2/24/10 Away at School

YAKIMA, Wash. — CASSIE ROBBINS (Eisenhower), a senior at Washington State, was named Most Improved Player on the Cougars’ volleyball team. A middle blocker, Robbins led WSU in blocking with a 1.21 average, fourth-best in the Pac-10. She helped Washington State return to the NCAA Tournament after a seven-year absence and was named All-Pac-10 honorable mention and Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention.

RACHEL HOTCHKO (Davis), a senior at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, swam NCAA provisional and school record times in the 100 butterfly during the Capital Athletic Conference championships earlier this month. Her winning time in the event was 56.63 seconds.

Hotchko also was second in the 100 free at 53.11 seconds, also an NCAA provisional time, was third in the 50 free at 24.75 and helped the Seahawks 200 free relay team to a third-place finish in 1:40.40 and the 400 free relay team to a fourth-place finish in 3:44.55.

She will compete in the NCAA Division III national championships March 17-20 in Minneapolis.

MATT PETERSON (Eisenhower), a sophomore at Whatcom Community College, scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Orcas to an 86-79 win over Bellevue. Peterson made 10 of 14 shots from the field and was 12 of 15 from the free throw line as the Orcas moved into second place in the NWAACC’s Northern Division.

BRETT BLANSHAN (Selah), a freshman at Washington State, placed second in the 200-meter dash at the University of Washington’s Husky Classic indoor track meet on Feb. 13. Blanshan clocked 22.09 in the 200. DANA WELLS (Riverside Christian), also a freshman at WSU, clocked 49.27 in the 400.

USC QB Barkley likely to start against WSU

LOS ANGELES — Southern California coach Pete Carroll says freshman quarterback Matt Barkley probably will start for the 12th-ranked Trojans against Washington State on Saturday.

Carroll made the announcement after USC’s practice Wednesday night. The Trojans (2-1) feel Barkley’s bruised right shoulder has healed enough to put him back in the lineup.

Barkley missed USC’s 16-13 loss at Washington last weekend after getting hurt during the Trojans’ win at Ohio State. Sophomore Aaron Corp struggled in his first start in place of Barkley, who won the starting job from Corp during training camp.

Barkley practiced with USC’s first-team offense for most of Wednesday’s session.

All-American safety Taylor Mays also participated in most of practice.

WSU-SMU Photo Gallery

Photos from Saturday’s game between Washington State and Southern Methodist at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. All photos from the Associated Press.

Pac-10 team-by-team reports

LOS ANGELES — Count Steve Sarkisian as one of a minority in Seattle. He enjoys the commute.

Sarkisian became almost rapturous here Thursday at his first Pac-10 football media day as Washington coach, talking about how he daily glimpses his home field from the Evergreen Point floating bridge and the juices start flowing.

“I’m 35 years old, coaching the University of Washington and staring at Husky Stadium,” said Sarkisian. “It’s an unbelievable feeling.”

His life will become more hectic in a hurry, but Sarkisian finally had time to settle in sometime after spring practice. He and his wife bought a home in Yarrow Point after a four-month stay in a hotel.

“It’s been good to meet people around the campus, rather than just say, ‘Thank you, I’ve got to run,’ ” he said. “We’ve had a chance to embrace the city. We love the community we’ve living in.”

Sarkisian said he doesn’t dwell on the fact Washington hasn’t won a football game since 2007, saying, “I don’t talk to players about it. It’s a clean slate for everybody. Let’s move on.”

Sarkisian said several junior-college recruits are “close” academically to qualifying — including offensive lineman Daniel Mafoe — and the issues should be cleared up next week. He also said multithreat Chris Polk, who has battled several injury issues, will be ready for the start of fall camp.

The Huskies were picked ninth by Pac-10 media. More on the other nine, in descending order as they were selected:

USC (1)

O’Dea product Taylor Mays, an All-American safety who unexpectedly decided to return for his senior year, aims to lead by example, saying, “I want to do things right. I don’t want my teammates to see me at a party, or they might think it’s OK for them to be at a party. I have no problem sitting home all day, looking at the wall.”

Aaron Corp is the No. 1 QB, but coach Pete Carroll added that second-team Matt Barkley, who entered school only in the winter, was “a total shock to us. He was able to perform at a level we’ve never seen at this stage.”

California (2)

In an odd juxtaposition, Cal has a formidable Heisman Trophy candidate in RB Jahvid Best, but is one of a growing number of schools that will publish its media guide online only.

Meanwhile, said coach Jeff Tedford, “Our fans, I think, would prefer to go to the Rose Bowl than the national championship. That’s the mindset at Cal. They’re so starved for the Rose Bowl.”

Oregon (3)

The Ducks have one of the nation’s early marquee games, meeting Boise State Sept. 3 under first-year coach Chip Kelly. “I think our defense is really going to surprise people this year,” said Kelly.

Oregon State (4)

Like Erik Bedard, incumbent quarterback Lyle Moevao won’t throw a lot of pitches early in camp for OSU, since he’s coming off shoulder surgery. Sean Canfield will thus enter with the edge. But the Rodgers brothers, James and Jacquizz, are healthy after late-season injuries.

Arizona State (5)

“We were 5-7 and that’s unacceptable for us,” said coach Dennis Erickson, referring to 2008. “When you’re not as successful as you’d hoped to be, it puts a little fire in the coaching staff. Sometimes when you’re 10-3 [Erickson's debut record at ASU in 2007], you take things for granted.”

Stanford (6)

This is what awaits Washington State in its opener with the Cardinal Sept. 5 in Pullman: “Our guys don’t quit,” said coach Jim Harbaugh. “You cannot kill them. You cannot get them to be demoralized or go away. We’ve got to step up now and become a relentless team, to take that next step to get up there with teams like USC and Cal and Oregon.”

UCLA (7)

The Bruins go to Tennessee Sept. 12, where the Vols likely remember that they let struggling UCLA QB Kevin Craft beat them in the opener last year.

“Personally, I’m looking forward to hearing that song [Rocky Top],” said Bruins LB Reggie Carter. “A lot of people say the SEC is tough. I guess the Pac-10 isn’t as tough. I’m looking forward to getting into that fight.”

Arizona (8)

The Wildcats have gotten surprisingly little media bounce from their 8-5, bowl-winning breakthrough of 2008. And that clearly has taken coach Mike Stoops by surprise. “I feel this is our best overall team from 1 to 85,” said Stoops.

Washington State (10)

The Cougars are facing a potential setback with playmaking sophomore LB Louis Bland, who aggravated a posterior-cruciate ligament tear in a summer workout. Coach Paul Wulff characterized Bland as “way behind” and said he didn’t think he’d have him for the start of fall drills.

But QB Marshall Lobbestael, coming off knee surgery, should be ready to go, Wulff said.

It will be an odd start to fall camp for Wulff when the Cougars begin drills Aug. 9. He can’t attend practice or meet with the team the first three days as a result of sanctions the NCAA levied in February stemming from violations at Eastern Washington mostly related to exceeding the maximum number of coaches.

Wulff minimizes the impact, recalling that he missed much more extensive time at Eastern in 2001 when his late wife Tammy was ill with cancer.

“It was a lot more than three days,” he said. “I still have staff meetings to get everything organized, watch film and all that.”

Gonzalez, Braun earn WSU honors

PULLMAN, Wash. — Senior Isley Gonzalez of Sunnyside and junior Lynnea Braun of West Valley were among five Washington State track and field athletes honored for academic excellence by a national coaches association, the university announced Thursday.

Gonzalez, a distance runner, and Braun, a javelin thrower, joined three teammates on an NCAA Division I list compiled by the United States Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

In all, 531 women representing 146 DI schools made the all-academic team.

Also, the WSU women’s team compiled a cumulative 3.260 grade point average to tie for 59th among the 130 women’s teams honored and placed fourth among Pac-10 schools.

Cougs soak in the sun

Daugherty relishes a second chance after fallout at UW ||

YAKIMA, Wash. — Mother Nature gave the Cougars a standing O on Friday, bathing Apple Tree Golf Course in spectacular sunshine and sparing boosters, coaches and administrators the bone-chilling breeze that has been so prevalent this spring.

Of course there continue to be storm clouds on the horizon, given the financial straits that Washington State and other universities presently face. But overall the Cougs’ mood seemed undeniably upbeat, with the anticipation that Paul Wulff’s second season as football coach will be dramatically better than his first and that Ken Bone will merely pick up where Tony Bennett left off with men’s basketball.

And then there’s women’s hoops, and in that regard the Cougs continue to write one of major college sports’ most genuine feel-good stories.

Athletic director Jim Sterk said he didn’t immediately realize his good fortune when Washington fired coach June Daugherty after the 2007 season, and no one could blame him for wondering if the situation might be too good to be true.

“It took me a little time to find out if, first of all, she was interested,” Sterk said after his round of golf. “And then also I wanted to find out why the University of Washington let her go. And we never did find any good reason. There wasn’t one.”

Unless you subscribed to the alarmingly lame theory of then-UW AD Todd Turner, who lamented a “lack of buzz” around the program. This after the sixth NCAA Tournament berth in Daugherty’s 11-year tenure there, and after she’d just secured a blue-chip recruiting class.

So less than a month after her Husky dismissal, Daugherty was introduced as the coach of a program she’d gone 22-0 against while in Seattle.

Accordingly, the Cougars haven’t set the Pac-10 on its ear — or beaten Washington — since Daugherty’s arrival. But if Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither has a program as historically downtrodden as WSU’s women.

But time, 12 touted recruits and Daugherty remain on Washington State’s side.

“We were able last year to get out of that 10th spot,” Daugherty said Friday, “and we made it to eighth — one game out of seventh — and we were doing that mostly with a very talented freshman group. So hopefully the coaches will get a little smarter over the summer, the players will get a little stronger and more skilled and we’ll have great things to come.”

And of course there’s another compelling chapter to this story. After gleefully accepting the WSU job in 2007, Daugherty nearly died.

“I had my cardiac arrest almost two years ago to the day,” she said. “I really feel fortunate to have survived that, and I’m very grateful for all the support from all the people at Washington State — and from all around the country, really.

“I’m taking care of myself, I’m having a lot of fun and I’m grateful to have a second chance at life, and of course to continue coaching.”

Said Sterk, “That first year she was a little bit slow energy-wise, but you don’t notice any difference now. And she’s put together back-to-back recruiting classes that have some really good talent — talent we haven’t had before.”

Washington State’s long-awaited exit from the conference basement last season meant a different team had move in, and who do you suppose who it was?

You guessed it — Washington.

I’m guessing there’s a buzz now.

• Roger Underwood can be reached at 509-577-7694 or runderwood@yakimaherald.com

Apple Cup won’t be played at Qwest Field

SPOKANE, Wash. — Officials at Washington and Washington State said Friday they have given up on a widely panned proposal to play Apple Cup football games at Qwest Field in Seattle.

Washington state athletic director Jim Sterk said in a news release that agreement could not be reached on how to maintain a neutral-site atmosphere at the stadium just south of downtown Seattle and six miles from Washington’s Husky Stadium.

“Our student-athletes and Cougar fans would not be best served without this key component,” Sterk said. “I was not going to continue following a path that was not in the best interest of WSU athletics, the university and our fans.”

Washington spokesman Richard Kilwien said a major issue for the Huskies involved the large number of Washington season ticket holders who would potentially be excluded.

“We wanted to seek a solution that would make our season ticket holders whole,” he said. “We wanted to accommodate every one of our season ticket holders at Qwest.”

Kilwien said it was a mutual decision to break off the talks.

The Huskies have 37,750 season ticket renewals for the 2009 season and had 43,000 season ticket holders last year. Most likely, Washington would have received about 30,000 tickets for distribution to season ticket holders if the game were played at Qwest, home of the Seattle Seahawks.

The proposal to play six of the rivalry games at Qwest Field beginning in 2010 was pitched as a way to dramatically increase revenue for both football programs. The idea, however, didn’t sit well with fans of both schools, especially Cougar supporters who relish the unique home-field advantage of playing the Huskies every other November in the chill of Pullman’s Martin Stadium.

Many Cougars said that playing the game only in Seattle would give too much of an advantage to Washington. Pullman merchants also complained about the money they would lose from the lucrative Apple Cup week.

The negotiations involved First & Goal, the operators of Qwest Field, and officials from the two schools.

“What made this possible agreement attractive were the additional number of tickets available to our fans, the financial gain seen by the athletic department, and the tremendous exposure created by playing a game of this magnitude at one of the premier sporting venues in the country,” Sterk said. “However, the final details could not be ironed out.”

The Cougars did not elaborate on the sticking points. Sterk said there was never a completed agreement to move the game.

Both schools sought to raise revenues that would help cover rising tuition for scholarship athletes and other costs. Playing the game at Qwest would have paid each program potentially $2 million per year, according to reports.

Currently, each team gets $240,000 for games played in Pullman at 35,000-seat Martin Stadium and $800,000 for games played at 72,000-seat Husky Stadium.

Washington State plays an annual non-conference game at Qwest Field already, promoted by First & Goal, under a contract that is due to expire.
“We appreciate the relationship we have with First & Goal and will work with them to maintain WSU football’s presence at Qwest Field,” Sterk said.

Web column: A case of Husky fever

YAKIMA, Wash. — Don’t call me a traitor, but I feel a purple fever coming on.

I still bleed crimson, but despite my long-standing allegiance to Washington State University, I’m finding it hard to root against the hated Washington Huskies as they prepare for today’s NCAA Tournament game against Mississippi State.

The Cougars’ quick exit from the NIT only hastened my attention shift to the Huskies, the team I grew up watching in Seattle.

Since WSU didn’t reach the Big Dance this year and we no longer have an NBA team to follow, doesn’t it make sense that a diehard hoops fan would at least entertain a passing interest in the league champion Huskies?

I mean, it’s not like I’m rooting for the football team.

Perhaps this unfortunate lapse in judgment never would have materialized if Seattle hadn’t morphed into the most depressing city in organized sports history during 2008.

The monumental failings of the Mariners, the Sonics’ agonizing departure to Oklahoma City, an injury-plagued Seahawks season, and two unrelenting college football campaigns by UW and WSU added up to more despair than any town should have to endure in a calendar year.

The city — heck, the entire state of Washington — needed a revival. And the college basketball season was happy to oblige, giving the apathetic fan base a much-needed shot in the arm.

For starters, the Cougars’ play despite losing a trio of three-year starters was commendable. To finish above .500 and win three of their final four conference games before landing in the NIT showed how far Tony Bennett’s program has come.

And Tuesday’s 68-57 loss to NCAA snub Saint Mary’s did nothing to detract from WSU’s success this season.

Gonzaga provided even more excitement, winning the West Coast Conference in a walk, finishing with a Top-10 ranking and earning its 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. The No. 4-seeded Zags play Akron today, hoping to break a three-game tournament losing streak.

Then there were the Huskies. Picked to finish fifth in a down year for the Pac-10, Lorenzo Romar’s squad shook off a season-opening loss to Portland and surged to the top of the standings, winning its first outright league championship since 1953.

After two below-average years in 2007 and 2008, the UW came back with a fury, using tenacious defense, relentless rebounding and an athletically gifted backcourt to return to the Pac-10’s upper tier.

Hard-nosed veterans Jon Brockman, Quincy Pondexter and Justin Dentmon teamed up with freshman sensation Isaiah Thomas to produce a 14-4 conference record, a Top 25 ranking and a No. 4 tournament seed.

They’re a fun story, and since the Cougars are already preparing for next season, I have decided to pull for the Pac-10, my home state and my hometown.

Go … Huskies?

Sounds sacrilegious to root for the rivals, but more than a few Husky fans cheered for Wazzu the past two years while their team stayed home. Guess it goes both ways.

Soon my momentary lapse in loyalty will give way to baseball season, and then I can go back to haranguing Husky football fans in the fall.

At least for today — and no longer than three weeks — I’m going to send positive vibes in the direction of the UW men’s hoops team. A Sweet 16 run would go a long way toward restoring respectability to the sullied Seattle sports scene.

Let’s just hope the UW doesn’t fill our quota for 2009. The Mariners and Seahawks could use some of that good karma, too.

• News desk copy editor Dave Leder can be reached at dleder@yakimaherald.com.

Selah’s Blanshan commits to WSU

YAKIMA, Wash. — Two-time state long jump champion and Valley-leading sprinter Brett Blanshan of Selah has signed a track and field letter of intent with Washington State University.

In addition to his back-to-back Class 2A state long jump titles, Blanshan led the Valley last season in the 100-meter dash (10.36w) and 200 (21.65).

“Brett is someone who is going to fit well into the way we develop our sprinters. He is very strong and will be a good sprinter indoors and outdoors,” said WSU coach Rick Sloan. “He is someone we can count on in both the 100 and 200, and certainly in the short relay as well.”

Blanshan’s older brother, Evan, is a distance runner for Cougars.

Also signing letters of intent with WSU were Gig Harbor’s Alyssa Andrews, North Central’s Andrew Kimpel, Chehalis’ Caroline Austin and Mountain View’s Christine Rice.

Cougars stun Huskies in Apple Cup

PULLMAN — Finally, for the beleaguered football teams of Washington and Washington State, there was some drama.

And depending what sideline you were on, some comedy and tragedy, as well.

Two teams that couldn’t stand up to anyone else in the Pac-10 this year went toe-to-toe for four quarters and two overtimes at Martin Stadium until the foot of Cougars kicker Nico Grasu gave WSU an improbable 16-13 win.

While the Cougars and their fans celebrated wildly at midfield, the Huskies were left pondering the unfathomable — a 13-game losing streak dating to last season and a possible winless season. Washington is 0-11 overall and 0-8 in Pac-10 games.

“This one hurts real hard,” said Huskies running back Willie Griffin. “No disrespect to them, but we went up against a team that everybody is saying is the worst in the nation, and you can’t pull out a win. I mean, you’ve got to look at yourself and ask yourself, ‘What are we?’ “

The Cougars (2-10 overall, 1-8 in Pac-10) can at least call themselves Apple Cup champions for the fourth time in five years, the best stretch in school history.

“We’ve kind of been down and out all year and feel like we’ve been working for nothing, losing every game,” said WSU running back Dwight Tardy. “It finally paid off for us, and it just feels really good.”

Washington State seemed just about out of hope when it got the ball at its 20-yard line with 56 seconds left. But a 48-yard pass from Kevin Lopina to Jared Karstetter set up a 28-yard field goal by Grasu with no time left to force overtime.

Grasu hit two more in overtime, the last one from 37 yards after UW’s Ryan Perkins missed from the same distance to start the second OT, one of three Huskies field-goal shanks on the day.

The Cougars began their final drive in regulation after the Huskies were stopped on their final possession, deciding to punt on a fourth-and-three from the WSU 36. Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said he thought about going for it before deciding against it.

“They had not had that much success all day driving the football,” Willingham said. “We had been in control most of the day. You figure you give yourself the best chance to win by making them go as far as possible to make a play. But we gave up a big one and didn’t allow ourselves to do it.”

Some on the Washington sideline thought the Huskies should have gone for it, potentially ending the game right there. Instead, they netted just 16 yards when the punt went into the end zone.

“We were going to run a stretch to the right and it’s a 3-yard stretch in open field,” said UW running back Terrance Dailey. “I really thought I could get it. Coach wanted to be safe and punt it. I don’t know, we might have been able to get that.”

The Lopina-to-Karstetter connection came on a play that began with 31 seconds to go — the same time in the game when the Cougars scored the winning touchdown in last year’s Apple Cup on a pass from Alex Brink to Brandon Gibson.

Lopina told Karstetter he was going to pump-fake and hope the defender, UW cornerback Quinton Richardson, would bite. Richardson did, and when safety Tripper Johnson didn’t get over quickly, Karstetter broke open.

“I was really surprised,” Karstetter said of Richardson taking the fake. “I thought it would be more of a jump ball. He just kind of hesitated long enough that I went up that seam between them.”

Said Willingham: “We just didn’t track the ball. We let them get behind us, and that’s a situation that you can’t let happen.”

Grasu came on with two seconds left to tie the game.

Some of the Huskies admitted going into overtime almost seemed like a loss.

“I felt that we had this game,” said cornerback Mesphin Forrester. “It was kind of frustrating knowing that they were going into overtime.”

In fact, Washington had been in control much of the day. The Huskies finally got their running game going and used it — as well as a Forrester interception — to score 10 points in the second quarter.

Washington State cut the lead to 10-7 with a 57-yard run by Logwone Mitz with 2:56 left in the third quarter.

But WSU failed to move on its next two drives. The Cougars were stopped on a fourth down at their 43 with 2:02 left.

Washington, however, ran it conservatively on three plays, picking up 7 yards, and then punting.

“It’s extremely frustrating when you feel like you’ve got a game won and you just need one more play and you don’t get it done,” said Willingham.

Both teams kicked field goals in the first overtime, WSU and then Washington.

Perkins then missed to start the second overtime after UW picked up just 5 yards in three plays. WSU ran three plays before Grasu kicked the winner.

And when it went through, a Cougars team that had lost every game against a Football Bowl Subdivision team this year by 25 or more points could at least declare itself the best in the state.

“You never want to finish last in anything,” Karstetter said. “We needed a win so bad, so it’s great to win this one.”

— Bob Condotta/The Seattle Times

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