Locally

EWU women’s basketball team No. 1 in classroom

The Eastern Washington University women’s basketball team has been honored as the nation’s No. 1 team in NCAA Division I on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25.

The Eagles, who collectively earned a 3.626 grade point average, were ranked third in the nation in last year’s top 25. Members of the top-ranked academic team include Emily Boscacci, Felice Moore, Brandie Bounds, Kathleen Nygaard, Joanna Chad, Raelynn Chaffee, Ashley Jamison, Julie Page, Tiffany Schmidt and Stephanie Ulmer.

After leading the EWU women’s basketball team to its best three seasons since 1988, fourth-year head coach Wendy Schuller led the Eagles to a 17-12 finish last season.

The Whitworth College women’s basketball team, coached by Helen Higgs, earned a fourth-place ranking on the Division III Academic Top 25 with a collective grade point average of 3.545.

College scene

Recently, Eastern Washington University’s head tennis coach Patrick Dreves led the boys 18U Pacific Northwest Junior Davis Cup team to a fifth-place finish in the 17-team tournament in South Carolina. The teams, joining the top six players from the 17 United States Tennis Association regions, entered the tournament unranked. They beat two of the top six teams to earn one of their highest finishes ever.

“Katie Werner, a Pullman High and Whitworth College grad, will join the University of Washington women’s basketball staff as director of basketball operations. Werner was assistant coach at Whitworth for women’s basketball and softball from 2000-2003 and lettered four years in basketball and two years in softball for the Pirates.

“Eight student-athletes have signed letters of intent to play for the Community Colleges of Spokane for the upcoming seasons: Michael Campo, Durango (Colo.) High, baseball; Stephanie Day, Colville High, softball; Sterling Flunder, Inglemoor High, men’s soccer; Brian Heimbecker, Northwest Christian, men’s tennis; Kali Hendrickson, Wahkiakum High, women’s basketball; Deshawn Cook, Spanaway High, track; Jessica Fuller, Southridge High, track; and Matt Helgath, Whitefish (Mont.) High, track.

“Mead High softball standout Halley Cey will attend St. Martin’s University in Olympia, where she has been granted a scholarship.

Tennis

Former Washington State University player Erica Perkins has been hired as an assistant coach for the William and Mary women’s tennis team. Perkins comes to W&M from Georgia Southern University, where she was the head women’s tennis coach for the last two seasons. The Cougars’ all-time leader with 87 career singles victories, she helped lead the team to the NCAA Tournament all four years she played, while also earning a spot in the NCAA Individual Tournament three times in singles (1999, 2001 and 2002) and once in doubles (2002).