams were ranked in the Top 10. Seattle Pacific was ranked second in the men's division and its women were ranked third. Northwest Nazarene's men and women were each ranked eighth.
Scholar Teams of the Year: Men - 2. Seattle Pacific 3.41; 8. Northwest Nazarene 3.19; 11. Seattle University 3.17. Women - 3. Seattle Pacific 3.54; 8. Northwest Nazarene 3.46; 28. Seattle 3.29.
All-Academic Team: Men - David Kiplagat, UAA; Tyler Fischer, CWU; Greg Hamm, NNU; Josh Heidegger, NNU; Keith Lemay, WWU; Jordan Welling, UAA. Women - Sarah Benson, CWU; Marcie Mullen, CWU; Amy Carroll, NNU; Elisa Decker, NNU; Ashley Puga, NNU; Jaclyn Puga, NNU; Lisa Anderberg, SPU; Jane Larson, SPU; Jessica Pixler, SPU; Karin Rohde, SPU; Susie Stricker, SPU; Lauren VerMulm, SPU; Katie Hansen, SU; Heidi Dimmitt, WWU; Monika Gruszecki, WWU; Christy Miller, WWU.
Women's Basketball: Three On WBCA Top 25
Three Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams made the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) 2007-08 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll list announced this week.
The award is for the entire academic year based on nominations submitted by WBCA-member head coaches.
Saint Martin's had the eighth highest GPA (3.515), while Seattle Pacific ranked 19th (3.412) and Montana State Billings ranked 21st (3.405).
Friday, July 11
Golf: WWU's Packer Named All-America Scholar
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Western Washington golfer Sean Packer has been named a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar, one of just 26 NCAA Division II student-athletes to receive the honor from the Golf Coaches Association of America.
The honoree must be a junior or senior academically and have competed at least two full years at the collegiate level. He must have participated in 70 percent of his team's competitive matches or in the NCAA Championships, have a stroke average under 78.0 and maintained a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.2 (4.0 scale).
A fifth-year senior, Packer was Western's 2007-08 Male Athlete of the Year, having the second highest finish in school history as he tied for third place at nationals, just one stroke behind the co-leaders.
Packer, a 2003 graduate of Auburn-Riverside High School, received GCAA third-team All-America and first-team West Region and GNAC all-star honors, finishing with a 72.3 scoring average.
At nationals, Packer had three rounds of par or better, finishing 1-under 279 for the four-day, 72-hole tournament. One shot off the lead with four holes to go and the leaders in the clubhouse, he gave himself two good birdie chances to tie or win.
Packer began the season with three top 10 performances in his first four tournaments. He did not have another until the GNAC Championships after fully recovering from a bout with pneumonia.
At the league tournament, which was won by Western, Packer placed seventh. He finished ninth at regionals as the Vikings placed second.
Packer maintained a 3.42 GPA while earning a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing. He was a three-time GNAC academic all-star. The national appearance was the third for Packer, who placed 35th in 2006 and 81st in 2004.
Tuesday, July 8
Box Promoted to VP; O'Connell Interim AD at SPU
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| O'Connell | Box |
Erin O'Connell has been named the interim athletic director at Seattle Pacific University. She succeeds Tom Box, who has been promoted to vice president for university advancement.
O'Connell worked the last five years as an assistant athletic director for compliance at SPU, also serving as the department's senior woman administrator. She is the chair of the NCAA Division II women's rowing championship committee.
“After some great conversation with Erin O'Connell, she has agreed to assume the role of interim athletic director for the months ahead,” SPU President Philip Eaton said.
“I am grateful to Erin for accepting this position. She has done such a good job in her role in the department, and I know she will provide good and strong leadership for the transition.”
Prior to working with the Falcons, O'Connell spent seven seasons as an assistant coach with the University of Washington women's rowing team. She helped coach the Huskies' varsity four to three consecutive Pac-10 championships between 1999-2001.
A native of San Francisco, Calif., O'Connell received her bachelor's degree in English from Washington in 1996. She completed her master's degree in sports administration at Seattle Pacific.
O'Connell had an outstanding competitive career from 1993-96 as a coxswain on the Washington rowing team. She directed crews to three Pac-10 championships and collected a bronze medal at the NCAA Championships. As a senior, O'Connell was the team captain and a Pac-10 All-Conference selection.
“I'm excited to take over this position,” said O'Connell. “We have a great tradition of excellence, historically, and we have great coaches in place to continue that tradition in the future. Certainly, Tom Box has done a great job paving the way for me. I've learned a lot from him and am ready to take on this great challenge.”
Box will remain at Seattle Pacific in his new position. He previously worked 13 years managing the campus development staff before beginning his 10-year term as athletic director in 1998.
“I am so grateful to Tom for his strong, devoted leadership for Falcon Athletics,” said Eaton. “I could not have asked for a better person for this job over these last 10 years. He has led the program with clarity, passion, strength and vision. Tom has been an exemplary leader and I am grateful for his work in athletics. Now we look forward to this new chapter of work as we move forward.”
The SPU athletic department thrived under Box's leadership. Five Falcon teams were national runners-up during the last 10 years, including the women's cross country squad last fall. Individual athletes also excelled, collecting 14 national championships during that span.
SPU won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Sports award in 2006 and 2007 and captured the GNAC Women's Sports trophy in each of the last six seasons. Falcon athletes excelled in the classroom as well, winning the GNAC Academic All-Sports award three straight years, from 2003 to 2006.
Box had a pivotal part in the formation of the Great Northwest Conference in 2001.
“While I am personally excited for Tom, he will be greatly missed by everyone in the conference," GNAC Commissioner Richard Hannan said.
"During our formative years, Tom played an integral role in the leadership of the conference, a role that was significant in allowing us to develop into one of the top Division II conferences in the country.
“His active involvement in all facets of the conference operation has been valuable and his contributions will be missed.”
O'Connell's appointment begins immediately and will last until a new athletic director is in place.
Thursday, July 3
Men's Basketball: UAF Cancells Top of the World Classic
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| Forrest Karr |
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has cancelled this year's BP Top of the World Classic.
The cancellation is a result of a change in NCAA rules governing college basketball tournaments and the resulting bidding wars taking place between events.
“The decision to cancel this year's tournament was not of our making or of our choice,” said Brian Hove, tournament director. “The escalation in appearance fees precipitated by the 2006 NCAA rule change has effectively priced the Classic out of the market.”
Prior to 2006, there were only 10 certified preseason basketball tournaments in the country, including the Classic and Anchorage's Great Alaska Shootout. A rule change in 2006 opened the door for any institution to host a multiple-team event.
The 2007 NCAA schedule featured 45 such tournaments, with more planned at schools all over the country this year. UAF athletics director Forrest Karr said that the growth in tournaments greatly changed how much schools were being paid to participate in tournaments.
“We have worked diligently to sell teams on the Alaskan experience, but the landscape has changed,” said Karr. “It is now nearly impossible to find a school that will travel to Fairbanks when they can take a bus ride to a neighboring university and receive a game guarantee of $100,000, or more in some cases.”
Karr said that the decision was not an easy one to make. “Many people reviewed the current climate and, unfortunately, nobody can justify spending university general fund money or student fee dollars to entice seven Division I schools to participate in a tournament,” he said.
“The Classic has been self-sustaining and we felt it needed to continue operating on a fiscally responsible basis.”
By November 2006 tournament organizers had signed three teams for the 2008 event: Stanford University, Morehead State University and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Within the last three months the latter two had dropped out, paying a $30,000 buyout fee in favor of participating in higher-paying events closer to home.
In the meantime, UAF secured commitments from Bradley University, University of Central Florida and Austin Peay State University, leaving the university three teams shy of completing the eight-team field.
Karr said significant effort was given to just finding one more team and creating a six-team tournament, with the university fully committed to putting extra funds toward the endeavor.
Even with that effort, the university was unable to secure the sixth team. “No matter how disheartening, it's critical to operate with integrity,” said Karr.
“We set July 1 as the cutoff date and felt that if we could not secure a sixth team by then, we had no choice but to let the teams currently under contract pursue other options.”
Karr said that the university is focused now on discussing options with the community organizing committee, sponsors and staff to potentially develop a new format that will allow UAF and Fairbanks to have a basketball tournament beginning again in 2009 and for the foreseeable future.
Tuesday, July 1
Women's Basketball: UAF Hires Ex-Wichita State Coach
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Darryl Smith, who has 17 years of collegiate coaching experience including 15 as a head coach, has been named the head women's basketball coach at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The UAF job will be Smith's fourth head coaching position. He previously spent five years at NCAA Division I Wichita State, eight at Division II Metro State and two at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kans.
As a head coach, he has a 267-163 career record, eight 20-win seasons, four conference championships and four NCAA tournament bids.
"Darryl's passion for teaching and learning is instantly recognizable,” said UAF athletic director Forrest Karr.
“I had the opportunity to speak with administrators and coaches from each of Darryl's previous institutions," Karr said. "Every one pointed out the respect Darryl earned from players and talked about his positive effect on coworkers and their entire department."
Smith spent last season as an assistant coach with the University of Nevada.
At Butler CC he led his team to a 23-10 record and the Region IV semifinal game in 2006-07.
Prior to taking the Butler CC job, Smith spent five years at Wichita State leading the Shockers to a 74-68 overall record and a pair of Women's National Invitational Tournament invitations in 1999 and 2000 (the only two postseason appearances in school history).
In 1999-00, he guided Wichita State to a 20-10 overall record and a 14-4 Missouri Valley Conference record, the first 20-win season and the best regular-season MVC finish in school history, as well as an appearance in the WNIT.
For his efforts, he was named the 2000 Rawlings Missouri Valley and Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year.
Smith also served as the head coach at Metro State for eight years, putting together six 20-win seasons and a 160-64 overall record.
A three-time conference coach of the year, he guided the Roadrunners to three appearances in the NCAA Division II tournament, three conference championships and three conference tournament titles.
He also spent one season as an assistant coach at Cal State San Bernardino in 1990.
A native of San Jose, California, Smith earned his bachelor's degree in education from the College of Great Falls (Mont.) in 1981.
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