Ferris graduate Duchow qualifies for NCAA fencing
Since he started fencing, Paul Duchow has thought of competing in the NCAA championships.
Mission accomplished.
Duchow, a sophomore at Cleveland State from Ferris, qualified for the NCAA Fencing Championships next weekend at Ohio State by finishing fourth in the epee at the Midwest Regional last weekend in Detroit.
“My main goal has been accomplished on being a part of the NCAA Championships,” Duchow is quoted on the Cleveland State website.
Duchow, who honed his fencing skills at Spokane Fencers Unlimited, is Cleveland State team captain and has a 21-16 record this season.
”I am taking in the moment and am looking forward to a great opportunity to represent Cleveland State,” he said. “To be in the same facility with a bunch of great fencers is a humbling feeling.”
Baseball
Bob Robertson, the former radio voice of the Spokane Indians, will be inducted into the Vancouver Canadians Broadcast & Journalism Hall of Fame on Aug. 30 when the Indians play the Canadians at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver, the Indians announced.
Robertson, whose broadcasting roots run deep in the Northwest, was the Indians’ play-by-play announcer from 2000-2010. In 2011, the Indians honored him by naming the press box at Avista Stadium the Bob Robertson Press Box. Robertson still joins Indians play-by-play announcer Mike Boyle each season for select games.
Robertson, who lives in Tacoma and celebrated his 85th birthday on Saturday, was the voice of Washington State Cougars basketball and football for 46 years. He was also the broadcaster for the Tacoma Rainiers’ Triple-A baseball team from 1984-99 before joining the Indians.
College scene
Jenni White, a Western Washington junior from East Valley, was named the Most Valuable Player in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament after leading the Vikings to a second straight championship.
White had 32 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds and five steals. She had a career-high nine assists in the semifinals, Coach Carmen Dolfo credited her with playing an instrumental role in the Vikings’ come-from-behind 78-74 victory over Simon Fraser in the championship game.
“I felt like Jenni started it even late in the first half,” Dolfo said. “She had two early fouls, and came back in and sparked us. She got the tempo going and played with a lot of heart.”
• Brady Bagby, a junior guard at Lewis-Clark State from West Valley and Community Colleges of Spokane, was named honorable mention on the All-Frontier Conference men’s basketball team. Bagby was the Warriors’ second-leading scorer at 13.4 points a game, shooting nearly 57 percent from the field, and averaged 25.4 minutes per game, second most on the team.
• Patrick Simon, a Seattle Pacific senior from Ephrata, Wash., who transferred from Washington State before his junior basketball season, has been named to the Daktronics West Region Division II second team.
Simon, a 6-foot-8 forward who was named to the All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference first team, leads Division II in 3-point accuracy at 51 percent (80 of 157). He is the only Division II player, and just one of four across all three NCAA divisions, to hit better than 50 percent from behind the arc. He is averaging 16.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Hockey
Dr. Mary Smith, team dentist for the Spokane Chiefs since 1985, was presented with a Western Hockey League Distinguished Service Award for the 2013-14 season, prior to the Chiefs’ game against the Tri-City Americans on Friday night in the Arena.
Dr. Smith, the longest-serving member of the Chiefs’ organization, also routinely works on other WHL players, referees and other league personnel. She has been instrumental in keeping Chiefs players safe by equipping them with the most current protective mouth guards at her expense.
The award was inaugurated in 2004 to recognize to individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution over a long period of time to a team or the league.
Rowing
Glenn Putyrae, in his third year as head women’s coach at Gonzaga University, has been named to the NCAA Division I Rowing Committee. A member of the GU staff for 11 years, Putyrae will begin a four-year term on the seven-member committee on Sept. 1.
The committee develops policies and procedures governing the administration and conduct of the NCAA Division I Women’s Rowing Championships. Putyrae will also help rank the top teams in the West Region.