Eastern Hires Martin As Women’s Soccer Coach

Jennifer (Druffel) Martin, a former soccer player and assistant coach at Gonzaga University, has been hired as Eastern Washington University’s women’s soccer coach.

Athletic director Dick Zornes also announced that Julie Scott, an assistant the last two years, will take over as men’s and women’s head golf coach this fall. Jamie Hanna stepped down after three seasons to spend more time with her family.

Scott has coaching experience in golf and tennis. She was head girls tennis coach at West Valley High School from 1993-95 and served as head tennis pro at Avondale Golf and Tennis Club. Her husband, Bob, is the golf pro at MeadowWood Golf Course.

The hiring of Martin starts the process of building a soccer program that will begin competition this fall. Eastern will play a limited schedule before soccer is added as a championship sport in the Big Sky Conference in the fall of 1998.

“(Martin is) young and energetic, which were the qualities we were looking for in a coach that will be starting a new program from the ground up,” Zornes said.

“It’s a great opportunity and the Inland Northwest is a great location for a Division I program to begin,” Martin said. “I think the Big Sky Conference will become a great conference for women’s soccer.”

Basketball

Former Washington State Cougar Jenni Ruff has been assigned to the expansion Long Beach team of the American Basketball League.

Ruff, who graduated in 1996, played for the San Jose Lasers last year. She was an unprotected player.

In the league’s inaugural year, Ruff averaged 12 minutes per game, 3.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists. The Long Beach team, yet to be named, will be the ninth team in the ABL.

University of Idaho men’s coach David Farrar is one step closer to completing his staff after hiring Derek Zeck.

Zeck comes from Butler County Community College in El Dorado, Kan. He was an assistant there since April 1996 after spending one year at Texas-San Antonio.

“The ideal complement to the addition of (assistant) Mark Bernsen was adding a young guy with contacts and maturity beyond his age, particularly in relationships and recruiting,” Farrar said.

Zeck is a 1993 graduate of the University of Kansas.

Bowling

Keith Christensen prevailed in a battle of 14-year-olds to win the final Junior Bowlers Tour Tournament of the season last Sunday at Matt Surina’s Bowling World.

Christensen, an eighth-grader at Bowdish Junior High and the No. 2 qualifier, knocked off top-seeded Adam Allen, a North Central freshman, 184-151. It was the first finals for both. Allen averaged 222 and Christensen 216, including a 258 in his previous match, before their showdown.

Corey Thomas finished third, Ricky Brown fourth and Jeremy Allen fifth.

Jeremy Allen, who had high game in the final tourney, a 288, was the season points leader, followed by Jason Daniels, Brian Long, Britt Rayner and James McCold. Tara Borden had high season average for the girls, a 188. Raquel Descoteaux’s 258 was high for the girls last weekend.

Boxing

Paris Alexander, the California State and Western United States lightweight champion, will take on Steve Valdez in the feature bout on Wednesday’s card at the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Bingo/Casino in Worley, Idaho.

Doors open at 5 p.m. with the first fight at 7:30.

The card will include a woman’s bout and one featuring undefeated Spokane cruiserweight Frank Vassar.

College scene

Track and field star Heidi Schultz and basketball standout Isaac Fontaine were named Washington State’s outstanding senior student-athletes.

At the 14th annual Gray W senior awards banquet, both received not only the StudentAthlete Advisory Board outstanding senior award, but also the athletic director’s YMCA Award that recognizes a top junior or senior.

Schultz competes in the heptathlon, where she is ranked 12th in the nation with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 5,238 points. Fontaine, who led WSU in scoring his last three seasons, also was named the men’s team’s most valuable player and received the Marv Harshman Captain’s Award.

Receiving academic excellence awards at the banquet were: Schultz, 3.88 grade-point average; Reagan Lyons, track and field, 3.52; Deanne Hatchett, crew, 3.58; Janet Earnst, crew, 3.62; Molly Jordan, crew, 3.67; Jody Payne, soccer, 3.79; Rachel Hawley, swimming, 3.95; and Marilyn Moberly, cross country, 4.0.

The University of Idaho named track star Frank Bruder and volleyball standout Lynne Hyland its top senior athletes of 1996-97.

Bruder, the nation’s No. 2 steeplechaser, also became the 31st recipient of the Rich and Mary Fox Award, which carries a $3,000 stipend.

University of Idaho junior Danny Willman was chosen for the first team when the Big West named its all-conference tennis team.

Willman was 20-9 in singles and 15-6 when he teamed with Jorge Aldrete as Idaho’s No. 1 doubles team.

Aldrete, a sophomore, is a second-team singles selection and is paired with Willman as a second-team doubles choice. Also earning second-team doubles honors are Darin Currall, a freshman, and Keith Bradbury, a senior.

Washington State landed four women’s tennis players on Pacific-10 North allconference teams.

Senior Bindi Thomas, who had a 15-20 record, and junior Tunde Nagy, 18-20, were first-team choices. Sophomores Helen Frankland and Andrea Reisz were second-team selections.

Washington’s Katherine Costain was named the conference player of the year and the Huskies’ Lisa Moldrem was coach of the year.

The Whitworth women’s tennis team, which secured the school’s first trip to the NAIA National Tournament (May 19-24 in Tulsa, Okla.), also made its first appearance in the NAIA national rankings. The Pirates are 23rd.

Two of the athletes who received most valuable player honors at the University of Notre Dame awards banquet are from Spokane.

Katie King (Gonzaga Prep) was honored in women’s golf and Jaimie Lee (Ferris) in volleyball.

For a second straight year, Pacific Lutheran junior catcher Sarah Johnston of Spokane (Gonzaga Prep) was named to the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges all-star softball team.

Johnston hit .343 for the Lutes (30-10), who ranked sixth in the final NAIA poll to earn a spot in the national tournament. They are NCIC champions for an 11th straight year. Mandy Flores of Spokane (Rogers) is also on the team.

Montana State sophomore Emily Thompson of Spokane (Mead) earned her second straight Big Sky Conference runner of the week award last week.

Thompson won the 5,000 meters in a triangular meet with Montana and Idaho State with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 17:20.88. It’s the second-best mark in the conference this year. She won the award the previous week for winning the 3,000 and 5,000 at a BYU invitational.

Jennifer Weidert of Spokane (Mead), a freshman at the University of Wyoming, was voted by her teammates as the outstanding athlete and swimmer of the year.

The Spokane Area Swimming Team member twice set the school record in the 200 butterfly (2:04.90) and moved to second all-time in the 400 individual medley and fourth in the 200 IM. At the Western Athletic Conference championships, her best was a sixth in the 200 butterfly with her record effort.

Cheney’s Jari Kirkland, a junior at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., shared the school’s Association of Women Students scholar-athlete award.

Kirkland, a three-year letter-winner in swimming, also was named NAIA All-American, all-conference and the school’s outstanding female swimmer for 1996-97.

Golf

Spokane Youth Sports Association and The Children’s Miracle Network will benefit from proceeds from the eighth annual ABC Office Equipment Scramble on June 7 at MeadowWood Golf Course.

The tournament will be conducted under Oldsmobile scramble rules with shotgun starts at 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. A buffet lunch will be provided. Entry fees are $55 per player (five-player teams) or $400 for a corporate team.

SYSA uses the proceeds to fund its junior golf program and its financial assistance program for needy children.

Info: SYSA, (509) 536-1800; ABC, (509) 922-4600.

Horseshoe pitching

For the 25th straight year, the Spokane Horseshoe Pitchers Corp. will conduct a tournament in conjunction with the Lilac Festival.

The ninth annual Wally Rehard Tournament, sanctioned by the state and national bodies, will be this Saturday at Franklin Park, Division and Queen. Check-in is 8:30 a.m., pitching at 9.

Entry fees are $10 for men and women. Juniors are free. Registration deadline is 9 p.m. Thursday. Mail entries to Leonard Foreman, 6009 N. Maple, Spokane, WA 99205, or phone him at (509) 328-2130.

The tournament annually draws from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia. Any pitcher belonging to the national organization with a ringer percentage can enter. Classes are set up by ringer percentage.

Soccer

Spokane junior soccer boys and girls select teams will hold tryouts Monday through Thursday this week.

U-14 and U-16 teams will be Monday and Wednesday, U-13, U-15, U-17 and U-19 on Tuesday and Thursday, 5:30 p.m. until dark all days.

The Cheney Storm will be at Centennial Middle School; the Bengals and Breakers at the south youth sports complex; the Scotties at the north complex; the Sabers at Farwell Elementary; and the Royals at Riverside.

Prospects should come dressed to play with white and dark T-shirts, a ball marked with their name and phone number, and a water bottle.

Info: (509) 536-1800.

Tennis

It will be a familiar name, but not a familiar location for Russian tennis standout Andrei Novikov.

Novikov, from Moscow, Russia, signed a national letter of intent with the University of Idaho. The 6-foot-2, 163-pounder comes to Moscow, Idaho, with aggressive groundstrokes and volleys. Novikov, 17, won the Moscow Open Championship in 1995 and was a finalist last year. He is currently ranked No. 12 in singles on the Russian circuit.

More than 400 men’s and women’s players ages 24-70 are expected in Spokane on Friday through Sunday for the Eastern Washington Area U.S. Tennis Association Adult Team playoffs.

Matches featuring teams rated 3.0 to 5.0 will be held at North Park, Spokane and Central Park racquet clubs.

Winners from each level advance to Portland in August for the sectional playoffs. From there, winners qualify for the nationals in October. Spokane has sent teams to the nationals the last few years.

Volleyball

The Inland Empire will be represented by three teams in the club division and one in the open division at the Junior Olympics Volleyball Championships June 28-July 8 in Denver, Colo.

Winning gold division titles at 1997 USA Volleyball Evergreen Region Championships two weeks ago to gain national berths were Inland Empire Black, which prevailed in a double final in U-16; River City Rush, U-15; and Performance All Out, U-12.

Performance Rowdy, third in its regional, earlier had qualified for the U-14 elite open division by finishing third in a national qualifier in Denver.

Other I.E. teams with top-four placings in the regionals (gold divisions unless otherwise noted): U-18-River City Torrent, 2nd (lost in a double final); Prime Cut, 4th. U-17-Performance Volleyfrogs, 3rd; Specs YODA, 2nd consolation division; South Hill Strikers, 3rd consolation.

Also: U-16-River City Swiftwater, 3rd. U-16 Silver-Specs 1, 4th. U-16 Diamond-Specs II, 3rd; Performance White Lightning, 3rd consolation. U-14-Spokane Splash K, 4th. U-14 Silver-Performance Stars & Spike, 3rd. U-12-River City Ripple, 2nd; River City Wave, 4th.

In the U-18 boys gold division, Spokane Boys Volleyball Club (Left) was third and SBVC (Right), a U-16 team playing up, was fourth.

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