EWU aide confronts mixed emotions tonight
Tonight’s non-conference match against Gonzaga University holds special meaning for first-year Eastern Washington assistant Greg Goral.
The 31-year-old spent last season as GU’s top assistant under head coach Kip Yoshimura and helped recruit several of the young players who have been instrumental in the Bulldogs’ turn-around 2005 season.
And when those players take the floor at EWU’s Reese Court this evening at 7, Goral admits he will have “totally mixed emotions” because of the success the Zags (10-11 overall, 2-3 in the West Coast Conference) have experienced this fall in the wake of last year’s 4-25 campaign that included an 0-14 record in the WCC.
“I’ve been feeling it all week, knowing this match is coming up,” Goral said. “I miss working with the girls I helped recruit and not having an opportunity to coach all the freshmen that came in.
“That’s hard, but I’m also very happy that they’re being much more successful than the last two years. It’s definitely going to be interesting for me.”
According to Goral, he left GU as the result of a “mutual decision” reached by Yoshimura and himself following the dreadful 2004 season.
“We weren’t quite on the same page,” Goral explained, “so instead of going through another season where we weren’t quite agreeing on philosophies, we decided to part ways.”
Goral claims the parting was amicable and insists he harbors no ill feeling toward Yoshimura or his program. But he also is elated that he was able to land at Eastern, where he’s working under the Eagles’ highly successful head coach, Wade Benson.
“I was looking to stay in the area,” Goral explained, “and I’ve known Wade for a few years. Our philosophies are pretty similar and, obviously, Eastern Washington has a renown program in the Northwest.
“It was a great opportunity for me to see what that caliber of program is like, and to be a part of it. Wade is at the prime of his career and really knows how to run a program. To be able to learn from someone like that is a bonus for me.”
Goral hopes his knowledge of Gonzaga’s personnel and playing style will benefit Benson and his Eagles (13-6, 4-3 in the Big Sky), who have won 14 straight matches against the Zags, in tonight’s regional showdown.
Big win for Zags
Gonzaga’s 3-1 West Coast Conference home win over 25th-ranked Saint Mary’s on Saturday was as significant at any in recent memory.
Not only was it the Bulldogs’ first win over a top-25 team in Yoshimura’s four-year reign, but it also let the Zags reach the 10-win plateau for the first time since 1996, when they were 13-19.
“This was by far the best win our program has had in a long time,” Yoshimura said.
Lost cause
Eastern’s ever-candid coach Benson minced no words in assessing his team’s regular-season Big Sky championship chances following Saturday’s 3-0 road loss to Portland State.
“The 2005 regular-season championship is out the door for us,” Benson said after watching his Eagles lose to the Vikings for the first time since 1985 and fall to 4-3 in Big Sky play, two games behind league-leading Sacramento State (16-7, 6-1).
He said he didn’t see either Sac State or PSU losing twice in their final three matches. “I also don’t see us going undefeated along the way, either.”
Quick sets
Washington State (8-12 overall, 1-6 in the Pac-10) plays an unranked opponent for the first time in five matches Friday night when it travels to Oregon State (6-7, 2-5). And the following evening, the Cougars play an Oregon team (10-8, 0-7) that has lost seven straight matches after opening the season 10-1. … WSU’s leading hitter, Jen Barcas, who missed last weekend’s home losses to USC and UCLA because of a viral infection, is expected to return for this week’s road swing through Oregon. … Idaho (10-9, 2-4 in the Western Athletic Conference) is on the road for WAC showdowns against New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech.